Student Jake Bailey Gives Heartbreaking Speech To School After Finding Out He

At the start of the year Jake was named senior monitor at Christchurch Boys’ High School – a position similar to president of a student council or head boy.

Jake Bailey, from Christchurch Boy’s High School in New Zealand, donned his school uniform and left his hospital bed to deliver a final speech to his classmates.

Doctors said that without treatment, he’d only have weeks to live.

None of us get out of life alive, so be gallant, be great, be gracious and be grateful for the opportunities that you have…My challenge to each of you, and to myself, is to continue to grow and to develop for the better.

This news was broken to the 18-year-old a week before he was due to deliver his final speech at the school prize-giving on Wednesday.

Jake’s speech was a reflection of his years at the school and what was about to come in his and his friends lives.

Just over a week ago, Mr Bailey was diagnosed with Burkitts non-Hodgkinson lymphoma, which requires intensive chemotherapy to treat.

“Forget about long term dreams, let’s be passionately dedicated to the pursuit of short term goals”.

He finished with the school’s motto, “Altiora Peto”, which means “I seek higher things”.

The fearless young man thanked his peers, the teachers, their mentors and the old boys of the school, and most of all, the parents, who he said “herded them out the door each day”. “We can’t all save lives by transplanting organs”, Jake said, “but we can make a difference in our own way”. “Work with passion and pride on what is in front of us. Or when it might end up”.

His classmates then performed a spontaneous haka, a traditional ancestral dance, to honor him.

During the haka, Bailey closed his eyes and looked up, then mouthed the words “thank you” on its completion.

“It was great that Jake was reading it instead of me”.

We can’t help but be touched by his incredible bravery. According to WebMD, Burkitt lymphoma is recognised as the fastest-growing tumour in humans, impairing immunity and causing rapid fatality if not treated.

The speech has been captured in full on YouTube, where it’s since between viewed more than 360,000 times.