Deserae Turner was only 14 years old when she was shot in the head and left in a canal bed back in 2017. She, however, managed to survive and went on to live her life, graduating from high school and even getting married. Following a plethora of medical conditions and a recent lung infection diagnosis, she is now in hospice care.
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According to ABC4, two of her classmates shot her in the head and left her in a canal bed in Smithfield, Utah. As previously mentioned, Turner survived the near-fatal shooting, with her shooters sentenced to at least 15 years in prison. She went on to live her life, but it was plagued with medical issues, requiring numerous procedures throughout the years.
According to a GoFundMe set to raise funds for Turner's funeral expenses and medical bills, she fought disabilities such as hemiplegia, hydrocephalus, vision loss, headaches, seizures, and much more. In total, she underwent 50 procedures, including 16 brain surgeries.
Hospice Care
As per the fundraiser and an interview with Fox 13, things have gotten worse recently. Not only was Deserae Turner diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2024, but doctors also diagnosed her with a lung infection with blood clots, bilateral septic pulmonary emboli, which is considered a high-mortality disorder, as per the National Library of Medicine.
For that reason, Turner decided she didn't want to fight any longer. After eight years of incessant fighting, she is finally tired.
"I have been in so much agony, so much pain, for eight years," Turner told ABC4. "It is time for me to take the steps to be in less agony and less pain." She told Fox 13, "It's gonna be a slow, painful death. I'd love for it to just be done and over."
Now, Turner is in hospice care, waiting for her torment to end. She, however, is scared of death, as anybody would.
"Death is scary, not gonna lie," she said. "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."
