JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Paulesha Gibson had just turned 25 when she broke her ankle exercising with a friend in a Jacksonville park in July 2018.
Gibson would receive surgery on her ankle. Just days after, her family said she showed up at their house barely able to stand.
With her mother and step-father by her side, Gibson went back into the hospital.
She would die on Aug. 4 of pulmonary embolisms, or blood clots, in both lungs.
"Nobody should have to die because of a broken ankle," said Gibson's mother Paula Williams.
As family flew in from around the country for the memorial celebration at Riverside Park on Saturday afternoon, they remembered a life well-lived.
"I know in my heart that she's heaven bound," Williams said. "She lived a life of love."
Now, the family is hoping that awareness, love and faith will be the lasting impact left by Paulesha.
"Give some hugs out there, give some love out there," said Paul Gibson, Paulesha's father. "The world has got too much bitterness already, so if we show a little bit of love --- that's the greatest commandment He gave us is to love one another."
Williams said it is important for the family to celebrate and be happy, and that the memories of Paulesha Gibson will live on.
"Paulesha was our glow. And so we're here not to be sad and mourning, but to celebrate her life," Williams said.