"This incident continues to be on the rise."

These words catapulted Leslie Bangamba, a local Red Deer, Alberta, Canada mother, to the public stage. In April 2020, her then eighteen-month-old daughter Amélie ingested a lithium coin battery.

Amélie would suffer two cardiac arrests and be rushed into an emergency open heart surgery where medical staff would repair her ruptured esophagus, trachea, aorta, and carotid left artery, in addition to receiving over four litres of blood transfused in the operating room alone.

Thankfully, Amélie survived the incident.

The trauma it seared on Leslie's heart and mind pushed her to publicly share Amélie's story to raise awareness by educating and helping prevent this injury from happening to any other child. Leslie aims to inspire by showcasing her family's resiliency in turning their trauma into purpose. She has championed battery safety on various global platforms.

The journey has been filled with many unknowns and challenges. However, Leslie prioritizes sharing the joy and priceless moments of her family living their best lives amid it all with a loving and humorous twist. She shows you how, although life may give us lemons, you can still make sweet lemonade with an attitude of gratitude.