MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As the baby formula shortage intensifies across the Mid-South, one area family alerted ABC24 about their infant's hospitalization earlier this year, after she used one of the Abbott formula brands the company voluntarily recalled in February because of safety concerns.
Now, that family is scrambling to feed the infant and her twin brother as their supply quickly dwindles.
"We finally find a formula that's good for her stomach," Samantha Osborne said about her 11-month-old daughter, Omarosa.
It's been a rocky 2022 for the infant in Brighton, Tennessee, and especially terrifying the morning of March 13.
"She was throwing up to the point where she was turning purple," Osborne added.
In that moment of panic, Osborne's mother confirmed something else. The baby used Similac formula, one of several Abbott brands voluntarily recalled in February because of concerns the products could be contaminated with a bacterium which can cause foodborne illness in infants.
"I didn't know what was going on, and then my mom told me to take a picture of the numbers on the can," Osborne said. "She looked it up and it was the recalled formula."
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The family rushed Omarosa to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, where the baby spent the night on IV's and antibiotics.
"It was very scary because I was fearing the worst, 'what if she wasn't here?' and I'm just very thankful that she's still here with us," Osborne said.
Omarosa pulled through, but now that formula recall and the months-long shutdown of Abbott production at a Michigan plant is making it harder than ever for her mom and grandma to find substitutes for her and her twin brother Omari.
"It's been so hard, having twins and having to have one can is not enough," Samantha Osborne said.
"Not being able to go and find them the formula that they need, it's heartbreaking," Rosie Osborne added.
In recent days, across Tipton County and beyond, the family encountered empty store shelves and an empty feeling.
They're now running out of options - and time - to feed the baby twins.
"I don't know what we are going to do, you know, other than reach out to the community," Rosie Osborne added.
Osborne said if she can't replenish the specialty formula in the coming days, she may attempt cow's milk with the twins.
Pediatricians say that can be an option for some 11-month-olds, ahead of the recommended start when they turn one.