Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘It’s the only thing she’ll eat’
A mum says she is “blown away” after readers helped her track down pouches of the one type of food her little girl will eat.
Three-year-old Elodie-rose Turner-holland, from Canterbury, is autistic and was born with complex medical needs.
But last week her mum found herself running low on the only solid food she eats, and feared her daughter may stop eating entirely if she could not find more.
Elodie-rose has endured numerous lengthy hospital stays and life-saving procedures that have left her with permanent lung damage.
She is tube-fed milk for more than 18 hours a day, but alongside this she gets through between one and six pouches of banana and coconut puree made by baby food brand Ella’s Kitchen.
Mum Tori Holland, 29, regularly faces a “battle” to track the food down when stocks run low in shops, but a current shortage, confirmed by the manufacturer, has caused a particularly desperate situation.
She found herself down to just 20 pouches, which would last Elodie a matter of days.
After searching online and visiting dozens of local shops in person but with no success, she made a plea for help.
“It’s quite common for autistic children to really focus on one thing they like,” explained Tori.
“But Elodie can’t swallow fluids because her brain can’t control the fluid going down from the mouth to the stomach.”
Tori urged people to “please please keep your eyes peeled” for the pouches.
After news of her plight was published on the Gazette’s sister website Kentonline, readers made a “tremendous effort” to track down the pouches.
Tori took to her Facebook page Elodie’s Big Adventures to thank the “very kind people” who searched stores and added pouches to their online shops.
She wrote: “I am blown away by the response.
“I think we should be covered for a while now.
“Amazing effort, all of you. Thank you!”