Terminally ill Alice Pyne, 16, completes inspirational bucket list

Last summer, we wrote about a 15-year-old cancer patient whose bucket list was raising awareness about bone-marrow donation. One year later, Alice Pyne, now 16, has completed her list of things to do before she dies.

Last month, she ticked the last item off her list: whale watching. Her parents booked surprise tickets to Vancouver so Pyne could see orcas in their natural habitat.

'They were huge. I couldn't believe I was there. This was something I've always wanted to do. I wanted to see them in the wild and I loved the way they moved in the water," Pyne said of her whale-watching experience.

"We had the most amazing few days…I just couldn't believe that I was actually there. I'm sure that the whales heard that I was about, cos they came out and I know that we'll all remember it forever," Pyne wrote on her blog.

Pyne has been battling Hodgkins lymphoma for five years. Her doctor advised the dying teen that she not take the 11-hour flight from Manchester to Vancouver, but added, "If you are to go, go quickly."

So she did.

"I don't think about it all too much as they didn't think I'd be here 18 months ago and I could waste the life I've got just thinking about it all," she wrote.

The trip to Vancouver completed the girl's long list of adventures and accomplishments she wanted to experience before she died, including going to Kenya, meeting Take That, swimming with the sharks and having a back massage.

Read her bucket list here.

"When I made my bucket list I never expected it to be published to the whole world — so I didn't expect to tick off the last item — I didn't even expect to get the majority of my wishes fulfilled," Pyne told the DailyMail.

"Words can't really explain it but I'm so happy it is done."

Pyne and her sister, Milly, were awarded British Empire Medals this summer after raising more than £100,000 ($155,000 CAD) for charity, BBC News reports.

"While it is really nice to get recognized for doing something, it makes me feel like I am making a difference," she said at the time.

This year, Pyne set up the charity Alice's Escapes, which provides holidays for seriously ill children and their families, The Westmorland Gazette reports.

While the "doable" portion of her bucket list is complete, Pyne still hopes to see everyone join a bone marrow registry — and to inspire everyone to write their own bucket lists.