On board a passenger plane, there was a conflict between a foreign tourist and a family traveling with a child who suffers from a rare genetic disorder – Prader-Willi syndrome. The problem arose when a diabetic passenger was forbidden to eat near the boy. The story caused controversy among users of the Reddit forum, on the pages of which the hungry tourist spoke out.
According to the report, the traveler was forced to clash with the child's family when, for medical reasons, he tried to eat during a flight from New York to Los Angeles. But the parents of the boy sitting next to him forbade him to do this. “I immediately started getting disapproving looks from my parents and my mother said, ‘Can you not do this? Our son can't eat.” He added that he decided to wait and buy food from the flight attendant later to show respect for the wishes of the family.
However, asking the crew for a Coca-Cola and a snack a little later, the father of the family told the staff that the whole row did not want to eat anything. This forced the flight attendant to refuse to serve the passenger. “I walk over to press the call indicator to get food and drinks because I really need it and the father says, 'Our son Prader-Willi, we'd rather you didn't eat anything because it causes tantrums. . He is always hungry, ”the author of the post told the details of the story. At this point, the passenger with diabetes could not restrain himself and stated the following: “I don't care, take a private flight if you want to control your surroundings.”
The incident caused a strong reaction among forum users. One of the commentators stood up for the family: “A child with Prader-Willi syndrome has a real organic, very difficult to control craving for food, this complex disease is difficult to fight.” Some users supported him and urged him to show sympathy for the family, noting that such a condition causes great stress and difficulties in life.
However, the majority of users spoke out in support of the passenger. They noted that the patients nearby were not his problem. “Even if you didn’t have diabetes, people have no right to appear in a public place and dictate to others about their acceptable behavior”, “You were absolutely right. They had no right to refuse you food and yell at you for what you eat, this is public transport, and the plane does not belong to them, ”the supporters of the diabetic noted.
However, some emphasized that in fact, the refusal to eat with diabetes was more dangerous. Here is one such comment: “My husband has type 1 diabetes, and he would not wait for anything in the world. It can be dangerous, life-threatening.”
“Three adults and you couldn't politely talk about relevant medical issues and ask the flight attendant to change seats,” thought another user.
Help: Prader-Willi Syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects the development and functioning of the body. It is named after two Swiss doctors who described it in 1956.
The disease is caused by the deletion, loss or inactivity of certain genes on chromosome 15, which is inherited from both parents. Typically, one copy of chromosome 15 is inherited from the father and the other from the mother. However, in children with Prader-Willi syndrome, only one working copy of this chromosome is inherited, and the other copy is deleted, inactive, or absent. This leads to various physical, mental and behavioral characteristics.
People with this condition usually have characteristic features, including hypotonia (muscle weakness), psychomotor retardation, obesity, low muscle tone, eating behavior problems (eg, strong appetite, compulsive eating, and persistent hunger), stunted growth, delayed puberty, sleep disturbances, and mental health problems such as mental retardation, anxiety, and behavioral problems. It occurs much less frequently than, for example, Down syndrome – only 1 case per 10,000-30,000 newborns versus 1 case per 700-1,000 births.
Prader-Willi syndrome is incurable, but with support and management of symptoms, patients can live a fulfilling life. Treatment includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, specialized training and behavioral therapy programs, and medical supervision and support for the management of obesity and eating problems.
For those who value a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: music that causes depression.