A prom was held for a 14-year-old teenager from Wisconsin suffering from an incurable disease before her assisted suicide. Hundreds of people went to "J's Last Dance" held in the Grand Meridian Ballroom and they even came from different parts of the United States.
The Post-Crescent reported that Jerika Bolen had been battling spinal muscular atrophy type 2. The report said this disease has prevented her from walking, as it has destroyed nerve cells in her brain and spinal cord that govern voluntary muscle activity. Earlier this summer, she made the decision that she would unhook her ventilator that helps her breathe by late August and eventually die of her own accord.
Jerika Bolen wanted to have one last dance party before her final days. https://t.co/dfnObvJLFQ
— Mix 94.1 (@Mix941Canton) July 25, 2016
J's Last Dance
Green and black, Bolen's favorite colors decorated the ballroom for the dance which lasted five hours, People reported. Jerika wore a green gown, with blue-dyed hair and blue lipstick. Not only that, Bolen had a crown and sash declaring her "Prom Queen" which her guests reportedly chanted for her as well.
Bolen, for whom the dance was a last wish, was quoted in the report as saying the prom was "awesome" and "fun." "It's a lot of people, and they look up to me. It's kind of scary because I don't know what they're looking up to me for," said Bolen.
Mother Finding Way To Make Peace, Daughter Looking Forward To No Pain
"If she's at peace with it, I have to find a way to make peace with it," Jerika's mother, Jen Bolen, was quoted by Daily Mail report as saying. "She has endured more in her 14 years of life than most adults will ever have to. She's old enough to decide. It's her body and it's her pain," added Jen.
The report said that Jerika was both "extremely happy and sad" when she decided to end her life. "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."
