Jerome Singleton achieved his dying wish -- earning his high school diploma.
The 17-year-old was diagnosed in March 2016 with Rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer. While treatments seemed to be working, six weeks ago, that changed.
"They told him that medically, there was nothing else they could do, that hospice was available," Jerome's stepmother, Makish Cockran told WBRZ. "They told him he could still do chemo, but he would always have cancer, and that's something no 17-year-old wants to hear."
Jerome decided to end chemotherapy after undergoing 47 treatments. He entered hospice care at home, according to WBRZ.
All he talked about was wanting to graduate, his father Jerome Cockran told WBRZ. As Singleton began to get weaker, his family told Scotlandville High School the teen would not be able to make it to his graduation ceremony, which was just days away.
So, surrounded by family, friends, faculty and nurses, Singleton received his diploma during a special ceremony last week.
He died at 1 p.m. Sunday.
"The closer you are to your kids, the more you can accept the bad things if they get worse," Jerome Cockran said. "Because you know that you did everything you could for them, and you won't have any regrets."
Credit: Christopher Furlong
Credit: Christopher Furlong
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