Thousands of people across Alabama and beyond woke Thursday hoping for another update from Brittney Roberts about her son, Will. Instead, they learned the 15-year-old from Ralph had died after an 18-month battle with osteosarcoma that united strangers in prayer, inspired countless acts of generosity and pointed people to Jesus.

In a Facebook post shared early Thursday morning, Brittney Roberts announced that her son had passed surrounded by family.

“Will is finally ringing his forever cancer free bell as he entered the gates of Heaven!!! At 12:45am(central time)today, on my birthday, our precious Will took his final breath on this earth and entered the presence of Jesus,” the post read.

She wrote that family members gathered around Will’s bedside before doctors removed his oxygen and increased his sedation. When the time came for him to take his final breath, she said she and her husband, Jason Roberts, were alone with their son after making what she described as “a very selfless decision” to stop his suffering as the cancer progressed.

For the past 18 months, Will’s journey captured hearts across Alabama and throughout the country. His widely shared appeal for help opened the door to an experimental treatment not readily available to most patients and sparked an outpouring of support from strangers determined to help give the Alabama teenager every possible chance.

The opportunity to receive DeltaRex-G came after Will’s heartfelt appeal spread rapidly online, leading to contact with doctors in California and ultimately giving him the chance to pursue the experimental treatment. Donations from thousands of supporters later helped cover the costs of treatment, travel and the family’s extended stay in California.

As Yellowhammer News previously reported, supporters donated more than $588,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to help cover treatment costs, travel and living expenses as the Roberts family prepared to temporarily relocate to California, where Will received the experimental treatment.

Along the way, Will’s story attracted the attention of physicians, elected officials, churches and countless supporters who followed every update from his mother, praying for each encouraging report and grieving alongside the family during every setback.

But as Brittney Roberts reminded followers in the days before her son’s death, Will’s story had become about much more than cancer.

Just hours before announcing his passing, she reflected on the questions every parent asks while watching a child suffer.

“Why our Will?

“Why does a fifteen-year-old who loves Jesus so deeply have to endure this? Why do children get cancer? Why does any family have to walk through hell like this?”

She said Scripture reminded her that God could use suffering to reveal Himself, writing that Will’s story “has never just been about cancer.”

Instead, she pointed to what she believes God accomplished through her son’s life.

Because of Will, she wrote, people around the world prayed for a child they had never met. Strangers became lifelong friends. Doctors from different hospitals worked together. Nurses cried with the family, prayed over them and loved them “like we were their own.” Others told the family they had returned to church, started reading the Bible again or gave their lives to Christ after following Will’s story. Families reconciled. People chose forgiveness. Others facing impossible situations found hope by watching a 15-year-old refuse to stop talking about Jesus.

“None of those things happened because of us. They happened because God’s light has continued to shine through Will.”

Even as his condition worsened, Brittney Roberts continued sharing moments of hope.

Only days before his death, she praised an intensive care nurse named Alex for refusing to see Will as “a diagnosis or a statistic.”

She recalled the nurse telling Will’s parents:

“This kid’s got fight. If he’s this determined, he’s not done, Mom and Dad.”

She said Alex pushed Will each day, helping him get out of bed and into a chair while encouraging him not to give up despite the difficult prognosis.

In Thursday’s announcement, Brittney Roberts reminded supporters that cancer never defined her son.

“Will was so much more than cancer. Will was the funniest person in the room. Will had a personality that could light up a hospital floor. Will was stubborn enough to drive us crazy one minute and make us laugh the next. Will loved hard, fought harder, and never stopped believing there was another mountain to climb.”

She also reflected on the prayers that carried the family throughout Will’s battle.

“We prayed for healing every single day. We begged God for one more miracle. While our hearts desperately wanted healing here, God chose complete healing in Heaven.”

She added:

“What a beautiful gift that God gave me today on my birthday….a celebration that there is no more cancer and Will entered into the kingdom of Heaven!!!! What better gift could I have received than to know my baby boy is sitting with Jesus and is cancer free….”

As messages of sympathy and prayer poured onto the family’s Facebook page Thursday, Brittney Roberts thanked those who had walked beside them throughout Will’s journey.

“Thank you all for loving Will. Thank you for praying. Thank you for believing. Thank you for carrying our family when we couldn’t carry ourselves.”

For the Roberts family, the story that drew national attention was never ultimately about an experimental treatment or even cancer itself. It was about a young man whose faith, they believe, changed lives far beyond the hospital room.

Although Will’s earthly battle has ended, Brittney Roberts said his story will continue.

“Our story with Will didn’t end today. It simply changed chapters. We will spend the rest of our lives making sure the world knows who Will was, what God did through Will’s life, and how one fifteen-year-old changed more lives than most people ever will.”

Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].