A teenager with incurable cancer who has raised more than £3 million for charity - and was this morning praised by the Prime Minister - has been discharged from hospital.
Stephen Sutton, 19, was being treated for multiple tumours at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital and was recently pictured giving his 'final thumbs up' from his hospital bed - convinced that he would not make it out.
But Stephen has announced on Facebook that he has now been discharged after a 'quite remarkable' recovery.
Link
Remarkable. Cameron's talents are clearly wasted in politics. Dave for pope?
(Anything other than Prime Minister would be a good thing for Britain.)
Next: Dave will try to walk across Lake Windermere. He has told emergency services not to intervene if he seems to be in difficulties because, "I have to die for your sins, you know, and I'll be back in three days anyway."
More seriously, the 'quite remarkable' recovery doesn't mean Stephen is cancer free, just that he survived a major crisis and is doing better than expected, in the very short term. Still, good to see a positive-ish moment to a heart-warming-but-tragic story.
The Mail must know the truth of the matter and if it is exaggerating the scale or strength of Steven's recovery, it is a ghastly example of story spinning. Presumably, they are seeking to emphasise the pathos and create a little bit of hope - to increase the shock and sorrow when the poor chap finally dies.
They haven't had the decency to wait for him to die before exploiting him. What a hideous rag.
(You might say, I am no better, with my piss-take introduction about Cameron; but you would be wrong. I am British, and black humour is how we deal with intolerably sad things. It is a far more appropriate response than cloying sentiment and sickening manipulations such as we have seen in the Mail.)
Anyway, Stephen, you have raised a lot of money for charity. You are this blog's inaugural Everyday Hero.
Lefthandpalm salutes you and wishes you all the best.
