Featured Image Credit: Kennedy
Topics: US News, Texas, Florida, Food and Drink
Joe Yates
Warning: This article contains discussion of eating disorders which some readers may find distressing.
In a desperate bid to stop her 238-pound 12-year-old son from gaining more weight, a mom has spoken out about locking their fridge.
Courtney Graham, of Florida, has had to take drastic measures to prevent schoolboy Caden Graham from sneaking downstairs for a midnight snack, as footage shows that she padlocks all the kitchen cupboards that have food in them.
The reason for young Caden's snacking tendencies is due to him being diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Prader-Willi syndrome at just four days old.
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The genetic disorder can lead to learning difficulties and an excessive appetite, which can lead to dangerous weight gain.
Graham, of Seminole, a city in the Tampa Bay area of the Sunshine State, conceded that she didn't know much about Prader-Willi syndrome and would feed Caden the amount she believed other children his age would eat.
But after Caden reached 294 pounds when he was just 11 years old she realized something had to change for her son, who wears 5XL shirts.
In April last year, Caden's 34-year-old mom took him to a specialist children's hospital in Texas for four months to help him shed 75 pounds - something that she believes 'saved his life'.
"He will eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and right after he's starving again, immediately," she shared.
"His body doesn't break down calories or carbs. He was only born with one-third of the normal muscle tone so it takes him a lot of energy to do what we do on a normal day.
"He had no desire to do anything. Everything took his breath away, his breathing was terrible and he had to have an inhaler."
She continued: "I have to lock up my cabinets and my refrigerators every single night before we go to bed or if I'm not going to be in the room to watch him because he will steal food because he feels starving.
"The crossing line that made me scream out for help was when I caught him sifting through the trash cans.
"It broke my heart. My kid was so hungry he felt he had to sift through the trash cans."
Caden now has a strict 1,000-calorie meal plan that consists of grilled chicken, fruit, tortilla shells, vegetables and scrambled eggs to help him keep off the pounds.
"Our journey is starting again. It's been a really tough road, it's constant care for Caden," Graham added.
"It's around the clock watching him and around the clock trying to get him to exercise and move.
"It was really hard but I do know that they [the children's hospital] saved his life. He was only 11 and he was away from his parents."
Caden's mom now hopes to bring more awareness about Prader-Willi syndrome.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone, contact National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). You can reach them on their free hotline at 1(888)-375-7767, which is open Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm CST.