A Mexican 24-year-old mom gave birth a little boy ten months ago in her country, at the city of Colima. She thought at first that she had delivered a very healthy child. But the time passed, and the mother started seeing how her son was uncontrollably growing while gaining enough weight to look like a nine-year-old boy. Unfortunately, not even doctors have discovered the cause that makes this kid increase so quickly.
The mother always thought that the weight-gaining of her child was normal: it’s a common process that can vary depending on the parent’s genes. Also, she said that she believed she was breastfeeding her boy with a very “good” milk. Unfortunately, that was before she realized that she couldn’t lift him up anymore — just a few weeks ago — due to how heavy he was.
In fact, Isabella Pantoja once revealed that she and her family have to take turns to use a decaying stroller and carry her child, Luis Manuel Gonzales, to the hospital — where doctors are still shocked after seeing the condition of this kid.
The first hypothesis doctors came with was a disease called Prader-Willi Syndrome, which makes children have a voracious and insatiable appetite, and weak muscle tone. However, Luis is not a boy who is continually demanding for food — as the mother said. This kid eats like any other new-born despite the fact of his impressive weight-gaining.
The doctors want to try giving Luis with a hormone treatment that is considered to cost around $600. However, Mario, the father, earns per month as little as just $200 per month.
The amount of money has not stopped the parents. They decided to keep taking Luis to the hospital for more tests until they know how to help their son. Both of them even opened a Facebook page and a separated bank account for friends and family — precisely dedicated to donations for their son’s high medical care costs.
In just ten months, Luis gained 28 kg
When Pantoja gave birth to Luis, he weighed 3.5kg (8lbs) — which is very normal for a new-born boy, especially after knowing that his older brother weighed the same. At the age of 2 months old, Luis’ weight was 10kg (22lbs). But six months later, he was 18kg (40lbs).
Now, Luis’ brother is almost three years old, but he has been dwarfed by his baby brother. With just ten months of age, Luis is weighing 28 kg (62 lbs).
Mario Gonzales is a well-built and healthy man who works at a juice plant. But when asked about how hard it was to carry his son to the hospital, he said that he gets very tired because it has turned into a daily routine that takes a lot of his time. According to the mother, Luis has to be taken to the hospital at least four times a week so doctors can test his blood.
“It hurts to watch the nurses search among the rolls of fat on his arms for a vein,” said father Mario Gonzales.
One day, when Pandoja was going to the hospital — as usual — she said that the stroller suddenly broke and made her son fall to the ground. That represented a big deal for the family after realizing that they didn’t have anything else they can use to carry their kid back to the house, but their arms.
To make matters worse, Luis’ weight doesn’t let him make many movements — like walk or crawl. He can only sit upright.
There might be solution for Luis
Silvia Orozco, a surgeon specialized in nutrition, got interested after hearing about Luis’ case. She told the parents that their son may be in deadly danger, but that they shouldn’t give up on him. Hopefully, she believes that she can guide the Gonzales family to a solution and save Luis’ life.
Right now, Orozco is waiting for a tissue sample that she sent to the United States a few days ago. After experts finish with the analysis, she might finally be able to reach a conclusion and answer why Luis gained so much weight in just a couple of weeks.
According to the surgeon, she doesn’t think that Luis is suffering from Prader-Willi Syndrome. Orozco believes that the boy’s problem may be because her mother didn’t provide him with enough nutrients.
For Orozco, Pandoja did not have a healthy diet while she was pregnant with Luis. If that’s indeed the case, she could not have provided him with specific essential nutrients that every kid needs to grow normally.
The lack of nutrients at the pregnancy might have affected Luis’ glands. Thus, also making his metabolism to underperform.
If this is, in fact, the truth, doctors are right and what Luis needs is a hormone treatment. The problem later would be to find the money to cover the boy’s treatment costs.
Source: Daily Mail