Supporting Jeslyn Throughout a Tragedy

On March 26th, 2023, the life of Jeslyn Stanislawski & her family was tragically turned upside down. Another day for a water baby, turned catastrophic, when Jeslyn, enjoying a jet ski ride out with friends, was struck in the side by an unsuspecting boat. Initially, Jeslyn sustained multiple head traumas, severe brain injuries, brain bleeds & various major broken bones. Sadly, after being pulled out of the water, Jeslyn suffered oxygen deprivation, vital for recovery. In combination with all this tremendous suffering, our beloved Jeslyn has been in a self-induced coma, now at the time of this writing, for over 9 weeks & counting.

When I think of Jeslyn, the first word that comes to mind is “bright.” This innate quality of hers radiated an aura of positivity, light & laughter. No matter a person’s background or culture, Jeslyn’s impartiality allowed her to connect with anyone. It’s been said that after leaving an interaction with her, people have felt how genuine & refreshing she is. Really, it’s the reason why her mother nicknamed her, “Sunshine Girl.” She’s always able to brighten someone else’s day. Jeslyn strived to be someone understanding & empathetic of the pain that others felt. She’s even been known to help a friend in need of comfort & support, to move across the country in a van. Jeslyn is honestly like no other person. She served her community Parks & Recreation in WPB. There, she created programs , mentored & guided children with her love, compassion, & joyful spirit for close to a decade. With her beautiful, vibrant & unique personality, this is an accident that affects, not just family, but a City.

A wise man once said, “In times of distress, friends & family are born.” In line with these words, we are starting this GoFundMe page to be “the friends & family” to help support Jeslyn’s family in various ways. As we can imagine, this has put an unforeseen heavy financial burden on the family. At the time of this writing, Jeslyn is currently in a hospital almost 2 hours away from them. Due to this being a trauma hospital, visiting hours are strictly enforced & limited to only daytime. This has led Jeslyn’s family to travel back & forth daily, either by vehicle or train. With the cost of inflation, the family has already spent thousands of dollars just on transportation.

Another way we are uniting to support Jeslyn’s family is to help cover the cost of their attorneys. Unfortunately, Jeslyn did not have a living will or anything in writing for emergencies such as this. To make life’s decisions on her behalf, the state of Florida forced her mother to get what’s called “Guardianship”, even though she is already legally & biologically her mother. This in itself cost the family thousands. Additionally, despite how Jeslyn has health insurance, her family had to hire another attorney to help fight to get Jeslyn qualified for Medicaid (which can take 6-8 months) because the insurance company is refusing to help with any of the long-term care she is going to require. This includes care at a long-term care facility, at-home nursing staff, medical supplies, medical nutritional feed, medical equipment, transportation for future appointments, and practically any other unforeseen medically required needs.

With all this going on, Jeslyn’s family wants nothing more than to spend every day with their little girl, giving her the loving quality care she needs. And, amidst the waiting for a 3rd party aid, the hospital has approved allowing Jeslyn to be discharged into the loving hands of her family. However, to do that, by law, their home needs to be able to facilitate the same level of care that a nursing home/care facility or hospital could provide. Determined to have this opportunity turn into a blessing, her family has been hiring multiple contractors to comb over the A/C system for air purification, provide additional lighting in her bedroom, renew the room's interior paint, & anything related to the interior structure of the home. They’ve obtained some, but not all, of the medically required equipment such as a hospital bed, medical tables, some nutritional feed, & emergency generators, which will help keep the life-sustaining equipment operational. All of the above items, plus, any additional required equipment, day-to-day supplies, medication and nursing staff are not provided by the insurance company. As the devil would have it, this is all considered “an out-of-pocket expense,” leaving the family to feel abandoned with this unbearable financial responsibility.

If I could describe the Stanislawski family briefly it would be: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” To them: Even though they’ve never met you, they love you. The human family is their family. If your husband, wife, son, or daughter, was in this situation, the Stanislawski’s would be one of the first families to provide a meal or help in some way material because when you are suffering, they are suffering. Jeslyn’s family is what makes Jeslyn, Jeslyn. That said, “our family” is in great need of “our” help. This is going to be a long, trying road for them. Please, if you can help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated. Any & all donations go directly to the family for any of the above & closely related costs. Even if you’re unable to help the family monetarily, please, please, we truly do appreciate all your prayers for Jeslyn’s recovery. Thank you for taking the time to read this. With great affection, be safe.