Image via Facebook/ Elliot's Army

Boy’s rare condition means he can’t eat

We often hear of children with food allergies, and wince at the confusion and pain it brings them and their families. But what if your child’s body didn’t just have aversions to a few select foods, but rejected everything he tried to eat? That’s what one family is struggling with, and they are racing to find some help for their child.

Elliot Carter is 16 months old, and was born with two very rare and very severe medical conditions; Mass Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES). A GoFundMe page created for Elliot explains, “These disorders have made it impossible for Elliot to eat. Something we take for granted. To be overly simplistic, his little body literally rejects everything he eats, causing severe and sometimes life-threatening reactions. At nearly 17 months old, he is solely dependent on breastmilk and eats ice chips as a snack.”

His medical status has become “severe and urgent.” One of the doctors treating him told Click Detroit, “He doesn’t have a lot of great options outside of us figuring this out.”

Elliot’s body is rejecting everything he eats. He’s stopped growing. And the one thing that’s keeping him alive is running out: soy and dairy-free breast milk. He had surgery on Monday this week to insert a PICC line for feeding. “Since Elliot has no safe foods, had such a negative reaction to his feeding tube and is still only in the two percentile for his weight causing him to be classified ‘failure to thrive,’ the doctors, my sister and brother-in-law all agree that this is the best option for Elliot at this time,” writes Elliot’s aunt, Elyse Fontana.

“At this point, Elliot’s medical status has become severe and urgent. He currently has two different feeding tubes, which have not proven successful. He has stopped growing and our family is desperate to find him the help he needs.”

What do they need? Soy and dairy-free breastmilk.

The family is looking for donated milk, or maybe even some answers from others who’ve experienced something similar. At this point, any help is crucial.

If you have milk to donate you can get information on the Breastmilk for Elliot Donor Page. You can also get more information on a page created to help Elliot, Elliot’s Army.