Baxter International is the largest maker of IV fluids in
the US. And since hurricane Helene, the FDA
has given them permission to extend the expiration dates of
certain IV products. But for home infusion companies,
like the 142 year old Jamie Aguilar relies on,
they've been struggling to access the fluids. If I
don't have this, I can't live. So I
do what I need to do to live. Imagine
running a marathon and you feel so tired, you
know, at the end of that marathon, that's
how I feel. If at the end of the
day, if I don't get the fluids that I
need times that by 1000 that's how I feel Aguilar
was born with a rare condition and her body doesn't
absorb the electrolyte she needs through food and drink.
So she relies on IV fluids to keep her alive
. She's been able to give them to herself through
a daily IV drip at home for most of her
life so she can maintain some sort of normalcy.
But since Helene, she's had to receive those fluids
at Johnson Willis for the last six weeks. In
addition to the IV fluid shortage Aguilar says she also
learned the home infusion company she's been using for the
past few years is no longer compounding or mixing IV
fluids with the supplements she needs to live. Her
team of doctors has been searching for a company that
can meet her needs at home, especially with the
holidays right around the corner. She's asking anyone who
may know of a home infusion company that could help
her to please reach out because she wants to get
back to living her life. I miss, I
miss my people. I miss my friends. I
miss my family. I miss driving in my car
with the windows down, going to just a coffee
shop, sitting down and having coffee and people watch
, you know, and just, just having the
windows down in the sun on my face. I
haven't felt the sun in almost six weeks. The
Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association did provide CBS six with
some encouraging news. In the past week, Baxter
International has been able to restart one manufacturing line and
they've announced plans to restore a second line. Those
two lines represent about 50% of the total production capacity
at the facility and about 85% of the production of
1 L V solutions that are most commonly used by
hospitals and clinics. However, there's still no exact
timeline as to when production should be back to those
pre hurricane levels. Leaving Aguilar's future in limbo.