CACHE COUNTY, Utah, Nov. 28, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Cache County resident Deserae Turner shared her own letter of gratitude on Thanksgiving night.
Now 17, Turner was just 14 when she was lured away from Smithfield High School to a dry irrigation ditch by two 16-year-old classmates, then shot in the head, robbed, and left for dead.
She was found hours later and rushed to a local hospital, then to Primary Children’s Hospital, where she remained for more than nine weeks.
The teen boys, Jayzon Decker and Colter Peterson, were found guilty of aggravated attempted murder and other charges, and are serving prison time.
Since then, Turner, left partially paralyzed, has fought to regain as many physical abilities as possible, undergoing multiple surgeries and therapies.
This summer, she even used her story to advocate for gun safety, handing out gun locks earlier this year at the Cache County Fair.
If anyone could be forgiven for a little negativity, it would be Turner. But the teen — voted her school’s 2019 Homecoming queen — has chosen to turn negatives in her life into positives.
Read her Thanksgiving letter, in full, below:
Having a brain injury I have realized I am grateful for many things. I am really grateful for the way I am. I know I am not perfect nor will I ever be perfect in this life. I am grateful for what I do have, I am very blessed to be alive and well.
I am beyond grateful for all those who are willing to help in whatever way they can. I really could not have survived if my heroes wouldn’t have found me. I am so grateful for my parents and siblings who have kept me going when times got hard. I am so grateful for my dog who is there to help me when I’ve fallen (not just figuratively) and my friends who have stayed with me.
I am extremely grateful, like you guys have no idea how grateful for modern medicine and Tylenol. I hope you all can find the many beautiful reasons to be happy! Happy Thanksgiving!?? — Deserae Turner
