Little Luis heading for big trouble
LIKE any other 10-month-old, Luis Manuel Gonzales babbles and touches anything within reach. But he stands out in a stunning and perhaps lifethreatening way — he weighs 28kg.
At birth he weighed 3.5kg, about the same as his brother Mario, who is almost three but is now dwarfed by his baby brother.
Over the next 10 months he gained a staggering 24.5kg.
“I thought it was because I had good breast milk,” said his mother, 24-year-old Isabel Pantoja at home in Tecoman, in the Pacific coast state of Colima.
His parents created a Facebook page and opened a bank account for people to donate money for Luis’s medical care. They take turns pushing him to the hospital in a decrepit stroller for daily blood tests. Luis cannot walk or even crawl. He can only sit upright.
Mexico leads the world in childhood obesity and diabetes. But no one really knows what is wrong with this baby boy.
One hypotheses is that he could have a genetic condition in which children have an insatiable appetite and weak muscle tone, although Luis does not eat voraciously or spend the day demanding food.
The disorder can also cause heart problems and delays in development of the brain and genitals.