A boy who ate toilet paper and dust because of a rare disease giving him hunger is still 11 years old

Caden Benjamin weighed already 90 pounds at the age of 10 years since he was suffering from the rare Prader-Willi syndrome, a disease characterized by an obsession with eating. On November 15, he died at Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa, reports Daily Mail.

Due to his condition, Caden never felt satiated as his brain could not realize that his body no longer needed to eat right after a full meal. Eventually, the 11-year-old ended up eating toilet paper and dirt when he could not consume anything else. Caden was forced to undergo a tracheostomy several years ago because of his obesity, after which he breathed permanently through a tube inserted into his trachea-vent, reports reported. In addition, he suffered from cardiac hypertrophy, diabetes and depression due to his condition.

After her mother Zola could no longer afford Caden's care, a family friend, Gila Sacks, launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the young child. After his death, the campaign was extended to cover his funeral expenses. According to Sacks, Zola "was devastated" by "the loss of her only son" and declared that Caden was his "whole life".

The troubled mother had described the state of health of his son last year. "At one point, Caden was eating toilet paper and eating rolls," she says. "In fact, he would eat any paper that he would find in the house.If there is nothing to eat, he'll pick up the dirt that he finds on the soil and eat it. "

That said, thousands of people around the world suffer from physical, mental and behavioral problems related to the incurable syndrome of Prader-Willi. Worse, patients need less food than their peers because their body has less muscle mass and tends to burn fewer calories. However, they end up eating a lot more. Zola said last year: "At three years, he weighed 40 kg and at that time we did not know what was wrong with him. We consulted a number of doctors and no one could tell us what to do. was wrong and why he was gaining so much weight. "

It was only later that a doctor at the Steve Biko University Hospital in Pretoria diagnosed Caden's disease after performing several tests. Benjamin continued: "Normally, he started the day eating four slices of cheese toast, then an hour later he drank Coca-Cola and leftovers from the night before, and at lunch he ate two large chunks of chicken. He ate every hour for the rest of the day. "

Unable to find a solution to his ever-increasing weight and deteriorating health, the doctors prescribed a diet for young Caden – who wore men's XL size clothing because of his size. Zola described each day as a "battle" because she had to lock all the kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator and hide all the food in the house. After being unable to live as a normal child and play with other children, Caden often suffered from depression. Many times he burst into tears saying that he wanted to go out and play with his friends.

If you want to help the family cover funeral expenses, you can do it here.