My 14-year-old son, Jayden Mejia, was shot in the back of his head in September 2022 by a stray bullet while outside our home. After hours of surgery, he survived. My baby lives, and I am beyond grateful to have him here with us. He had recently started his freshman year of high school and made the varsity football team with Roosevelt High School. They kindly dedicated their season to him and won the championship game.
It’s been a huge adjustment for my family, especially for his younger brother, Jhamir, because he’s not the same Jayden he knew. He was diagnosed with TBI, and while it gets more manageable each day, it’s left me in a bit of a bind. Being a single parent, I am currently unable to return to work because I will be caring for him, but finding a safer home has been extremely difficult. Washington, D.C., agencies that were supposed to assist me left me with no choice, and I went public about their lack of support for my family. My former teacher kindly started a GoFundMe for Jayden and our family to help us at this difficult time. I pray for better days.