14-year-old Jerika Bolen suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy 2, an incurable disease that reduces motor function and causes muscles to waste away. The teen has chosen to end her pain with doctor-assisted suicide and both family and friends came together to celebrate her life at J’s Last Dance on July 22nd.

After Jerika’s most recent surgery, which caused her unbearable pain, she reconsidered why she continued to live with her disease.

“After that surgery…I kind of sat down and thought, ‘Am I doing this for me or for my family?'” Jerika told The Post-Crescent. “‘I was ready then. I was ready a long time ago.”

“When I decided, I felt extremely happy and sad at the same time,” she said. “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.”

Jerika’s mother, Jen Bolen has done everything in her power to keep her daughter happy despite her pain-filled life.

“We know we’ve literally done everything we can do,” said Jerika’s mother Jen Bolen. “People don’t realize what it takes to keep her alive.”

Jerika and Jen, have made arrangements for hospice care after Jerika’s ventilator is removed at the end of August. Jerika wanted to enjoy one last summer, and her mother has done everything to make it a magical one.

After the ventilator is removed, no one knows how long it will take for the end to come.

“I hope it’s not more than a few days,” Jen said. “If she’s at peace with it, I have to find a way to make peace with it.”

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Jerika Bolen

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