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Back in 2008, when Bethany Thompson was just three years old, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor that called for extensive radiation treatment. In 2008, Thompson was, thankfully, deemed cancer-free, but her treatment had left her with nerve damage – and a visibly crooked smile.
Over the years, Bethany’s altered smile – as well as her naturally curly hair – made her the target of many school bullies.
Bethany’s mother, Wendy Feucht, knew that her daughter was going through a rough time at school and had even spoken to the principal about the bullying – but the principal only told her that the school was investigating the issue.
On October 19, after a particularly rough day, Bethany decided that she could no longer take it anymore. She found one of her father’s guns inside the house and shot herself the same day.
Her stepfather had been home, and asleep, in another room.
Feucht described her situation as there being “a piece missing.” “I've had this constant in my life for 12 years and now it's gone," Feucht explained. "Nothing's going to be able to fill that hole."
In retrospect, Feucht realizes that she should have gotten angrier when she’d had the chance to speak with the school administration. “Something has to change, something is broken in the system and there are lots of different ways that this could have been handled,” she said.
It wasn’t enough that the school was simply investigating the situation. Bethany’s situation had even caught the attention of the school district’s superintendent, who had begun “undertaking efforts to bolster anti-harassment and bullying training for both students and staff” – but it hadn’t been enough.
Bethany had gone to see a counselor and she and her friends even tried to put up anti-bullying signs with slogans like “Buddies, not bullies.”
But the bullies persisted until Bethany took her own life.
The community has come to rally around Bethany’s family, who hopes to use Bethany’s story as a way to remind everyone “of the importance of kindness and a zero-tolerance for bullying.”
Our hearts go out to Bethany’s family during this time.
