JonMarc's Road to Recovery After Traumatic Injury

Title: Support JonMarc's Road to Recovery: Medical & living Expenses After Catastrophic Injury

My name is Erika Mallory and I'm starting this GoFundMe on behalf of my incredible husband, JonMarc Mallory.

On June 6, 2023, our life took a drastic change. JonMarc, known lovingly as “JM” travels back and forth between Boston and Phoenix for work. On the morning my husband, who had been experiencing frequent sleep walking episodes, walked into the kitchen in his sleep state and opened a bottle of a commercial grade drain cleaner crystals made of sulfuric acid. He proceeded to put them in his mouth thinking it was a drink. His body immediately went into shock and his tongue and lips swelled up many times their size. This protected him from swallowing the crystals, but rapidly closed his airway. The EMTs who rescued him estimated he had only five minutes to live had they not gotten an oxygen tube down his trachea.

This incident has left him with severe chemical burns in his mouth and large portion of his tongue was burned from the sulfuric acid. This has affected his ability to eat, speak, and live a normal life. He works in property management and is feeling the frustration of not being able to communicate effectively as speaking hurts. While we're grateful he survived, we know that this is the beginning of an uphill battle towards recovery.

It has been tough for me to write this and even consider Go fund Me for our situation but, I know the road ahead is just getting started. The medical costs are unclear. Future surgeries, and extensive dental work are needed. We have no clear path for how his mouth is going to heal. We keep hearing responses like “Let’s give it a few months to see how things grow in his mouth. That will determine the type of surgery we should do”. Meanwhile my husband is suffering every day as his mouth tissue is overgrowing and making it very painful to eat and speak.

We are living in a nightmare. On top of this I know he is looking to me be strong, but I am scared as hell. I see the fear in his eyes when he is pointing out new scar tissue or what feels like cartilage growing on the sides of his mouth making the opening of his mouth smaller. He also has overgrowth of scar tissue that is forming random connections in his mouth resulting in feeling bound and constricted for mouth movements. He has an upcoming surgery scheduled for Nov. 6th to make a few cuts of the scar tissue and unbind his tongue. The chemical burns in his mouth are healing in an odd way as burned skin does not heal like normal. We are learning this and have been hit with the stark reality that this might take a few surgeries.

In addition to the surgeries, we will have expenses related to mental health and counseling, dental care, and other medical necessities like specific medicines and special foods that aren't covered by insurance. Moreover, as he is currently staying in Boston for Medical treatment, I've had to put a pause on my real estate business to make frequent trips from Phoenix to be by his side. We expect that the road to recovery will be tough and long we continue to stay hopeful that he will get there. I am just blessed to still have my best Friend and Husband by my side.

How Funds Will Be Used

The funds raised from this campaign will go towards:

Future surgeries and medical care

Mental health services

Dental treatments

Special dietary needs

Speech Therapy

Insurance premiums and uncovered medical costs

Travel expenses for ongoing care

Helping us restart our lives Post-recovery

Every donation, no matter how small, will bring us one step closer to overcoming this devastating obstacle. This is why we need your help. If you are unable to contribute financially, your prayers are of great importance and most appreciated. We also ask you to spread the word and forward this to friends and family. We sincerely thank you for all the support, love, and prayers already extended. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us and our struggles and contributing through prayer or donations or both and supporting us during this difficult time.

We deeply appreciate your support, whether it's by donating, praying or simply sharing this campaign with friends and family.

With Immense gratitude and appreciation,

Erika and JonMarc Mallory