My daughter's life was in danger — and the doctors couldn't figure out why
Shiri, my youngest, is an adorable four-year-old girl with Down syndrome. The first year and a half of her life was a roller coaster ride. She couldn’t nurse, but she reacted badly to almost every formula we tried. Her digestive system was terribly sensitive; she’d suffer from bouts of terrible diarrhea and then painful constipation. She also had reflux.
She was around four months old when Covid hit, which obviously complicated matters. By the time she was eight months old, she weighed only eight pounds. Things were getting desperate.
We saw a GI who put her on stronger reflux medication and suggested I start thickening her formula with oatmeal to help with the reflux and promote weight gain.
But when I tried this, the formula entered Shiri’s lungs and she aspirated, which was terrifying. As per instructions, we weren’t feeding her with a bottle, but spoon-feeding instead. Still, Shiri would start coughing and choking with each swallow of this thickened formula. Obviously, this wasn’t the answer.
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