Johey Basedow's family held him in their arms, kissed him and told him they loved him forever before his heart came to rest and he took his last gentle breath.
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Johey, the brave Pelaw Main teenager who underwent an epic 20-hour surgery in the United States to remove 3000 tumours from his abdomen, passed on Monday.
He did not want to go.
He fought hard to stay here for all those he loved and for all who loved him.
But his battered body could not take anymore and at 12.43pm on September 28, Johey succumbed to the insidious cancer inside him.
This photo of Johey, 15, and his father Scott was taken at the Basedow's last family outing just six days before he passed.
"We were overwhelmed by his determination and display of strength, which was ever present from the day he was diagnosed until he took his last breath," said Johey's father Scott.
He passed in the Nicholas Trust Paediatric Palliative Care Family Room at John Hunter Children's Hospital after an epic and heroic battle.
"That room was our home for the last month and allowed our family of four, including sister Isabella, to be together and share some precious time in the weeks before our beloved Johey passed," said Johey's mum Emma.
"He fought so hard to stay here. He didn't want to leave, he wasn't ready to go, but his body was battered from the recurrent tumours and from all the treatments."
The Year 9 St Peter's student had been in the fight of his life, combating a rare and aggressive cancer.
Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumours (DSRCT) are aggressive tumours that typically begin in the abdomen or pelvis and usually occur in white adolescent males.
Emma researched the condition which oncologists here know little about. She learned that a number of people had been treated for DSRCT in the US and a few hospitals there specialised in treatment.
She found Professor Andrea Hayes-Jordan - one of those doctors who were telling parents there was no hope. Now Prof Hayes-Jordan devotes her research to DSRCT. She performed Johey's surgery at UNC Chapel Hill Hospital, North Carolina, on November 19 last year.
Johey passed in his father's embrace after sleeping soundly all night in his mother's. "Our beautiful, kind, clever and loving boy is no longer in pain," Emma said.
"Just moments before we told him that he was loved by his entire family. We then each kissed him and told him that we love him, forever and always.
"His brave, strong heart came to rest peacefully. He didn't struggle for breathe. It was gentle, soft and calm."
