His video was supposed to be just for his friends, shot shortly after receiving devastating news. But, instead, it went viral. By the time he died yesterday, his final days would also serve as a role models for how to appreciate the the present and how to leave it for eternity. And due to You Tube which carried his words, emotions and wise perspective to millions, Australia teenager Shaun Wilson-Miller passed away having won millions of friends all over the world due to what they saw when they watched — and learned — in his emotional, heart and spirit felt “My Final Goodbye” video.
In the 17-year-old’s video, intended for family and friends but seen by 1.9 million people by Sunday morning, the Melbourne schoolboy revealed he was suffering chronic heart rejection after his second transplant and that there could not be a third.
“I won’t be here for as long as I thought,” he said in the video.
“This has been an awesome ride. I have no regrets,” he said. “Live life to the fullest because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Dad Cameron Miller said his son’s positive outlook had never faltered, with Shaun giving him constant hugs in recent days, the Herald Sun reported Sunday.
“He passed peacefully with me holding his hand; that is something the family will hold with us,” he told the Herald Sun.
Tributes immediately began flowing in from around the world and from his beloved Essendon Football Club, the newspaper said.
A bit more on his video — which is likely to be seen and thought about for many years to come:
Shaun Wilson-Miller, 17, recorded his message in his bedroom and intended to share it with his Facebook friends.
But now more than 1.3 million people have seen his heartbreaking home movie after a technical problem meant he had to upload it to YouTube.
Shaun, from Melbourne, Australia, suffers from a chronic heart condition that means his body has rejected two transplants.
Doctors said he cannot undergo a third operation – and it is believed Shaun has just months to live.
Shaun recorded the message in his bedroom late at night soon after hearing the devastating diagnosis.
He urged his loved ones to live their lives to the fullest and look after his dad when he is gone.
Here is his video:
It sparked reports such as this one on NBC:
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Some were so moved they felt they should do videos to express their views and share their own experiences:
Some felt moved enough to write music in support. Here’s Shaun Miller’s song – B-mike ( stay strong ) which also has a gallery of photos of Shaun.
In his final weeks, Sean filmed a role on Neighbours and met his footy hero Essendon captain Jobe Watson.
He had also found love with a fellow heart patient.
Shaun sighed: “The hardest thing for me is leaving her, knowing that I won’t get to marry her. To have kids together. To grow old together. That is what makes me sad.”
Friends and family wrote their condolences on the Facebook page of Shaun’s father, Cameron Miller.
“You showed so much courage for so long,” said one message. “Fly high sweet angel.”
He did in his video.
And I’m sure he will now.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.