An 11-year-old boy with a rare condition that made him feel so hungry and started feeding on toilet paper and dirt has died.Â
Caden Benjamin, from South Africa, suffered from Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic condition which meant his brain could not register that his body did not need to eat anymore.
Caden weighed 198lb (90kg) at the age of 10, which led to serious problems with his breathing, an enlarged heart, and diabetes along with depression, according to reports.
The 11-year-old died at the Steve Biko Hospital in the city of Pretoria in South Africa’s Gauteng Province last Thursday.
His obesity meant Caden was attending school and he spent the last year hooked to an oxygen tank and on medication.
His mum Zola was forced to leave her job to take care of her son.
Caden made international headlines for eating toilet paper and dirt because of his condition.
Gila Sacks, who previously started a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to help pay for Benjamin’s care said Zola ‘was devastated after losing her only child’.
She said that Caden was Zola’s ‘whole life’ and that she wants him to be remembered as the ‘sweet, brave boy he was’.
The crowdfunding campaign has now been extended to try and raise funds to pay for the 11-year-old’s funeral.
Source:Â metro.co.uk