Terminally ill Coast student can’t make it to graduation. So the ceremony came to her.
Pass Christian High staff members searched for the right words to share with students bereft over the terminal illness of classmate Abby Bosarge, but the 18-year-old whose life is ebbing comforted them instead.
They all gathered Tuesday evening on the beach in Galveston, Texas, for Abby’s high school graduation ceremony. Graduation was on her bucket list. She and a community who loves her were determined to make it happen.
“While she was battling cancer, she was working on her school work, too,” said Pass High counselor Melissa Mannion, who was on the beach and will never forget the special evening spent with Abby around a fire. “It was really important to her.”
Abby, who grew up in Pass Christian, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on June 3, shortly after she scored a 32 on her ACT test.
Prayers, fundraisers and well wishes buoyed Abby and her family as they fought for her recovery.
But it was not to be.
Abby Bosarge under hospice care
A bone marrow transplant was Abby’s last hope for recovery. One of five siblings, Abby was preparing for the transplant with 14-year-old sister Emmy as donor.
Despite a powerful round of chemotherapy, her mother, Jerusha Bosarge, posted on Facebook that leukemia cells remained in Abby’s bone marrow and she would be unable to have the transplant.
“Abby is going on hospice,” her mother wrote April 19 on the Facebook page Abby’s Army. Abby’s father, Joseph “Joey” Bosarge, a critical care doctor at Gulfport Memorial Hospital, has been taking time away from work to be with Abby during her treatment in Jackson, then at M.D. Anderson in Houston.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast community has stepped up with donations to help cover expenses as Abby’s parents travel with her, live away from home and make sure all their children’s needs are tended.
Abby is under hospice care through Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. The Make-A-Wish Foundation rented the family a beach house in Galveston, where planned activities included the graduation ceremony on the beach.
Abby had hoped to attend Rollins College in Florida, where she had been accepted with a scholarship, Mannion said. She was a straight-A student who dreamed of becoming “a journalist or ‘the good kind’ of lawyer or politician,” her mother wrote on Facebook shortly after Abby’s diagnosis.
Abby also is an athlete. She played forward on the Pass High soccer team and won a position as kicker and wide receiver with Gulf Coast Monarchy, professional tackle football for women.
Abby had a special love for animals. She volunteered at the South Mississippi Humane Society and was passionate about her dog Stan, who joined the gathering on the beach.
Pass Christian graduation in Texas
Abby wasn’t thinking about herself on the beach. Instead, she was thinking about the friends who gathered for her graduation. Her principal, Boyd West, was there, as was school Superintendent Carla Evers.
The student group that traveled from Pass Christian was held to around 20 because of COVID-19, Mannion said.
“We were able to enjoy each others’ company around a fire,” Mannion said. “Abby got to tell each one of those kids how much she loves them.”
Abby, who was seated and took breaks throughout the evening, took each person’s hand. She looked them in the eye and told them about her hopes for their futures, knowing what each student wanted to work toward, whether teaching school or piloting a plane.
“She didn’t shed a tear,” Mannion said. “We were crying like babies. Even in her ending, she was concerned about everyone else. It was absolutely beautiful.
“It was the sweetest thing I’ve seen in my whole life.”
Mannion is especially grieving because her daughter, Mykenzie, and Abby are best friends.
“All of us are having a very hard time,” she said. “On one hand, we’re celebrating the seniors and their bright futures. At the same time, we are grieving our friend.”
How to help Bosarge family
Donations can be made to help the Bosarge family through this GoFundMe account set up by a family member.
On Thursday, April 29, all Mississippi Coast Domino’s Pizza outlets will donate 20% of sales to Abby and her family for those who mention Abby or type in Code DN1 when ordering online from the coupon page.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
