Baby Rylee Gardner seizure free after switching to keto powder formula
Four-month-old Rylee Gardner was having more than 150 seizures a day. Now, her parents reveal how a change in diet saved the little Townsville girl’s life.
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It has been a miracle turnaround for four-month-old Rylee Gardner who was having up to 150 seizures a day.
Rylee was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy at only three days old after being deprived of oxygen during birth.
The severe brain injury was causing Rylee’s seizures and she was uncontrolled on medication.
At two months old, Rylee was flown to the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane for further testing.
Rylee’s mum Amie Rootsey said it was heartbreaking seeing her daughter’s condition deteriorate. “She started having so many seizures she became unresponsive and we couldn’t wake her up and we had to put a feeding tube in and she was on high flow oxygen,” she said.
“That day a ‘met call’ was pushed where every specialist in Brisbane was called into her room and from there she was transferred to ICU.”
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After being monitored in intensive care for 24 hours, doctors decided to try Rylee on a ketosis (keto) baby formula.
Rylee’s seizures stopped within four hours of starting the powder formula ‘KetoCal’ on March 10 and she has been seizure free ever since.
Ms Rootsey said the results were unbelievable. “On the keto diet you are only supposed to get a 50 per cent reduction in seizures and it takes up to a couple of months to have a reduction,” she said.
“But Rylee reacted straight away to the keto formula, it has blown me out of the water.”
Ms Rootsey and Rylee’s dad Logan Gardner have to check their daughter’s keto levels twice a day with a ketone meter.
Once Rylee transitions to solid foods soon she will most likely be on a strict keto diet.
The family arrived back in Townsville on March 16 and were thrilled to finally take their daughter home from hospital.
“It was so surreal, it was like we owned our baby,” Ms Rootsey said.
“She is like a different child.”
Originally published as Baby Rylee Gardner seizure free after switching to keto powder formula