A Grafton man who suffers from the same debilitating illness as an Appleton girl is making a heartfelt plea to the teen.
Jerika Bolen, 14, suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2, an incurable genetic disease that often claims lives before adolescence.
Recently, Bolen asked to be taken off her ventilator because she didn’t want to fight the inevitable.
Jordan Shroeter also suffers from the same disease. He saw a story about Bolen and decided to make a Youtube video.
“If you're watching this, please don't do this. Please reconsider your decision. I know your pain and everything you're talking about. But, sweetheart you have so much left to give,” Shroeter said.
Shroeter’s plea has been viewed tens of thousands of times.
“Our days are numbered. Our days are counted and when our time is up, it'll be up, but it's not by our own hand,” Shroeter told TODAY’S TMJ4.
Shroeter said he knows firsthand about the searing pain Bolen deals with every day.
“You just experience everything together. The physical pain you all experience. The mental pain and the emotional pain, it's all the same,” Shroeter said.
Watching her son go through his ordeal has been uplifting for Shroeter’s mom, Gina.
“God is going to use him. You know, his disability, to have the ability to help others. That's what it's all about,” Gina Shroeter said.
Gina Shroeter says she wishes Jordan and Jerika could meet and talk.
Hundreds attended a "Last Dance" partyfor Jerika last month.
