Julian is only 13 months old and already weighs 19 kg. It doesn't know the taste of s alt and sugar. One day he eats only about 500 calories. The diagnosis lasts almost a year, and it is still unknown where Julian's obesity came from, which already destroys his heart, lungs, thyroid gland, skin and arteries. - But people know theirs and shout for us: do not feed this kid like that, because he looks like a sumo wrestler - says with regret Gabriela Knapik, Julian's mother.

Julian was born in the 37th week of pregnancy, cuddling his almost 3.5 kg body in me. At the start of his life he got a full set, i.e. 10 points on the Apgar scale. So we left the house with a he althy toddler, though a bit yellow.

Before the first 10 days, Julian was the perfect child that all parents dream of - he just ate and slept around the clock. Fed only with breast milk, he was gaining weight in a textbook manner.

" You must have some turbo milk " - joked the pediatrician watching 5-week-old Julian during his check-up visit. Julian weighed 5.5 kg then. We were leaving the office with an order for physiological jaundice of newborns, because the little one was still yellow. However, when a week later we returned to the same doctor with the results, we left him with another referral, but to … the hospital. It turned out that during these 7 days, Julian gained 700 grams, which is as much as other babies in 1 month. I wasn't worried then. After all, they wrote on the Internet that you cannot overfeed a child with mother's milk.

Another face

The hospital nurse had a real problem punching Julian's vein to get his blood drawn. The results of the analysis confirmed the borderline TSH (the level of thyrotropin in the blood - it is used to diagnose problems with the thyroid gland) and an enlarged liver. When I was asked to picture my husband, a red beacon lit up in my head. Doctors confirmed what I began to notice myself. Juliana's face began to take on specific features. We left the hospital with further referrals - to an endocrinologist and genetic clinic. The date of the visit "at the National He alth Fund" was terribly long, so we decided to have a private consultation. Doctors did not hide that it was bad. In a subsequent referral to the hospital, the wording appeared for the first time: a cushingoid appearance.

Research has confirmed that hormonesJulian's working badly. In addition to abnormal thyroid hormones, Julian also had high levels of the hormone ACTH (tested when Cushing's disease is suspected) and 17-OH progesterone. First diagnosis: congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). We barely reached the internet to see what this mysterious WPN was, we barely shook off the shock and became sure that we would be able to deal with it, and another news came: Julian WPN is gone.

Julian is getting fat like crazy

Perversely, it was when the ESR was excluded that the greatest diagnostic problems began. As if the doctors had no idea what was wrong with our son. When Julian "caught" the next kilos, they told us to watch him and they consoled him that he would grow out of it as soon as he started to walk. We were not satisfied with these translations. So we knocked at the next doctor's offices, but we heard the same everywhere.

When Julian was 6 months old and weighed 11.5 kg, we decided to "escape" Poland for a month-long vacation in Great Britain. There, surprisingly, Julian made the greatest developmental progress. He started playing with toys, leaning on his hands while lying on his tummy, and finally accepted the fact that there was other food that came out of his mother's breasts.

We enjoyed it for a short time. After returning home, Julian first "caught" upper respiratory tract inflammation, and then RSV, which almost led to bronchitis and pneumonia. And of course he "landed" in the hospital every time. Julian was then 7 months old and weighed 14.5 kg. We said: STOP and together with the pediatrician we started looking for a doctor whose he alth would be really interesting for our son.

500 kcal for life

What do we know about Julian's he alth now? That he is 13 months old and weighs 19 kg. Cushing's syndrome is definitely not there. Recently, there has been a suspicion that this is monogenic obesity, but which Julian's gene is mutated, genetic tests will already show. But we know that "mother's disease" or obesity simply "wreaks havoc" on Julian's body. She caused hypothyroidism, changes in the structure of the heart, arterial hypertension, atopic dermatitis and early childhood asthma. Perhaps Julianek is the youngest child in Poland on a reduction diet, i.e. slimming. It does not know the taste of s alty and sweet dishes. He eats every 3 hours - only dietary, carefully arranged meals. Yes, we expect Julian to be on an extremely restrictive diet of 500 kcal a day for the rest of his life. Do you know how many calories a tube of fruit mousse has? Approx. 100!

XXL diapers

Even when I was pregnantIt never crossed my mind that with the current universal availability of all goods, I would not have anything to wear my child with. At the age of 8 months, Julian grew up from the largest diaper size and began to wear special diapers for older children, which we buy at the pharmacy. The current size of Julian is 104/110 cm, so buying clothes for him is a huge challenge. Shorts and shirts need to be very flexible wherever they can. Many Julianki's clothes are made to measure. The real mission was to buy the first shoes. Of the dozens of pairs we measured, some fit and of course were the most expensive. Julian's bike and swing must be adapted to his weight. And the maximum load on such items for a one-year-old child is 15-20 kg. Cart? Most models have a maximum load capacity of 20 kg. What are we going to drive Julian in when he gets over that weight? The car seat can carry a child weighing up to 25 kg. These are the security requirements. So soon we will have to buy a new car seat, but in the USA, because in Poland there are no children with a higher load capacity.

King Julian fights

The most painful thing is that when we show up, we arouse a sick interest. Julian is accosted, insulted and pointed out by both children and adults. We often hear rude, malicious, offensive comments, e.g. in a restaurant - not to let my son eat because he is too fat anyway. By publishing Julian's photos on social networks, I always cause storms and an avalanche of comments. I have already read that " I'm doing my baby a lot ", that " looks like a catfish ". It is extremely unpleasant that most people immediately blame us - parents - and will not think that our son is sick and that neither he nor we are to blame for it. And the obesity disease itself is often underestimated. How many times have we heard that we exaggerate, that " we are looking for diseases for the child ", that " will start to walk, it will throw off "

But to be fair - there are situations that restore our faith in people. Parents of children with similar problems write to me. They give me "contact information" to specific doctors and centers where we should seek help. And when it turned out that we had to finance genetic research out of our own pocket - an internet fundraiser helped us. The girls from one group worked wonders and we managed to collect the entire amount. Fortunately, there are people for whom Julian is not a fat but an ordinary boy. "King Julian", who crawls, gets up - falls down - bravely gets up again, takes his first steps, says his first words, hugs, and at the sight of his beloved balls he smiles from ear to ear, showing allfour of your teeth.

The photos come from the home archives of Mrs. Gabriela and Tomasz Knapik

Errata: Julian has already lost 4 kg!

In April 2022. Julian is 2 years old! Over the past year, he has lost 4 kg since this article was published! Julian's obesity disease was not only stopped, but also led to weight loss in the boy. Gabriela Knapik says treating Julian's obesity has meant changing the way the entire family is eating. - While slimming Julian, I ate most of what he did, there was nothing he couldn't eat. Even my husband has learned to steam, not to use s alt and stock cubes, even though he loves them - says Mrs. Gabriela.

You can see the effects of Julian's treatment on the video sent by the boy's parents. We keep our fingers crossed for Julian and his treatment, and we wish his parents perseverance!

Important

Poradnikzdrowie.pl supports safe treatment and a dignified life of people suffering from obesity. This article does not contain discriminatory and stigmatizing content of people suffering from obesity.

About the authorMagdalena Gajda A specialist in obesity disease and obesity discrimination of people with diseases. President of the OD-WAGA Foundation of People with Obesity, Social Ombudsman for the Rights of People with Obesity in Poland and a representative of Poland in the European Coalition for People Living with Obesity. By profession - a journalist specializing in he alth issues, as well as a PR, social communication, storytelling and CSR specialist. Privately - obesity since childhood, after bariatric surgery in 2010. Starting weight - 136 kg, current weight - 78 kg.

Category:

Obesity