A special prom will take place on Friday to celebrate the life of a chronically sick Wisconsin teen.
According to WBAY News, Jerika Bolden, 14, suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type 2, an incurable disease that causes constant pain and prevents her from using most of her muscles. The disease, which has progressed over the years, has forced Jerika to live in a wheelchair, and she only has the use of her hands and a few muscles in her face.
Recently, the teen has decided to end her life because she can no longer live with the pain.
“When pain is too much, it’s too much,” said Jerika.
She added, ”I need to do what’s best for me. It was a really hard decision to make.”
Jerika’s mother, Jen Bolden, told WBAY News she knew there would be a day when her daughter would make this decision.
“But I also realized that she fought much longer than she would have if it weren’t for her trying to protect me,” she admitted.
Jerika calls this her “last dance.”
“I don’t have many friends, I’m not like, because I couldn’t get out really and do many things because I was in so much pain, and this prom is, we’ll we call it my last dance,” said Jerika.
After the prom, Jerika will move to a hospice facility and in late August will stop using the ventilator she needs to stay alive.
“I try to be as happy as possible,” Jerika recently told the Post-Crescent. “I know I can’t always be happy every day. I still wonder why God picked me to have this disease and I know I can never know the reason. Maybe because I’m strong, I guess.”
People with SMA type 2 usually don’t live as long as Jerika, WISN News wrote.
We are sending our prayers to Jerika and her family. We hope she enjoys her special dance.
SOURCE: WBAY News, Post-Crescent, WISN News | PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter, Getty
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