Despite rare disorder, local youth can still be a kid

CEDARTOWN — There are many days and months throughout the year that are designated to promote awareness of health issues. There’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, and Feb. 3 celebrates National Wear Red Day for American Heart month.

A month many may have not heard of before — or even realized was a problem with a segment of the population — is the recognition of Fatty Oxidation Disorder awareness for July.

It’s a rare condition that one local parent wants others to understand can be deadly, but easily treated if found early.

Dalton Lane Brooks, a 4-year-old boy who was diagnosed with the disorder just days after he was born and nearly died, is one local who has the disorder that’s only found in one out of 10,000 newborns.

His mom, Hannah Brooks, said that with a better understanding of how the disorder works, her son is a happy and healthy young boy.

Essentially, Fatty Oxidation Disorder is a rare health condition that affects how a newborn breaks down fat ingested via breast milk or formula to get energy. The condition is caused by a defect in how metabolism breaks down fatty acids.

This is what threatened Dalton’s life during his first few days, since his mom was breast feeding in the first couple of days of his life and didn’t yet know about the disease.

Though doctors were able to catch the disease early, Dalton did suffer damage to the left side of his body during the first few days of development and has since needed speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy.

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