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PHOENIX (KSAZ) - How far would you go to make sure your child has food?
One valley woman is posing that question to anyone who will listen. Jennifer Smith says her toddler has a rare condition that only allows her to consume a certain type of breast milk. The problem is that she's running out of it.
Eighteen-month-old Kallista Smith plays like a baby, smiles like a baby, even dances and laughs like a baby, but there's one thing her little body won't let her do.
"She literally cannot eat anything besides breast milk.. breast milk is the only thing that she can grow on," said Jennifer.
Jennifer, a mother of four, says this life-threatening problem consumes their home life.
"Our life revolves around doctors' appointments and me on the phone.. just begging people to pay attention."
Trouble started a few months into Kallista's life -- patterns that resembled what Jennifer's other baby girl Alyssa died from at just 18 days old.
"We didn't know what was the matter.. this is her life.. she's just going to sleep the rest of her life," said Jennifer.
After allergy testing and no answers to their many questions and running out of breast milk, doctors recommended a J-tube to pump a special formula directly into Kallista's stomach. That's when things began to improve.
"Started walking and moving and crawling.. we think God healed her because there's no other explanation," said Jennifer.
But because Jennifer says the state of Arizona does not have a non-dairy breast milk bank and the fact that their family is on private insurance for Kallista's disability, she is scared her child won't get the help she needs.
"What do we do then when she hits one, when she hits two.. everybody is just saying we don't know."
If you'd like to learn more about Kallista's situation, head to www.gofundme.com/kallista.