This story has created quite a bit of discussion on the Internets today, and I know how you people love to weigh in on issues like this, so I’m hoping to hear your thoughts. A little girl in Texas, who’s dying soon of leukemia, got her final wish: a beautiful wedding.
Every little girl dreams about her wedding day, complete with visions of a big beautiful white dress and, of course, the perfect man. But 9-year-old Jayla Cooper doesn’t have a lifetime to wait for Mr. Right. The Southlake, TX, girl has been battling leukemia for two years, a battle that could end in just a matter of weeks.
But what Jayla does have is a groom. He’s her best friend, Jose Griggs, a fellow patient at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. “He is very cute,” Jayla giggled, “And I love him.”
Jayla and Jose recently tied the knot to fulfill her final wish: Getting married in a beautiful wedding, surrounded by family and friends.
“Will you take Jose to be your friend, forever and ever?” the pastor asked a tiara-topped Jayla.
“I will,” she replied.
“We didn’t expect to do this when she was nine years old,” said Lisa Cooper, Jayla’s mom. “But she has taught us all how to love each other and to be strong.” The children aren’t legally married, of course. In fact, the ceremony itself celebrated their intent — to always be friends, no matter what.
The girls over at Jezebel are talking about how perhaps this conveys the negative message that the most important thing a young woman can do in her life is get married. I disagree. She’s nine years old and she’s dying in a matter of weeks. If she dreams of having a beautiful wedding before she dies, let her have one!
What do you guys think?
I think this is just the sweetest thing. That poor little girl… at least she got what fun she could.
That’s adorable.
i wish people would stop speculating about everything! just let some things be!! this poor little girl is dying, let her have a pretend wedding!!!!
I think it;s sweet that the parents let them do it. Most girls at here age are dreaming about weddings and being a “princess for a day,” I don’t see anything wrong with them giving her a dream day.
Aww that makes me want to cry. That is absolutely adorable. But so sad.
People these days try to find something wrong in everything, It’s wonderful this little girl got to have her last wish.
Why can’t they just let her have her dying wish, it’s not like they’re legally married, it was just a celebration, and yeah marriage isn’t the most important thing in life but that little girl doesn’t have enought time to figure out whats most important to her, all she knows is that she wanted to have a fairy tale wedding.
Why can’t they just let her have her dying wish, it’s not like they’re legally married, it was just a celebration, and yeah marriage isn’t the most important thing in life but that little girl doesn’t have enought time to figure out whats most important to her, all she knows is that she wanted to have a fairy tale wedding.
Wow, A Walk To Remember comes to life! What a sweet story. And I agree, Beet. If that is what she wanted, let her enjoy it!
What else is a nine year old going to want? A meaningful career? Jeez.
what a precious story! she’s a little girl, who wouldn’t love getting all dressed up for a pretend wedding with your best friend? didn’t we all do that when we were little? and how sweet that he would do it with her. it’s just so precious.
i agree with beet. if the girl wants a wedding give it to her. if she wants a trip to uzbekistan take her, if she wants to convert to islam hire a sheik. let the girl experience the parts of life she wants while shes here. sad story but lovely at the same time.
Great for her !… I’m glad she got to fulfill her dream before she departs this life.
I think it’s sweet! Obviously they aren’t actually married – it was a ceremony to celebrate friendship. It probably gives her peace knowing she’s got a friend “forever and ever.” Could you imagine contemplating your last wishes at 9 years old?
Though it may convey the negative message of the dependency of women upon marriage, I think this is incredibly sweet, especially considering that the intent was to ‘always be friends no matter what.’ She may be a victim of the patriarchal message, but nothing else. She deserves her wishes to come true.
Sam, she’s a little girl! stop worrying about how she’s going to influence the world. No one is allowed to get legally married that young, people know that! Don’t mess up the story, and call people stupid because of this. it’s cute!
It’s a far cry from Disney World or a teen heartthrob concert, as have been past Make-a-Wish events, but who are we to judge? I think it’s sweet and adorable.
omg, this story made me cry. so beautiful
That’s adorable.
Cutest. Thing. Ever. I hope it was everything she wanted it to be!
No need to politicise things like this. When I was nine all I wanted was a wedding. Because when you’re nine you love tiaras and pretty dresses. And agreeing to be friends forever and ever… is probably a more realistic wedding vow! Bless them both.
God Bless them!
i think that’s the most wonderful thing you could do
i think that’s incredibly sweet. what’s wrong with a little girl wanting to get married? different women have different hopes and dreams, and this is hers.
Such a bitter-sweet story! The only ones needing a reality check are those finding fault in a little girl’s harmless dying wish. My heart goes out to her mother — so brave for her to do this for her daughter in light of what she herself is facing!
I think that if the girls at jezebel think that then they’re a bunch of fucking feminist idiots. That is disgusting of them.
This is possibly the cutest thing ever, and made me so so sad. This little girl dreamed of having a wedding… what on earth about that conveys that the only purpose of a woman’s life is marriage?? Lots of women dream of having weddings, AND other things. This was just her wish
I don’t mind most of what you said — in fact, I agree to parts of it — but I do find it a little offensive that you say “fucking feminist idiots.” The way you say “feminist” like it’s an insult.
Anyhow, it is adorable, and bittersweet.
And the best part is the, “Will you take Jose to be your friend, forever and ever?” “I will.”
Awww. :]
And, awwww. :[
My old friend from Florida has an untreatable disease, and she just got married this summer. She’s not expected to live for much longer, and I think she was 17 when she got engaged. I don’t think theres a single thing wrong with it, and I didn’t know one person who wasn’t 100% behind her in her decision.
I live in Hurst, Texas and Southlake is only a few miles from here, I heard about this as soon as the oscars were over and the news came on.
I haven’t seen anything on the news in a long time that made me cry. It was very touching.
It’s her dying wish, there is nothing wrong with letting her have her dream. The majority of the comments have been the same as mine. The Jezebel Beotches can shut it. I saw an interview with them once, and have come to believe they are self haters. They don’t give healthy advice to women and I stopped reading that blog a long time ago.
aw! this is so precious, it was her wish and she got it!(sort of) but i wish her and her family the best. it must have been very emotional.
feminists can be so fucking annoying.
*LOL* I agree! I think it is a wonderful thing that she is able to have to her dream. She looks so happy in the photos and that is all that people should care about.
I find that insulting and rather ignorant.
I was never the type to dream about my own wedding until I was actually planning it, but I say that if this is HER dream, we should give it to her. I think it is so sweet, and I imagine most people–including most feminists, would feel the same way.
“I’m not a feminist, but…
I appreciate the right to help choose my government representatives. I enjoy the option of wearing pants or shorts if I want. I’m pleased that I was allowed to learn to read and write. It can be very convenient to control how many babies I want to have. It’s awfully useful to be able to open a bank account and own property in my name. I like knowing that my husband or boyfriend cannot legally beat me. It’s really swell to keep the money that I earn.”
(http://www.oneangrygirl.net/images/feminist.gif)
totes agree. If most self pro-claimed “feminists” were men they’d be total misogynists.
Lovely! I started to cry when I read: “The children aren’t legally married, of course. In fact, the ceremony itself celebrated their intent — to always be friends, no matter what.”
i think this is so beautiful. anyone who objects is forgetting that this ceremony is about love – this story made me cry.
So sweet! This breaks my heart.
even if it whoud be a bad message
… i mean it practicle her dying wish so let the kid have her last moments in peace&joy
I find it entertaining and slightly sad that an adult would take to criticizing a child’s wish – based purely on an adults perspective of marriage.
From the Jezebel article:
“But doesn’t “marriage” — the concept, the word, the institution — carry far too much weight for a nine-year-old? Even in an attempt to indulge a little girl, aren’t you setting up some dangerous truths? Namely, that getting married is the most important thing a female can do in her life? And that no matter how short your life is, it’s not complete unless you get hitched? And what about Jose, who is said to be on the road to recovery from his illness — the boy destined to be the world’s youngest widower?”
This proves a couple of things. The first being that the author either had a completely traumatic childhood and/or they have forgotten what it is like to be a nine year old girl. Christ, when I was that age I thought extent of intimacy was kissing and the most important things in my life were my friends. And quite frankly no one should be able to tell a little girl what she is or isn’t allowed to daydream about based on adult insecurities. She’s only nine, and unfortunately won’t be able to discover her own angst toward gender roles and expectations – ya know, like she probably would have by the mighty age of fourteen.
Also, it would probably help to read the entire news article before having such a knee-jerk reaction. They didn’t actually get married. It was a symbolic ceremony celebrating a nine year old’s concept of marriage; which is friendship… and the opportunity to wear a pretty bitchin dress.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly!
That sentence from the Jezebel article really rubs me the wrong way too: “But doesn’t “marriage” — the concept, the word, the institution — carry far too much weight for a nine-year-old?”
Now, I apologize for the caps, but: DOESN’T “DEATH” CARRY FAR TOO MUCH WEIGHT FOR A NINE-YEAR-OLD?? What I think a lot of people are losing sight of here is that this little girl who hasn’t even reached her double digits yet must accept the reality that she will die. She must try to grasp the idea that she will not make to adulthood, to high school, hell, she might not even make it to her tenth birthday. When I was around that age and my grandma died, I thought that if someone would only go over and force her to open her eyes, she would wake up again. And yet, Jayla must try to wrap her young brain around the fact that, at some point in the near future, she will simply cease to exist, and she can’t take her future for granted like the rest of us do. The fact that she is able to accept this and focus herself on things that matter to her–her friend’s love, her family’s support, the celebration of these things, and, sure, being princess for a day (she’s nine!)–shows a level of wisdom, maturity, and bravery to which we should all be paying attention. The fact that adults who have lived long and lucky years find it necessary to criticize the wishes of a child facing a horror most of us can’t even imagine because of some misplaced cultural agenda is, frankly, fucking sickening. And that’s coming from a pretty strong feminist. But I think we can all learn something from Jayla if we’d shut up about the institution of marriage for a second and just think about the bigger picture, which is that she deserves every ounce of happiness this world can give her before she has to leave it.
Best of luck, Jayla!
If my daughter/ son is dying and to rob a bank is their wish I WOULD DO IT!! (without ending up in jail of cos…can always have a fake one). She is dying, any parent in the right mind, who really love their kids would do the same. I think her parents are great. Have great journey to meet God in Heaven Jayla…
Good for her! That wouldn’t be my last wish, but no one should be denied something like this.
I agree with Beet
the jezebel article is stupid. If someone is old enough to DIE, they are old enough to have a goddamn fake wedding. jesus christ. I probably had little fake weddings when I was a little kid. what’s the big deal?
ugh, shut up jezebel
yeah. SHUT UP, stupid jezebel!
I think its wonderful that she got her dying wish! Why does everyone always feel that they need to comment on what everyone else is doing? the girl is dying! She deserves to have what she wants…jeez
My friend was reading this story in VCD this morning at school today and I could not stop crying.
It’s easily the most adorable and the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. I can’t see why anyone could possibly have a problem with it.
Its a wonderful idea to give this beautiful girl her last wish. Anyone who reads things into this needs to sit back and get a life. Not everything needs to be taken so literally. To me it shows that this girl wants to share her love with her best friend, a boy who is also going through an illness. It is not making my 9 year old son think that girls only want marriage and nothing else. Even he thinks its a good idea to give her her dreams.
What an idiotic thing to get offended by!
This is what children do…they pretend. They pretend all sorts of things that adults do everyday. That is how they learn and grow… by playing pretend.
I think it’s a very sweet thing her parents did for her, and a very sad story all around.
Why are people always fighting nature? Getting married IS the most important thing a woman does in her life. Without a mate and children what is the point of life? Your job doesn’t miss you when you’re dead.
omgosh Jennifer, are you freaking kidding me?
first, there is nothing absolutely natural about getting married. Second, without a mate, what is the point of life??? seriously?
Oh I feel bad for you now :(
Since when is getting married a bad thing? For the most part we live in a country where a woman gets to say yes or no, right? And it does not portray the image that the most important thing a young woman can do in her life is get married. What is does tell us is that the most important thing THIS young woman wanted to do in her life is to have a fairytale wedding. She got her wish and she looked incredibly happy.
The “women” over at Jezebel can go buy a strap-on and fuck right off.
anyone who is offended by this is an idiot, i’m sorry. i am a feminist ,too, but this is a little girl with leukemia…she can do whatever the hell she wants. those chicks at jezebel need to get a grip and realize what is important in life.
BEET!! why are all my comments being delayed? it is very irritating, as i provide my email address. can you please explain this to me or just fix it or something?! thanks.
This is so touching. She has every right to have her wedding…
Extreme feminists just have to accept that for some little girls, and for some women, getting married is the most important thing for them. And it’s not as if marriage subjugates women like it used to. It’s about sharing a life with someone… And this is what this little girl wanted to do with her friend.
I also think that the little boy is so wonderful and brave for doing this for her.
Sorry sweetie, no dying wish for you. It sends a bad message to all the little girls who are going to live long, full lives.
touche!
i belive everyone has their own right to a personal opinion, so i have a right to mine as well. To any one that thinks that the parents choice to do this for her was wrong, all i can say is you probably do not have kids. What i mean is that if you have kids you know that if you were to be faced with a situation like that, you would want to grant that one last wish.
Ugh. I usually like Jezebel but this is too much. At least a lot of the people commenting on the story on that site agree that the little girl should have her dying wish. I think it’s sad and sweet and if I were her parent I would do the same thing for her. And let’s say she also wanted to be a nuclear physicist? How would you grant that wish? A fake wedding is a lot easier from a logistical standpoint.
I haven’t heard this, might be because I live on the other side of the world. Either way the story had me in tears.
I think it is a beautiful story and I can’t for the life of me see what’d be wrong with making their wishs come true.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story Beet!
That was touching ;)
,even though i don’t believe marrige is an important life componant
doesin’t mean other people have to have the same ideas.
If her last wish was to bungee jump off the Eiffel Tower,nobody would have said she is setting a bad example,because it makes it seem like bungee jumping is the only important thing a girl can do in life.
People take some things way too far,and should just let this little girl enjoy her last wish.
Hey! I don’t think they did it big enough! I would’ve bought her a huge dress, a giant bouquet and a professional photographer! I would’ve done my best to make it as real as possible. Obviously, I wasn’t there so I don’t know how it went, but my impression is that it was clearly a “mock’ wedding. Hey, maybe the parents couldn’t afford all that, but maybe the family could’ve helped. Who knows. She certainly seems happy and I guess that’s all that’s important. My heart goes out to that poor sweetie and her family. I have 3 kids. My daughter is 6 and my boys are 8 and 10. I can’t imagine life without them and wouldn’t ever want to know what that’s like. I will pray for her.
sad story, sad that she is going to die… yet beautiful, because she is strong and because true friends and lovers never die.
If this story touched you in any way… make a donation to the Make A Wish Foundation. With the economy the way it is, all charities are in a crunch! Every dollar counts. I challenge every person who has left a comment or will leave a comment to donate $10 per comment to your local MAW office. Help make more wishes come true!!! I am dropping off my $10 at the Make A Wish of North Texas tomorrow… donate in honor of Jayla or in honor (pity) of Jezebel… put your money where your mouth is… http://www.northtexaswish.org
Help fund the next wedding, trip, celebrity, wish of a lifetime!!!
i fully agree that she got her wish. i dont know her but i think thats too sad only nine years old.if i had kids with the same situation i would have done the same thing.i dont understand what u have to go through but i know u have to be strong.im also happy about her meeting the jones brothers she deserves it . lil girl i give u my preys and just want to know to hang in there.
Awww! That is so sad but so cute and wonderful at the same time. I would have made a prayer for her. I’m the same age!
Aww. So sad but so cute and wonderful. I’m the same age! Say a prayer for her!.
i love jayla i don’t want her to die she seems so cute
Ok that’s somewhat odd, but not cute to me at all..I’m 13 and like a guy who’s 17 on the internet, but no hes not a stalker I’ve talked to him on webcam and we have alot in common..Anyways I don’t wanna marry him but live with him.
that SOOO SAD BUT SOOO CUTE
Awhh…): That's so sad, but so sweet! I think it's perfectly fine that she would want a wedding before she goes, even at her age.
This defies comment. I dare not read other comments incase I read something insensitive. What an unbelievably awful scenario.
God have mercy on these two young lives
even though i have never meet her. i am deer friends with her. i feel for her and will even miss this girl i never meet. rip and see you on the other side honey :) <3
so inlove go have kids
go sing and stop
being inlove
to young to be married
I believe this is beautiful between two children who don’t know their fate. If it was my child I would do the same.