Jeremy Prohonic
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This is Jeremy. He is three years old. On July 19, 2000, at the age of 23 months, he drank 1/2 teaspoon of sodium hydroxide (the chemical that is in drain cleaners, but much stronger) that was inadvertently left in his reach.
The chemical severely burned his esophagus and caused extensive damage to his epiglottis (it is now a lump of scar tissue) and his voice box area. The day after the accident, the doctors placed a trach and G-tube. After 16 days in Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, we came home to an entirely new world - home nursing, suction machines, feeding pumps, medical supplies, etc.
That was a year ago and Jeremy is doing wonderfully now! His esophagus is still healing, but we are near the end. In several more months, he will begin to undergo a series of surgeries to reconstruct his epiglottis. Then, hopefully, the trach and G-tube will be removed.
