Fighting For Our Home & Jordyn’s Life

My name is April Slaughter, and I am a mother of twin daughters living just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

I do not want to do this. It is the most uncomfortable and, if I’m honest, embarrassing thing I have had to do in my life thus far. If you know me or my daughters, you are undoubtedly familiar with the circumstances that have catapulted us into the dire situation that we find ourselves in. Pride is not something I can afford in any sense to concede to.

My daughters and I need help.

For reasons I cannot divulge at this time, I was forced to file for divorce in July of 2021 after having only been married for a period of eighteen months. Prior to this relationship (which spanned more than four years in total before the separation), I had been a single mother for nearly a decade.

With a hopeful heart and a seemingly supportive new partner, we married, and it was my absolute goal and intention to build a loving home environment for my husband and me, along with my twin daughters Madison and Jordyn. Unfortunately, the marriage quickly devolved and became irrevocably broken. Agreements were in place before the wedding, and when I filed for divorce, I now depend on the legal litigation process and the need for continued representation to secure.

My children and I are in danger of losing our home or any ability we might have to start again and rebuild our lives as a family. While the girls are now 21 years old – and are not the biological children of my soon-to-be ex-husband – I am Jordyn’s legal guardian and caregiver. Her battle with Intractable Epilepsy is not one she is capable of fighting on her own, nor will it be something she can manage without my constant support and assistance.

When she began experiencing seizures at age 5, the episodes were relatively mild, but have increased in frequency and severity over the last seventeen years. The breadth of injuries she has sustained has ranged from mild bumps, bruises, and headaches to black eyes and severe burns. Every seizure has taken a piece of her health, well-being, and quality of life away from her. It is a monster that is always lurking and threatening to hurt her. As with any significant medical condition, it also has the potential to become fatal.

Jordyn’s seizures often occur in emotional distress, anxiety, fear, etc. Consequently, with these and additional epileptic triggers, the last several years have wreaked havoc on her overall health, and she has sustained injuries far more impactful than at any other time in her life. The 911 calls, the ambulance rides, the hospital admissions, the never-ending tests and trials, the horrendous side effects of the barrage of medications, and the physiological response her brain produces during times of increased stress are dangerous.

The emotional and mental impact of the separation and divorce alone has triggered seizures for Jordyn. The weight and toll of grief soon followed when my mother, my daughters’ only grandmother, passed away due to kidney failure in June of 2022 (approximately two weeks before I would have been approved to donate one of my kidneys for transplant.) Next, Jordyn endured significant medical and mental health testing to prepare her to undergo brain surgery the following November. She is 11 months post-op and doing well but still needs healing and adjustment before we see sustainable medical improvement.

I must keep her safe, as stress-free, and stable as possible during this healing process. She will require a great deal of support from her doctors, family, friends, educators, and community to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

Jordyn’s doctors are aware of what is occurring and have shared their concerns with regard to the possible ramifications to Jordyn’s health that any significant alterations to her stability could manifest. They have provided the necessary information and documentation to the court for review and consideration in the potential outcome of my divorce case.

Beyond the emotional and mental toll that the litigation process has taken on us is the financial strain it has created. I work full-time from home to ensure Jordyn’s level of care and have taken on as many additional projects as I can physically and mentally handle to keep us afloat. I am now battling my own set of medical issues that add a further degree of difficulty to our lives. Madison works and contributes to the household as much as she can as well. She prioritizes her sister above all else and is the one to look after and care for her, especially when I am away from home. Even still, we now find ourselves at a crossroads where we either ask for and accept assistance, or we lose and allow the situation to become even more disastrous than it already has.

Every cent donated to this campaign (outside of the fees GoFundMe will deduct) will be sent immediately and directly to my attorney, the receipts for which I will gladly provide/post to ease any concern that they might be allocated to any other purpose. The amount I need to raise is what is due for legal work done on my behalf in fighting this for the past two years. I have and will continue sending in all the funds I can. However, I am quickly running out of time to settle the balance. The final pre-trial hearing is scheduled for early November, where a trial date will be set if a settlement cannot be reached.

My daughters and I are so incredibly grateful for those who have offered their love and assistance in the past and those who assist in any way in the present, and we pray that we may be able to do the same for others very soon.

Thank you for loving us, for your prayers, and for giving us the strength to keep fighting.

~April