Dad who bought $30,000 Mustang for his cancer-stricken son gets heartwarming ... trends now
A terminally ill teenager from Utah battling cancer was gifted a $30,000 Ford Mustang - and the chance to race it.
Joseph Tegerdine, 18, may have less than a year to live after struggling against bone cancer since seventh grade, but he is fighting for every day after his dad fulfilled his dream of owning the iconic car.
And when the boss of Ford heard about the story he tweeted an invite for the young athlete to take it for a spin at the company's racing school in North Carolina.
'It was really crazy. That tweet was just kind of random,' dad Joe Tergerdine Sr said.
'He sent a direct message to me, saying, 'Hey, you want me to do this?
'If it's OK, his guys would get everything set up at the Ford Performance Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
'I need an instructor, a trainer. Also, I get to drive one of the most powerful Ford track Mustangs there is,' Joe Jr said, 'This is going to be sick'
Joseph Tegerdine Jr (right) with his family Langston, London, Joe, Kerry, and Grace
'They're flying us out there. It's just really cool, and we'll stay in Charlotte for a couple of days.
'There's a big dinner before school. Then Joseph will be on the track with the (Mustang) Dark Horse.'
Joe Jr has been a fan of the car since he was small enough to sit in his toy Mustang on the driveway of the family's then home in Melissa, Texas.
He was working at Sodalicious to save up for the real thing when his dad concluded he might run out of time.
'With all that's happening, and we found out he has more tumors in his lungs, we needed to buy the car,' he told the Detroit Free Press.
'For those wondering why I'd buy my 18yr old son a 330hp Mustang, well, he's been given months to live and can't work long enough to buy one himself,' he tweeted on March 2.
'His comment on the way home, 'Dad, I'm going to squeeze a few extra months of life just to be able to drive this.' #cancersucks.
Within hours the tweet went viral gaining 14 million views and the attention of Ford CEO Jim Farley.
'Hi Joe, I'm so sorry to hear what your family is going through,' the car boss tweeted back.
'Please let me know if you and your son would like to attend @FPRacingSchool to experience a @FordMustang Dark Horse on the track. DM me and we'll make it happen.'
Joe Sr's tweet and the photo of his son at the wheel of the 2020 Mustang racked up 14 million views on X and caught the attention of Ford CEO Jim Farley
Joseph Tegerdine Jr with his girlfriend Lily and the Ford Bronco his family sold
The young couple have had to cope with Joe's terminal diagnosis and the loss of his right leg
'You have to live day by day because, day by day, if you look at my life, it's actually fantastic,' Joe Jr said
Joe (left) on an excursion with dad Joe Sr and brother Langston
Joe Jr was just a year into middle school when he began feeling persistent knee pain after football that would keep him awake at night.
An MRI detected an osteosarcoma and Joe Jr's life became a gruelling round of surgery and chemotherapy.
'Life is just going in a certain direction and then, it's hard to even explain
