SALT LAKE CITY – A woman was critically injured after she drank a cup of a restaurant’s sweet tea that had been tainted by cleaning chemicals, and Thursday the woman’s family spoke to the media and said it looks like Jan Harding is going to survive.
Harding, 67, drank the tea at a Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurant in South Jordan on August 10, and she suffered internal burns. A former Dickey’s employee spoke to FOX 13 News about how the cleaning chemical, sodium hydroxide, may have found its way into the sweet tea, click here for details.
Thursday, Harding’s family spoke at their attorney’s office in Salt Lake City, and they said in the last week and a half Harding has gone from nearly dying to being able to walk and talk. Her husband, Jim, said over the weekend Jan used her first words since the accident to tell him she loved him.
He said: "I went over to her and said, 'I love you' and she said, 'I love you too.'"
Jim Harding said Thursday Jan’s burns are healing and her prognosis is positive. He said they are all grateful she is alive.
“I'm just grateful for each day,” he said. “I'm grateful that she's getting better. I'm grateful that she has a voice. I'm grateful that the life and death thing has been taken off the table. I'm just grateful for where we are. I bring you a good word today, an encouraging word.”
Jan's son, Scott Harding, said it was hard to see his mother suffering.
"Anybody that's been put in that situation knows that it's a hopeless feeling," he said. "It's kind of a helpless feeling, I should say."
Related stories:
Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants issues statement after tainted tea injures woman
Family of woman critically injured after drinking tainted tea speaks
Woman who drank toxic tea has burns worse than expected, remains in critical condition
Family’s attorney speaks as woman who drank tainted tea remains in critical condition
Experts discuss dangers of chemical that left woman in critical condition
