Advice Needed

[Guest guest]

This email below is written by my best friend who is looking for advice. Any

help will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks! Margo

My 22-year-old son suffered a serious spinal injury and has been confined to an

ICU for the past 3 weeks. Yesterday he received a tracheostomy, in place of a

breathing tube down his throat. Since he's been under ICU care, he has received

only Nestle's Impact formula* as sustenance, and I am very concerned that he's

never needed a nutrient dense food-based diet more than right now. We have been

told that he may remain on tube feedings for several more weeks or even months.

The dietician feels he's receiving proper nutrition, and is so far unwilling to

allow augmentation or supplementation to this formula. In addition to being

critically injured and paralyzed in arms & legs, my son is battling hospital

contracted pneumonia, c-diff intestinal infection, and the trach renders him

unable to speak or eat normally. In short, despite heroic efforts of excellent

neurosurgeons, my son became ill, almost from the moment he entered the door of

the ICU. Nutrition--food as medicine--appears to be the last consideration

there.

My question: I am trying to research some sort of supplementation that will

easily pass through a feeding tube--one which the dietician cannot claim may

clog the tube or object to for other reasons (ie she claims no added probiotics

may be added because of concerns/liabilities re contracting meningitis). As his

mom, I'm more than willing to sign release of liability, and am happy to

prepare, administer, etc any supplementation-- however, this plea appears to

fall on deaf ears. I thought of preparing bone broths, wheatgrass juice,

sauerkraut juice, healthy oils, ie flax & cod liver oils....below are the

ingredients of the Impact formula. Do you have any suggestions or knowledge

about these matters?? Thank you so very much for your help.

Impact Ingredients

Water, maltodextrin, sodium caseinate (milk protein), palm kernel oil,

L-arginine, calcium caseinate, refined menhaden oil, citric acid, sunflower oil,

potassium citrate, calcium phosphate tribasic, yeast extract, cellulose gel,

sodium citrate, methylparaben†, magnesium chloride, hydroxylated soy lecithin,

potassium sorbate†, potassium phosphate dibasic, potassium chloride, sodium

ascorbate, choline chloride, calcium carrageenan, cellulose gum, sodium

benzoate†, high selenium yeast, high molybdenum yeast, alpha tocopheryl acetate,

high chromium yeast, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacinamide, alpha

tocopherol (to preserve freshness), copper gluconate, calcium pantothenate,

manganese sulfate, ascorbyl palmitate (to preserve freshness), thiamine

hydrochloride, BHA/BHT (to preserve freshness), beta carotene, vitamin A

palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, potassium

iodide, phytonadione (vitamin K1), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), cholecalciferol

(vitamin D3). Product information and values are subject to change. Ingredient

and nutrition information current as of April 2008.