Utah woman who survived gunshot to head 8 years ago now in hospice care

KSTU, APRIL TURNER, CNN

By Spencer Burt, Jeremy Tombs

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    AMALGA, Utah (KSTU) — Deserae Turner, a now-22-year-old who survived being shot in the head by a classmate when she was 14, is now on her deathbed after her health suddenly took a turn for the worse.

In an interview Tuesday, Turner said she was diagnosed with stomach cancer last year. But last week, doctors discovered a lung infection that Turner says is the last straw in her journey that has had many ups and downs since 2017.

Turner said she went to work on Friday but ended up struggling to breathe. She went to the doctor to see what was wrong, and they found blood clots in her lungs and other parts of her body.

“I can barely breathe,” Turner said. “I am choosing not to fight this infection… I am wanting to let my body go.”

She said she has signed a do-not-resuscitate form.

Turner said while she’s happy to have the chance to say goodbye to her loved ones, she’s not looking forward to the struggle that lies ahead.

“It’s gonna be a slow, painful death,” she said from her home on Tuesday. “I’d love for it to just be done and over.”

“Death is scary, not gonna lie. Everybody is scared of death. And yes, I guess I am scared a little bit, but I also just want it to come quick, come for me and be done.”

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