When baby Azael was born on July 14, 2021, his parents were over the moon. Mom Cynthia Salinas, of San Antonio, was determined to offer him the best life possible, and that included high quality nutrition. While at the hospital, Cynthia saw nurses feeding her son with Similac Pro Advance, which is considered a top-line formula.
Unfortunately, around two weeks after he was welcomed into the world, baby Azael started feeling bad. Concerned for his health, Cynthia took him to the hospital and told doctors that her son was having diarrhea and was vomiting. Following the checkup, doctors prescribed them Pedialyte and Tylenol and sent them home. However, those medications didn’t help improve Azael’s condition. On the contrary, he felt worse.
“That’s where everything went downhill. He just got really sick”, the young mom recalled.
Cynthia took her son to the hospital again but nothing could prepare her for the devastating news she was delivered by the doctors. The baby had a terrible case of salmonella bacteria that had already attacked his brain. They told her it was too late for anything to be done. Unfortunately, baby Azael passed away that day, at just 30 days old, after his heartbroken mom held him in her arms for one last time.
The cause of death was listed as Salmonella Meningitis.
After the tragedy struck, Cynthia wasn’t at ease. She couldn’t find an answer to the question which stuck with her and wouldn’t let her continue with her life. What could have caused the bacteria at such a young baby?
After thorough research, she stumbled upon information about the suspicious quality of the baby formula she used for Azael.
Company Abbott Nutrition had recalled that the FDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, was investigating complaints they received about certain powdered formulas that had been produced at the Sturgis plant in Michigan, which included Similac Pro Advance, too. Allegedly, those formulas caused Cronobacter and Salmonella infections in infants.
She checked the batch number on formulas she had used for Azael and was horrified to see they matched with those under investigation.
She was certain that was the reason which led to her son’s passing.
The FDA investigated four reported cases of Cronobacter that the formulas might have caused in infants. Two of these cases resulted in death.
However, there was not enough evidence to link the baby formula to Salmonella.
Hearing this, heartbroken Cynthia said that “when this recall came out, I felt betrayed.”
“This is supposed to be a really good formula. And now, all this is happening, and you just have a lot of unanswered questions going on right now, and hopefully, we get answers pretty soon.”
She isn’t done fighting for justice for her late son and is pursuing a lawsuit. At the same time she urges parents to be extra cautious about what they feed their newborns with.
For more on the story go to the video below.