A local family is sharing their story after their 7-month-old son got sick with Botulism from store bought baby food.

The food, which was bought from a local grocery store, was a pouched item. While the family wasn’t able to share the name f the product right away because it’s still being tested, they did say the same product was recalled for

(Photo submitted by the family for Discover Airdrie)Botulism concerns last year.

The father, Thomas, says they noticed something wasn’t right after his son ate the food and took him to Urgent Care. When Doctors there couldn't figure out what was wrong, Thomas brought him to the Children’s Hospital.

Thomas explains the ordeal his family went through while they were at that hospital.

“We were in the ICU for 10 or 11 days and he was on the ventilator, had no motor skills, couldn’t lift his head, couldn’t lift his arms, legs, couldn’t do nothing pretty much. It was pretty rough to see my son that way, he’s only seven months old and as a parent that’s one of the worst feelings in the world: watching your son in so much pain and agony and you just can’t do nothing about it.”

According to Health Canada, Botulism can be caused by improperly prepared canned, low acid fruits such as various fruits and vegetables as well improperly stored fruit juices.

Severe cases of Botulism have led to paralysis of the breathing muscles and respiratory or heart failure.

Thomas says that his son defied all the odds at the hospital and is improving.

“He’s doing good, he’s back to talking away and wanting to play but he only lasts for about an hour with that and then he needs a nap because the toxins are still attached to his muscles and his nerves so it takes a while.”

Thomas and his family sent the samples of the food to the Public Health Agency where they are being tested at a National Microbiology Lab, despite pushback from the company of the food, who wanted the sample sent to them.

The health agency couldn’t comment on specifics of the sample analysis as it is is still in preliminary testing, which could take weeks.

In the end, Thomas is looking to raise awareness on the dangers of Botulism in the hopes that no other family in the city suffers what they did.

They have been grateful for the ongoing support that has come from the community.

“I know that there’s been lots of support for us on all the Airdrie Mom groups and Airdrie Dads groups on Facebook. I just want to thank everybody for the love and support, it helped us get through a lot of this so thank you to the city of Airdrie.”

Questions, comments or story ideas? Email us at news@discoverairdrie.com