Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
IDAHO FALLS — A man has remained in a coma since the beginning of December after suffering a life-threatening incident while at work. His wife says it has been extremely challenging.
Carolyn Fox and her husband, Tracy Fox, live in Twin Falls. They have been married for over 21 years.
Tracy, 45, has worked for Ecolab since 2016, which is a global company offering water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services, according to its website.
On Dec. 6, Carolyn said Tracy was working at a plant in Jerome. He was wearing all the personal protective equipment he was supposed to wear, including his goggles to cover his eyes.
"He helps them calibrate their machines so that they can run their sanitation chemicals through to clean the machines," Carolyn said. "The machine that they were working on had sodium hydroxide in it, which is lye, and that's a very toxic chemical."
She explained that a small hatch was open, and because of the temperature of the lye in the machine, it sprayed out onto him. (She wrote online that it was 200 degrees).
Carolyn said his instinct was to try and get out of the spray immediately.
"But he was on a large rolling staircase about 10 feet off of the cement floor. So he fell from that staircase. The fall caused an open fracture (compound fracture) in his lower leg, an open fracture in his elbow, and a fracture of his scapula," she said. "He has second and third-degree thermal burns and chemical burns over about 50% of his body."
She told EastIdahoNews.com that employees helped Tracy after the incident. He was then taken by air ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, where he has remained since.
"I'm really messed up"
Carolyn was able to talk to Tracy briefly on the phone after what happened before he went into an induced coma.
"His words to me were, 'I'm really messed up.' Of course, I'm crying and upset, and I have a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Idaho Falls. I didn't really know that whole way what was going on or if he was going to make it or what I would be getting to," she said.
It wasn't until she got to the hospital that she realized just how serious his injuries were.
"(Doctors) were initially given a 25% to 30% chance of mortality. It was really terrifying," Carolyn said.
She said that one of the most difficult parts about all of this is being unable to communicate with him. In their marriage, they have never gone without talking.
During the day, Carolyn is able to focus on phone calls and stay busy, but it's different at night.
"That's really the hardest … when I'm on my own," she said, crying on the phone. "He's someone I talk to when I am stressed and so not being able to talk to him about one of the most stressful things … it's been really hard."
However, she is grateful that he is alive and hopes for the best outcome. She's been able to visit him every day at the hospital.
According to Carolyn, doctors have given him a better chance of survival.
"It's still extremely critical, but the doctors have said now, we're looking like around 5% mortality risk. He's looking at quite a lot of surgeries going forward. They've said, at the bare minimum, if everything goes perfectly, he is going to be in the burn ICU for three to four months," she said.
After that, Tracy will face at least a year to 18 months of physical therapy, occupational therapy, mental health services, and most likely surgeries to help with scarring.
Ecolab investigating incident
As for Ecolab, the company that Tracy works for, Carolyn says she knows they have been investigating the incident.
"I do know that Ecolab is taking it very seriously," she said. "His company Ecolab goes to great lengths to try to instill a culture of safety and consciousness in their employees."
EastIdahoNews.com has reached out to Ecolab for a statement about what happened. Sr. Communications Manager Blair Loose wrote the following in an email:
"We were saddened to learn of a serious incident in Jerome, ID, on Friday, December 6, resulting in injuries to an Ecolab associate. Since that time, we have provided all appropriate support to Tracy, his wife, and his work colleagues. Our thoughts are with him, and our wish is that Tracy can focus fully on his treatment and recovery.
The safety of Ecolab associates remains our top priority. Ecolab is cooperating fully with workplace safety authorities and leading our own investigation of the incident. Our aim is to take all necessary measures to prevent something like this happening again."
Carolyn has created a GoFundMe to help with expenses. Her husband is the leading provider for them, and he takes care of her, as she has been on social security disability due to health reasons since 2017.
With a $23,000 goal, as of Thursday morning, $19,605 has been raised.
"We feel very grateful for the support that we have received, and we know that a lot of people don't necessarily receive the resources and support that we have," Carolyn told EastIdahoNews.com. "We are keenly aware of how lucky we are … to have his coworkers that care about him and people that are thinking about us and praying for us."
EIRMC spokeswoman Coleen Niemann said Tracy is currently in serious condition.
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