My name is Olivia Fields, and I am the mother of Sha’don Antonio Gordon.

Before anything else, I want to sincerely thank every person who donated, shared, prayed for us, checked on our family, or supported us when this GoFundMe was first created after the loss of Sha’don in March 2025. Your kindness helped our family through one of the most devastating times of our lives, and I will never forget it.

This fundraiser originally helped with Sha’don’s celebration of life and unexpected expenses. More than a year later, I am returning to this same community because our journey did not end with his funeral.

On March 19, 2025, four days before Sha’don passed, he was injured while working at Whataburger in Buford, Georgia. A grill handle broke while he was performing a task at work, causing him to fall backward. Sha’don reported that his head and shoulder hurt. He was sent home to get rest, did not receive a medical evaluation at work, and our family was never notified.

In the days that followed, we witnessed changes in his behavior without knowing what had happened at work. By the time we learned about the incident on March 22, Sha’don was no longer responding to our calls. He died by suicide the following day. He was only 18.

Since then, I have spent more than a year seeking answers and accountability. A workers’ compensation claim was filed on our behalf by an attorney and denied by Whataburger. I have consulted with multiple attorneys and law firms, gathered records and evidence, and continued searching for qualified professionals willing to examine the circumstances surrounding Sha’don’s case.

One of the biggest obstacles we now face is the absence of medical documentation immediately following his workplace injury. The medical evaluation he did not receive has become a barrier in our search for answers and legal help.

WHY I AM ASKING FOR HELP NOW

This fight has affected every part of my life, including my ability to work consistently. I have worked off and on, and currently I am not working while maintaining my household and continuing this fight for my son.

Asking for financial help is not easy for me. I have done my best to keep going. God has provided, my family has helped when they could, and somehow a way has continued to be made.

But everyday life does not stop while you are fighting for answers and justice.

As Sha’don’s story reaches more people and people ask how they can help, I am finally allowing myself to say:

We need help.

Our goal is $100,000. Donations will help with legal expenses, professional reviews and consultations, investigative needs, records and documentation, travel and transportation, and household and day-to-day living expenses while I continue dedicating substantial time and resources to this fight.

FROM LOSS TO ACTION

What happened to Sha’don has also led me to advocate for proposed Georgia legislation known as Sha’don Gordon’s Law, focused on strengthening protections surrounding serious workplace injuries and medical emergencies. I do not want another family left searching for answers because their loved one was sent home without a medical evaluation and their family was never notified.

Read, sign and share the petition:

Sha'don Gordons Law petition

Losing Sha’don also led me to create A New Dawn Bereavement Resource Network through our nonprofit, Desire to Inspire Community Outreach, Inc., to support and advocate for Angel Parents and families navigating life after child loss.

Learn more:

A New Dawn Bereavement Resource Network

A New Dawn has separate fundraising efforts. Donations to this GoFundMe are specifically for our family and the continuing Justice for Sha’don effort.

I cannot change what happened to my son, but I can keep saying his name, asking questions, seeking accountability, and fighting so that Sha’don’s story can help protect someone else’s child.

If you can donate, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you cannot, please share this fundraiser, sign the petition, and share Sha’don’s story.

This is not the beginning of our fight. We have been fighting for more than a year, and we are not giving up✊

From Loss to Action.

Justice for Sha’don.

Sha’don Antonio Gordon

Forever 18

#JusticeForShadonGordon

#ShadonsLaw

#ANewDawn