She’s Completing Her Son’s Bucket List After He Passed Away Following A Battle With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
On August 26, 2023, Declan Spencer, a 24-year-old from Leicestershire, England, passed away following a battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Now, his mother, Alex Spencer, has committed herself to completing Declan’s bucket list in his honor.
“I want Dec to be proud of me,” she said.
Before he died, Declan created a bucket list as well as a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the fulfillment of his bucket list wishes.
He detailed how, after being diagnosed with DMD, which is the most common form of muscular dystrophy, according to the Cleveland Clinic, he lost his ability to walk. This left him completely dependent on a wheelchair for 13 years.
In the beginning, Declan claimed it was “quite easy” since he still had upper body strength. Then, as years passed, he lost the ability to lift his arms up without assistance and required help with day-to-day activities.
Muscular dystrophy refers to a group of over 30 genetic conditions that result in muscle weakness and muscle-related symptoms, which can worsen over time. Declan’s condition progressed, and during his final years, he was put on a ventilator in order to breathe.
His mother, Alex, also became his full-time caregiver. Declan was supposed to receive full-time care via a U.K. government health scheme. Yet, his loved ones stated that he didn’t get enough help during his last few months of life.
“I’m not medically trained, [but] I was doing stuff nurses should be doing,” Alex recalled.
His GoFundMe campaign raised over $25,000, and Declan was able to check some items off of his bucket list, including attending a Harry Styles concert and meeting Syndicate, his favorite YouTuber.
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Declan’s top goal, though, was to have “the most well-known, adapted van in the U.K.”
“I’m a huge petrolhead and have a van, which is my pride and joy. I’ve done a couple of mods, but I want this to be the best van ever to take to events to show disabled people can have awesome rides, too, and raise awareness of my condition and raise funds for Loros Hospice in the process,” Declan wrote in the fundraiser.
Now, in the wake of her son’s death, Alex is working to make that wish come true.
In August, she brought Declan’s wheelchair-adapted van to a Birmingham, England, supercar show. Then, on October 2, Alex discussed her plans for what would have been Declan’s twenty-sixth birthday.
In a video posted on her TikTok account @decsrollingbucketlist, where she documents the completion of her son’s bucket list goals, Alex shared how she planned to commemorate the day.
“It’s Dec’s birthday tomorrow. Am I sad? Yeah. Birthdays were always quite a big thing for us because, obviously, we never knew how many he would have, so we always made them extra special,” she explained.
“Last year, I marked it by ticking off something from his bucket list: going up the Eiffel Tower, doing the stairs, and I’m scared of heights.”
This year, Alex planned to clean her son’s van in the morning before traveling around the Isle of Wight with a photographer to do a car photoshoot.
Afterward, she ended the day by watching the sunset and eating pizza, one of Declan’s favorite foods. According to Alex, this would have been the “perfect day” for Declan.
“So my way of coping with it being Dec’s birthday and Dec not being here for me to spoil is to still be Dec’s mom, and being Dec’s mom means doing things that I know Dec would love,” Alex stated.
“Hence, washing the van and doing photos because I’m never going to stop being Dec’s mom. And that might not suit everybody, but this is my journey, and to me, I will always be Dec’s mom.”
In the GoFundMe campaign, Declan included other items on his bucket list. He hoped to visit the Eiffel Tower, which Alex already completed in his honor, and stay at the Marvel Hotel at Disneyland.
Plus, he wanted to go around the Nurburgring racetrack in Germany once he had the “best van ever” and attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day racing festival.
To follow along as Alex fulfills Declan’s bucket list wishes, you can visit her TikTok account, which has just over 2,700 followers, here.
More About:Human Interest
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