NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A mother whose 12-week-old daughter was reliant on a recalled baby formulae said she watched her child wither as she scrambled to uncover the cause of the illness.
Last week, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers against using Similac, Alimentum or EleCare powdered infant formulas made at Abbot facility in Michigan, amid an investigation into four infant illnesses and a possible death.
Parents were advised to discard the formulas if the first two digits of the code are 22 through 37; the code on the container contains K8, SH, or Z2, and the expiration date is 4-1-2022 (APR 2022) or later.
Kristen Rolle, a mother of two, said after her daughter experienced a dangerously high fever of 102 degrees F that would not break despite her best efforts last Wednesday morning, she visited her pediatrician.
In under 24-hours, her daughter experienced diarrhea and became severely dehydrated.
The symptoms appeared consisted with a bacterial infection, but it was not until news broke of then baby food recall and she cross-referenced the code of the bulk purchase she made that she confirmed she had a recalled batch.
“I told doctors this is not the baby I’m used to having; she always active and never had any issues,” Rolle told Eyewitness News.
“I don’t leave her with anyone strange or anything like that and no one was sick around us. It was strange to me.
“I was told if it would make me feel better I could come back to the doctor at 11 o’clock, which was in the next few hours to see another team.
“I was anxious and uncomfortable, so I did that.
“That’s when they said wait food is discharging, you’re not supposed to leave as she is having bloody stool.
“If she drinks something it comes right back out immediately.
“She was irritable and doing a whole lot of kicking up.
“…Around her stomach was heated, it was very, very hot.”
Rolle said bacteria culture tests were performed to identify the bacteria.
She said at one point she thought she was going to lose her little girl and was terrified.
“I reached out to one of my prayer sisters and I said please pray and cover my baby,”
“For me, it was like watching a near death experience for her and she is so young and couldn’t even fight off what was going on.
“I did a whole lot of crying up there.”
Asked if doctors determined the cause of the illness, Rolle said doctors were treating it as an infection and there were bands in her blood to indicate bacteria in the blood.
She said her child’s formula was switched to Enfamil ProSobee, a non-dairy formula with plant-sourced protein, and the “minute she stopped taking the Similac and went on the ProSobee everything just changed”.
Her child’s condition has since improved, though she is expected to remain under observation in hospital until Saturday.
Rolle said she was thankful to the doctors at PMH for their attentiveness to detail and constant updates throughout the ordeal.
She noted that she has another four cases of Similac and plans to take them back to the company where she purchased them.
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