Screenshot/TikTok - @harrisongilks1
A Canadian TikToker who documented his life with cancer, and who was known for trying to tick items off of his bucket list, has died at the age of 18, his brother announced in a TikTok video last Friday. His family has since set up a fund in his name to support local charities in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where he'd grown up.
Harrison Gilks had gained over 320,000 followers on TikTok sharing his many adventures and travels, from flying over the Canadian alpine town Jasper to meeting professional athletes in Florida. With each video, he would cross another item off his list.
Sadly in his last update video, posted on March 21, Gilks was seen lying in a hospital bed as he detailed his most recent trip to Mexico. He updated fans that his health condition was worsening, with the cancer spreading into his liver and one of his lungs, and how doctors said he didn't have much time left.
In the next video, posted on March 30, Gilks' brother, David, said that he had passed away "a few hours ago."
"He was not in pain when he passed away and he was with his family," David said in the video that's been viewed 8.8 million times. "Him and his friends got the opportunity to say goodbye over the last few weeks, and I just want to come on here and say thank you to everyone from around the world for their support and their encouragement. Tt really did mean a lot to him."
In 2022, Gilks informed his TikTok community that had been diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of cancer that forms in muscle tissue. Gilks said tumors were initially discovered two years prior in his prostate and in one of his lungs.
He revealed that his cancer was terminal, which inspired his "bucket list series," he announced in a June 2022 TikTok video.
"I was good, I thought, cancer free for a little bit, but unfortunately, it came back," Gilks said in that video. "The reason I'm making this, and I'm putting it out there, is I'd like to make a little series called maybe, like, 'bucket list series.' I'm gonna go out and do a bunch of stuff I've always wanted to do."
Over the next two and a half years, Gilks documented his many bucket list fulfillments, like meeting singer Luke Combs at a music festival, attending an Los Angeles Rams game, and a helicopter tour of New York City.
In Gilks' final video to fans, he said the chances of leaving the hospital were "very slim."
"So I'll be in the hospital for probably the remainder of whatever time I have left, which is obviously very upsetting," he said. At the end of the update, Gilks said his bucket list series was complete.
Since his family announced his death, his videos have been flooded with hearts, prayers, and condolences for his family.
Gilks' father, Trevor, wrote a Facebook post on Monday thanking people for reaching out to their family. In place of sending flowers, he urged people to donate to "The Harrison Fund" which they created in his honor.
An obituary for Gilks described him as an inspiration, and said he loved playing games and activities like hockey, softball, and mountain biking. It also listed all the bucket list items he was able to cross before he died.
"He was determined not to let cancer get in his way," it wrote. "But after nearly two and a half years of a hard-fought battle, knowing he did as much as he could, knowing he was loved and strong, he said goodbye."
