Evicted from her home amid her daughter’s fight against kidney failure, a Georgia mother of eight struggling to make ends meet received a life-changing miracle thanks to the kind hearts of strangers.
According to 11Alive, Ebon Sledge worked as a cook and Uber driver during her free moments and drove her 11-year-old daughter, J’Adore, an hour away to her dialysis treatment.
Getting evicted forced Sledge to put her family in a cramped two-bed hotel room. Although the mom worked hard and put on a brave face for her children, the hardships sometimes got to her.
“Like most moms, I do have times when I’m in the shower, and I let the tears all out,” she told the outlet last month. “But then I’ll be like, ‘OK, let’s get it together.”
Despite the eviction and being turned away from housing assistance, nothing worried Sledge more than her daughter, who’s still waiting on a kidney donor.
J’Adore got her unfortuante diagnosis in 2020.
“Her oxygen levels were falling. They put her on a ventilator, they did a blood transfusion,” Sledge remembered. “It was nerve-wracking to see the cords coming out of her neck and her arm. Real emotional, not really knowing what was going to happen.”
Sledge recalled 11-year-old J’Adore requiring the removal of both kidneys.
On top of paying $500 weekly for the hotel room, Sledge owed the hospital over $97,000.
Those hard times were moments where Sledge felt like a failure, but her kids know she works hard day and night to provide them with food, shelter and love.
“When I am feeling like I’m failing, I’ll get a little note like, ‘I love you, Mommy.’ You’re the best,”‘ Sledge shared. “The kids keep me around. I want to be here to raise them, and I know that trouble don’t last always. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
To take the financial pressure off Sledge’s shoulders, 11Alive viewers and her family members donated to her GoFundMe, helping her reach some of her goals, like getting a new car since she totaled her old one in June and buying a house.
The dedicated mother ultimately reached both goals, getting her a new SUV and a beautiful five-bedroom, three-bathroom home. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the family of nine also got to stay at a Disney Villa to go to Disney World.
Sledge’s GoFundMe is still accepting donations with a $100,000 goal. Also, those interested in seeing if they’re a match to donate a kidney to J’Adore can go to Emory’s living donor registry. The site will ask for the intended recipient’s name and birthday. Input J’Adore Sledge for the name and April 23, 2013, for the birthday.
