GRIFFIN, Ga. — A metro area mom of eight, who's working hard to keep her family afloat while one of her daughters is battling kidney failure, is experiencing overwhelming support after her story touched the community.
11Alive first shared Ebon Sledge's story on Friday.
Sledge's daughter J’Adore was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2020 and ended up needing to have both of the organs removed. As the bills piled up and became overwhelming, Ebon and the children were eventually evicted from their home. They've been living in a two-bed hotel room in Griffin for the past year.
To keep J'Adore healthy, Sledge drives more than an hour, three days a week, to take her daughter to dialysis while they await a transplant.
Sledge works as a restaurant cook and Uber driver every free moment she has between appointments and bringing the kids to and from school. But because of the grueling pace, Sledge had to scale back her work to part-time to care for J'Adore.
When 11Alive spoke to Sledge on Friday, she and her children were on the brink of being kicked out of the hotel room they had been staying at for the past year because they couldn’t afford that anymore.
The story continues after the video below.
Since 11Alive's story aired, however, our viewers raised a staggering $38,000 - and growing - through an online fundraiser to help Sledge provide for her family.
Sledge is now working with a financial planner to get them into a safer and more stable situation.
Even more inspiring, multiple people have also registered with Emory to see if they could be an organ donor match for J'Adore.
This is not the first time 11Alive's viewers have stepped up to help out a family in need. In April, an outpouring of support helped the Johnson family as they faced eviction after rental assistance funding dried up.
11Alive is truly thankful to our supportive viewers who continue to help lift each other up when there is a need.