The Jacksons are an incredibly authentic influencer family with over 338,000 followers on Instagram. No strangers to the spotlight, their family went from creating viral videos about their home life which included winning the 1st place prize on an episode of “America’s Funniest Videos” to becoming unofficial spokespeople for pediatric brain injuries.
“We were in the thick of Covid with all of my kids being home and on their electronics, which is not something we typically let them do too much of during normal times,” Verlonda Jackson, Judah’s mom, told us. “We had just gotten a puppy back in April and we hadn’t taken the dog anywhere yet, so I said, ‘Let’s go to the park and walk around.’”
Verlonda and her husband, Tariq, packed their 3 kids—Jr., Ava & Judah—up in the car along with the Teddy the dog, some scooters and a basketball. They headed to a family favorite, the state park, which was quite massive as it featured two separate playgrounds and a large lake in the middle with a surrounding 3-mile trail.
“We’ve been going to this park for some years now, and the children never pay attention to the lake. They never go in and I never even thought it was an option for them,” Verlonda explained to us. “So as we were walking the trail, the kids were taking off ahead on their scooters, I noticed a pit bull swimming in the lake and thought it was so cool.”
That’s when Verlonda had the idea to find out if their new puppy could swim. She yelled ahead to grab her kids’ attention as they were almost 50 yards ahead of her. The kids returned and squealed with joy as they watched their newest family member Teddy take to water like a fish.
Judah sit comfortably in his brand new P-pod chair gifted by Holton’s Heroes early in 2021.
“The kids took off again on their scooters around a bend and were no longer in my eye view,” Verlonda recalled. “My dog stopped to do his business in the grass and just that quick I heard a scream. I knew it was my daughter but I didn’t rush to her because she is ‘drama’ so I’m thinking she fell off her scooter and scraped her knee.”
Unfortunately, her daughter was screaming after watching her baby brother Judah walk too far out into the lake and slip under the water.
“So by the time I got there, there’s just this limitless lake. It looks huge. And I’m trying to make this connection in my brain that my baby, my baby who was just on his scooter, is at the bottom of this lake,” Verlonda told us. “I’m splashing around, not really doing much of anything as I have no idea where to look, and I don’t see him.”
Thankfully someone watching this unfortunate event unfold called 911 to which police responded quickly. A man on a boat in the lake tipped police off to where he thought he saw Judah go under which allowed police to dive under the water and pull Judah back out onto land.
“In an instant, just one moment we’re at the park, just trying to do something good as a family, just trying to hang out with the kids. And then I take my eyes off of them for one second, show them the water for another second, and then my baby’s gone.” Verlonda says getting choked up.
Now more than 9 months post-accident, Judah is working hard on his recovery from his near-drowning accident through therapy, prayer and community. Verlonda is using her platform to raise awareness about her son’s impairments and his journey forward while also highlighting the struggles of being a parent to a pediatric brain injury survivor.
Holton’s Heroes was honored to be able to gift Judah a brand new adaptive chair called a P-pod, which costs well over $2,000 and is typically not covered by insurance. This chair will allow Judah to sit comfortably anywhere in the family home and join his older brother and sister—and Teddy.
“I am in tears. It was worth the wait. It has been so hard getting home and trying to get adjusted,” Verlonda told us recently. “This chair is so helpful so we thank you so much for this gift. You have been such a blessing in our family.”
“Ever time I think about what you guys did for us, I get goosebumps.”
“Tonight, we feel the power of humanity in a bath chair. Go figure. Some people feel excited about cars and other luxuries, but here I am just wanting my boy to be bathed safely,” Joshua mom wrote to us after her son received his gift from Holton’s Heroes.