Parents of a 23-month old baby are worried that their child might 'eat himself to death' because he always feels hungry, according to the Daily Mail.
The child, Geezer Buxton is suffering from a rare genetic condition called Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) which makes him always hungry. The condition also makes it impossible for the child to realize if and when he has already eaten enough. Patients suffering from PWS typically experience compulsive eating and obsession with food that happens before they turn six years old.
Likely, PWS patients also have slow physical and emotional development and learning difficulties. Approximately 15,000 children born in England suffer from the condition yearly. Geezer was first diagnosed at three weeks when his doctors noticed that he was unresponsive and limp. As of late, he has just started crawling and has not yet uttered his first word.
His parents, Michelle Sargeant, 43 and Craig Buxton, 39 are both concerned for Geezer's future because he might find it impossible to live a normal life. "When he was born, I had to have a C-section; he was taken into intensive care and wouldn't feed properly for ten days. He was fed through a tube before we were allowed to take him home. Around three weeks later we were given the diagnosis of PWS," said Michelle.
""If you saw him today, you would think he was a normal toddler, although he can't speak properly or stand due to his low muscle tone. After finding out about his condition, I went online to speak to other parents regarding the condition, they told me their stories, such as having to lock foods away and their children eating strange things. That doesn't happen with every child, it can happen, but it doesn't mean it will," she added.
