A 14-year-old Wisconsin teen with an incurable genetic disease
celebrated her incredible life with her local community at a prom thrown
in her honor, just one month before her planned physician-assisted
suicide.
Jerika Bolen — who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a
condition that has essentially left her immobile after damaging her
muscles — showed up to the celebratory event on Friday, July 22, in a
turquoise mermaid gown with “her usually purple hair dyed a similar
shade,” according to the New York Daily News. She was escorted in a stretch limo by local first responders.
Earlier this summer, the Appleton resident told her mother, Jen Bolen, she was ready to die. She told the The Post-Crescent
on Sunday, July 24, that she’s at peace with her decision, but is
“heartbroken” for her close friends and family who’ll grieve her
untimely passing.
“When I decided, I felt extremely happy and sad at the same time,”
she explained to the local newspaper. “There were a lot of tears, but
then I realized I’m going to be in a better place, and I’m not going to
be in this terrible pain. I’ve been working on it and thinking about it
for way longer than anyone else has.”
Last month, Jerika and her mom made arrangements for hospice
care. The ventilator she relies on for 12 hours a day to help her
breathe will be pulled at the end of August and she’ll be put on
morphine.
The teen says she is almost always in chronic pain in
her hips and back, in addition to getting nerve spasms and having weak
bones.
Thankfully, Friday night’s prom helped Jerika take her mind
off her daily battle. “I’m super happy and I don’t have to think about
anything bad at the moment,” she told The Post-Crescent of the celebration, where she later won the coveted title of prom queen.
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