Father gives tearful tribute to 18-year-old son who died of aggressive cancer that family mistook for ‘growing pains’
A heartbroken father has paid tribute to his ‘inspirational’ son, who died aged 18 after a five-year battle with bone cancer, which the family mistook for growing pains.
Joseph Tegerdine, from Utah, started complaining of pain in his knee in 2019, when he was 13.
The sensation came mainly after playing football and during a “sudden growth spurt,” prompting his father, Joe Sr., to tell his son that bone pain was a natural occurrence at his stage of life.
However, when the pain did not subside, the family sought help at the local hospital, where Joseph underwent an X-ray and MRI scan.
The results showed he had osteosarcoma – a form of cancer that develops in the bones, cartilage, tendons, fat and muscle – and he started chemotherapy just ten days later.
Joseph was given a 70 percent survival rate after undergoing surgery on his knee and chemotherapy. For the next two and a half years, he continued to live a normal life as a teenager.
But in January 2022, the family suffered another devastating blow: Joseph was told the cancer had spread to his hip and lungs.
He underwent another course of treatment: this time surgery and chemotherapy.
However, after a brief period of stability, the cancer was found again in his lungs in 2024, reducing his survival rate to 10 percent and leaving him with just months to live.
The teenager died early Friday morning, his father revealed on social media.
In a loving message, Mr Tegerdine wrote on We sat at his bedside and comforted him until his last breath at 3:14 am.
Words cannot express the depth of sorrow he has endured, nor the immense joy that he no longer suffers.”
He added: “I look forward to the day when he and I can run, jump and play together again.
“I appreciate all the love and support we have received from the X community. Your generosity made his life a little easier and more fun. Your love and concern have made a huge difference.”
It was this tragic news of Joseph’s terminal diagnosis that prompted his father to purchase a 2020 Ford Mustange supercar in March this year.
The entrepreneur, who sells home composting equipment, defended the purchase on X.
“For those wondering why I would buy my 18-year-old son a 330-horsepower Mustang, he has months to live and can’t work long enough to buy one himself,” Mr Tegerdine said.
‘His comment on the way home: ‘Dad, I’m going to squeeze a few extra months off my life to drive this.’
The story behind the Mustang went viral – Tegerdine’s tweet was viewed more than 13 million times.
The day at the track came after Joe Sr tweeted about his son’s purchase of the supercar, which went viral and racked up more than 13 million views
Joseph Tegerdine, 18, enjoyed a day at Ford’s Charlotte Motor Speedway this month after his father bought him a Mustang due to his cancer diagnosis
Ford CEO Jim Farley also saw his father’s viral tweet and invited Joseph and his father to enjoy the purchase at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
‘Joseph was so excited. I hadn’t seen him have that much energy in months,” Mr Tegerdine said.
‘We ended up getting to drive with a professional driver and it was like, I mean, G-force after G-force. You felt like you were floating in the air in the chair.
“You come through a corner and you feel all the pressure in the corner and as soon as they step off the throttle you’re pinned to the seat.”
In a statement to the Detroit Free Press, Farley said it was an “honor” for Ford to host the father and son at their track. “I’m just glad we were able to help Joe and Joseph enjoy a very special day,” he said.
Before their day at the track, the family also ventured on a “bucket list” vacation: Osaka, Japan.
The teenager previously said he was living “day by day,” which helped him get through his final months.
He told DailyMail.com in April: ‘I’m in Japan now. I have the car of my dreams, I’m surrounded by a lot of people that I absolutely love and I’m going to driving school.
‘Then you look to the future and everything starts to collapse. I don’t really have to look to the future. Morbidly speaking, I don’t really have one. I can’t be like, ‘in a year’. If I get a year, I will be very lucky.’