My daughter is Kennedy and she is 20 months old. She started off completely healthy, but by the time she was two weeks old, we noticed blood in her stool. Her pediatrician immediately switched her to an extensively hydrolyzed formula but she continued to have blood in her stools and did not gain weight. Once she was a month old, she transitioned to Neocate® Infant* (an amino acid-based formula) and started to feel better.
Over the course of the next 6 months she was diagnosed with severe GERD, delayed gastric emptying, and dairy allergy. She was doing great on formula but her medical team suggested introducing solid foods. At 6 months, we began introducing solid foods and almost every food we introduced resulted in a massive vomiting reaction. For the next two months, Kennedy was constantly sick and was admitted to hospital multiple times for food refusal. Finally, the healthcare team decided to place an NG** tube to help her grow.
After months of frequent hospital visits, an allergist formally diagnosed Kennedy with a condition called FPIES (food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome). Kennedy was 100% NG tube fed for most of the following months until she had her G-tube placed. After her G-tube*** placement, we began seeing the FPIES nutritionist who told us that she’s had great luck with the Neocate Splash since they don’t taste like formula and come in a packaging that looks like a juice box. She sent us home with the sample pack. I gave my daughter the orange pineapple flavor and she drank half of it! That was more than she had drank on her own in months. I called the nutritionist and asked her to send a prescription to our DME (Durable Medical Equipment) for 3 Neocate Splash packs a day as supplement to her night time powdered formula tube feedings.
Watch Kennedy’s story here:
Here’s how Neocate Splash is helping this family:
– Caitlyn M.
Mother of Kennedy, age: 20 months, Diagnosed with FPIES
*Neocate Infant DHA/ARA
**NG is Nasogastric Tube
***G-tube is Gastrostomy Tube