And he's still living.
12-year-old Landon Jones, from Waterloo,
Iowa, hasn’t felt hungry or thirsty since
October 14, 2013. He went to bed on a full
stomach of pizza and ice cream the night
before, and when he woke up, he had simply
lost all sensation of hunger and thirst.
Instead, the once energetic kid has been sick
and suffered dizziness ever since.
A year later, Landon’s parents are still baffled
by his condition; they have no idea what is
wrong with him or how to help him. “Landon
always laughed, he was always very
energetic, always wanting to ride his bike,
wanting to go to the park,” said Mr. Jones.
“Then on October 14 of last year, he woke up
and it stopped. He lost all sensation of
hunger, he lost all sensation of thirst.”
Landon’s pediatrician in Iowa prescribed
antibiotics, but they made no difference at
all. He was then taken to doctors in other
cities – Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Madison,
and the world renowned Mayo Clinic in
Minnesota – but no one has been able to
give the Jones’ any answers. Dr. Marc
Patterson, a child neurologist at the Mayo
Clinic said Landon’s case might be the only
one of its kind in the world.
Experts have speculated that the boy might
be suffering from a malfunctioning
hypothalamus – the portion of the brain
responsible for regulating hunger, thirst, body
temperature, blood pressure and sleep cycles,
but there isn’t any conclusive evidence to
suggest this. “They could do bloodwork, they
could do all these tests, and those are all
going to come back normal. But they cannot
do a test for the hypothalamus,” Mr. Jones
explained.
The Jones’ also suspect that the cause of
Landon’s illness might be the treatment he
received three years ago for absence
seizures. At age 9, he would sit and stare
into space, oblivious to the world around
him. He was put on a drug called Depakote,
which is commonly used to treat such
seizures, for a year. Doctors are now
wondering if there is a link between the drug
and the suppression of his appetite. But that
isn’t the most likely explanation because
Depakote is typically linked to increased
hunger and weight gain.
Landon’s next appointment will be at the
National Institutes of Health, where they only
examine the rarest of cases. Meanwhile, lack
of nourishment has caused his weight to
drop from a healthy 104 lbs to 68 lbs. And
he continues to lose 2 lbs a week. While his
parents try their very best to encourage him
to eat, he is simply unable to eat more than
a bite of his sandwich.
Understandably, Landon has become weak
and lethargic; he’s attended only 65 days of
school in the past year and prefers to lie on
the couch while his 9-year-old brother Bryce
runs around and plays with the family dog.
His parents say that he hasn’t run for
months, and is forced to watch his
classmates play from the sidelines.
The Jones’ are pretty much at their wits end
trying to find a solution to Landon’s unique
problem. They spend anywhere between four
to six hours a day just researching the case.
“Sometimes, we feel like we’re failing as
parents. And the reason we feel like we’re
failing is because every time we put him on
the scale, he loses. We could do weight
gainers, we could do steroids, we could tell
him to take a bite or a drink, but he either
maintains, or he loses,” said Mr. Jones. He
explained that Landon’s frustration at not
being able to eat or drink is simply too hard
for them to bear.
“This is no longer an animal or mice study,”
he pleaded. “This is now with a human
being. And it’s the first case, supposedly in
history. We’re going through it. We don’t
want recognition, we just want input. I think
the medical field needs to collaborate and
work with each other and try to figure out
this weird situation.”
Let’s just hope that the family gets some
answers soon so that young Landon can go
back to being a normal kid again.
Sources: Des Moines Register
No comments: