In a distressing incident in Indiana, a young girl was hospitalized after inadvertently overdosing on her mother’s weight loss medication. The case has highlighted the potential dangers of storing medications within a child’s reach.

Eight-year-old Jessa Milender was discovered in a concerning state last December, having injected herself with her mother’s GLP-1 medication, which is typically used to aid weight loss. The misunderstanding arose when Jessa mistook the medication for a remedy for stomachaches, as she had seen her mother use it. “I thought it was stomach medicine,” Jessa shared in an interview with WHAS-11. “My mom takes it and I thought it helped her with her stomachaches.”

The situation unfolded when Jessa’s mother, Melissa, found her daughter unresponsive on the floor. Jessa had used approximately 60 percent of the GLP-1 injector pen. Alarmed, Melissa immediately contacted poison control for assistance.

The young girl exhibited severe symptoms following the overdose. Medical reports indicated that she suffered from frequent vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain. Upon being admitted to the emergency room, Jessa was in a visibly weakened state, with sunken eyes and ashy skin, prompting medical staff to administer intravenous fluids.

The seven-year-old had been vomiting almost every hour and experienced diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain, medical records obtained by the outlet showed. 

Jessa was taken to the emergency room with sunken eyes and ashy skin where she was hooked up to an IV. 

‘The ER staff didn’t know what to do,’ she told CBS 8. ‘They just called Poison Control, and Poison Control told them the same thing they told me. They didn’t know how to respond.’

But she was discharged after her symptoms subsided, but when she got home she began vomiting again. 

Jessa Milender, now eight years old, was found on the floor ‘lifeless’ in December 2024 after injecting herself with her mom’s GLP-1 medication

Jessa said she thought the medicine was for stomachaches and injected herself without telling anyone

Jessa’s mom, Melissa, discovered her daughter, who had administered herself with 60 percent of the GLP-1 injector pen, and called poison control

‘I don’t think we were prepared for how bad it was gonna get,’ Melissa told WHAS-11. ‘I should have never let them discharge her.’

Jessa became so weak that her mom had to carry her to the bathroom. 

‘She was thirsty. That’s the only thing that she wanted to do was drink water, but then she would throw it up,’ Melissa continued. 

The young girl returned to hospital where she then stopped urinating and doctors expressed concern for Jessa’s kidneys, the outlet reported. 

‘She didn’t eat for six days straight,’ Melissa said, describing the incident as ‘the worst week of our lives.’

‘She’s my little girl,’ she added. ‘So that was rough.’ 

Melissa told CBS 8 that she felt like Jessa was dying and added: ‘That’s how she looked. She had lost significant weight… her cheeks were sunken in, her eyes were sunken in.’

‘She couldn’t walk from exhaustion and severe pain. She wouldn’t even allow them to touch her stomach. She’d scream out in pain in her sleep. It was awful. It’s a miracle that she didn’t have long-term effects.’ 

Melissa now keeps the medication in a locked box in the fridge and hopes sharing her daughter’s story will help other parents protect their children

The seven-year-old had been vomiting almost every hour and experienced diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain and appeared ashy with sunken eyes

Now, Melissa keeps her medication locked in a box but said she believes it could have been a lot worse.

‘I got it the day she overdosed on it,’ she told WHAS-11. It’s been in my fridge ever since.’

‘Once you’ve injected too much, there’s no “Whoops, let me take this to counteract it,”‘ she continued. ‘Like no, now you’re dealing with whatever the consequences are of that.’

Melissa hopes in sharing her story that other parents can help protect their children. 

‘I felt like no one had the answer on how to help her. I should have told her, “Don’t ever touch this.” It was just such an unprecedented event that I didn’t think to plan for, prepare for,’ she told CBS 8.