Mother pleas for help after child’s only food option is recalled

TROY (KMOV.COM) - Hannah Singleton of Troy is feeling helpess. She currently does not have anything safe to feed her 4-year-old daughter, Isla.

Isla has been in and out of the hospital her entire life because she can’t keep any food down.

“She currently has 23 different diseases, syndromes, or health issues that are lab confirmed, biopsy confirmed, or clinically confirmed,” Singleton said.

On top of the trips to the hospital for Isla, Singleton is a teacher and has two other kids. She has had to come up with other ways to make sure Isla has a normal childhood. For things like Halloween candy, Isla knows to bring it home and exchange it for a toy.

“Isla will walk by a cookie and say ‘Mmh that smells so good but I don’t want to throw up, I don’t want to go to the hospital, I don’t want the needles in my arms’.” said Singleton.

To keep Isla from vomitting, she has to eat only formula. There are only two kinds of formula she can keep down.

One of those was just recalled.

“I ran downstairs and started pulling into those cases. It’s a desperate helpless feeling to know that one of your child’s only two options is about to be off of the table,” Singleton said of the 66 cans she owns that are now recalled.

The Food and Drug Administration said it is investigating four reports of infants who were hospitalized after consuming the formula, including one who died. The agency said one of the cases involved salmonella and three involved Cronobacter sakazakiim, a rare but dangerous germ that can cause blood infections and other serious complications.

The problem for Singleton, she doesn’t have any other options.

The other formula that Isla can eat flew off the shelves. Singleton was able to order some online that won’t be delivered until the end of the week.

So, Singleton took to Facebook asking people to keep an eye out for Elecare Jr. with an experation date before April 1, 2022.

“I have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of messages,” she said.

Hundreds of people checking store shelves for Isla, with no luck.

“Not one. I do not think there is one can of this in Missouri or the surrounding states, period.”

Now, she has no choice but to feed Isla recalled formula. She said she has spent hours on the phone with the hospital, her insurance company, and friends and family searching.

“If anybody finds any, we would buy it. We would definitely be there to take it.”

If you have any EleCare Jr. that is not recalled, email julia.avery@kmov.com to get in contact with the family.

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