A teenager has become the first person in the UK to go deaf and blind as a result of his poor, unhealthy diet and lack of proper nutrition.
The 17-year-old boy, whose family chose to remain anonymous, stopped eating nutritious meals when he was just seven years old.
From then on, the kid would eat nothing but fries, sausages, white bread, processed ham, and chips. He never even wanted to touch vegetables, fruits, or healthily cooked meals.
Following 10 years of his junk food diet, the teen from Bristol ended up with no sight or hearing and consecutively no work or social life.
According to the boy’s mother, who admitted they started noticing something was wrong with their son when he reached 14, the boy developed avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder that made him reject all food that wasn’t junk food.
“We couldn’t believe it when we were told what had happened. We are told the damage is irreversible. It’s been a nightmare,” the mother said.
“His sight went downhill very fast – to the point where he is now legally blind. He has no social life to speak of now.
“After leaving school he got into college to do a course in IT. But he had to give it up because he could not see or hear anything. He would love a job – but he has not been able to find anything he can do. I had to quit my job in a pub. I now look after him full-time.”
Speaking of how the problems began, the mother added her son would only feast on sausages, fries, and chips as a kid despite their efforts to get him to eat other foods as well.
“The first we knew about it was when he began coming home from primary school with his packed lunch untouched,” she claimed.
“I would make him nice sandwiches – and put an apple or other fruit in – and he wouldn’t eat any of it. His teachers became concerned too.
“His brother and sister have never stopped eating. They love everything. But he was just as fit and healthy as them.
“He has always been skinny, so we had no weight concerns. You hear about junk food and obesity all the time, but he was as thin as a rake.”
Now, even after everything that happened to him, the teen still refuses to change his diet which is why his parents got him to take vitamin supplements.
“He is taking vitamin supplements – but his diet is still pretty much the same. When he was having counseling, we managed to start him on fruit smoothies. But he’s gone off those now,” the worried mum added.
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