Away from school and friends, Jeslyn Ford, finds herself in a hospital. This 6th grader, an avid drawer and one who holds a soft spot for animals, continues to fight a battle that suddenly appeared around Thanksgiving.

Jeslyn fell ill around the holidays and through a scare that nearly cost her life, the family held on tight as Jes’ peers from school and family all came to support her through the tough times in the hospital. Updates on her journey were continually shared as the family persevered alongside Jeslyn’s fight with DKA.

The Thanksgiving Scare

The week before Thanksgiving, Jeslyn was reportedly sick multiple times at school, Jeslyn’s mom took her to the hospital to get checked out. After being informed that it will pass if left alone, they continued on towards Thanksgiving. Jeslyn was sick and mostly resting, but it was not till after Thanksgiving dinner did the situation become scary for the family.

Jes did not want to participate and laid in bed, speaking only so often. Jeslyn’s mom went to check on here after dinner was done and they were about to have pie.

“”After dinner, I had to run up to see if maybe she would come down for a piece of pie. And I found her laying on her side, her mouth was dry. And she was just moaning. She was not responding, wasn’t talking.”

Her mother, Amy Ford, a personal care aide, who has been taking care of her mother at home noticed something was wrong. Her lips looked dry and with possible signs of blood, so upon seeing her condition not improving like she was told, she called 9-1-1.

The diagnosis

“So, when they got her into the ambulance, the paramedic had, you know, went over the million questions and he’s like, I have one last really weird question. Is your daughter diabetic? And I was like, she’s never been tested for it. It’s never been talked about.”

The paramedic tested Jeslyn’s blood sugar. Her levels were more than 3 times the normal levels at 530, so the sirens went on and they rushed her to the hospital. Memories of a loved one that had recently passed, rushed to Amy’s mind.

“My sister passed away, my best friend. She was like a sister to me, passed away in February. And while they were really busy working on her in Duluth, I just kept saying, ‘You can’t take her. You can’t take her.’ And there were many times that I have just kind of broken down and cried.”

Jeslyn was in severe Diabetic Ketoacidosis, and she was toxic. Over the weekend, Jes went into renal failure and was rushed to the Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.

“There was a chaplain that come over and sat with me while I was waiting for my wife to get down from the house because they sent me in the ambulance with Jess. And after they got like, Jesslyn, a little more stable, the doctor walked over and he goes, I don’t want to scare you, but another 10 minutes could have been her life.”

A Gift of Kindness for the Holidays

Word spread about Jeslyn, as both her class and family flooded her with support and kindness while the doctors worked to return Jes’ levels back to normal. Jes’ 6th grade class along with teachers from the Raleigh Edison school, put together a box filled with notes and gifts wishing her the best.

Jeslyn’s teacher, Mrs. Plzak, spoke of how her whole class misses her and often had moments of wishing to include her in activities that she was missing in her home away from home.

“So, it’s been hard, knowing and seeing all that she’s going through and we’re two and a half hours away. It’s kind of hard, but we make the most of it and we talk about her all the time, and we ask for updates. We sent her a whole bunch of stuff because all the kids just wanted to tell her how much that we loved her and that we missed her”

“We think about and like just little things that pop up throughout the day that like, oh, she would, we wish we could share that experience. And I think the kids really like live through her and around her and we find little moments to cherish each other because of that”

As the holidays approach, the Fords all wish for Jeslyn’s recovery. Amy’s 21-year-old son told his moms to not worry about gifts, as he wishes for them to focus on Jeslyn. As their younger son, felt the same asking “You know, I really don’t want the Xbox right now. If everybody could be home for Christmas, that would be great.”

How Jeslyn is Doing

As her numbers stabilize, Jeslyn has been moved to the educational floor where she learns about what’s next. During the time that Jeslyn was in the hospital, Amy and her wife were down in the cities with their daughter. With the loss of family members earlier in the year, both parties were low on PTO but were not going to leave Jeslyn’s side.

Some close friends and family members help set up a GoFundMe to support the family and Jes as they sat in uncertainty of Jeslyn’s levels returning to normal. This site along with her Facebook, Amy kept everyone informed on Jes’ situation.

As of December 17th, 2024, Jeslyn was released from the Children’s Hospital and safely landed back home in Duluth.

While the Fords and Jeslyn recover and adjust, they have been spreading the word about Type 1 diabetes, and how, as Amy put it, “even though somebody says that, you know, you’re fine, make sure to go and get it looked at a second time because you really may not be fine.” As the Ford family will get their Christmas wish this year as everyone, including Jeslyn, will be home for the holidays.