Prader-Willi Syndrome

1695 Words7 Pages
It was once stated by a successful motivational speaker, “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.” When speaking in terms of health communication, this concept still applies. As any other disorder or illness that affects this world, Prader-Willi Syndrome is no exception. Prader-Willi Syndrome is a rare disorder in which some genes are either deleted or unexpressed on the paternal chromosome causing physical deformities, mental and behavioral problems, and is typically linked to obesity in children. Prader-Willi Syndrome affects up to about 30,000 people worldwide. Prader-Willi Syndrome or PWS affects boys and girls equally, but there is one particular girl in Rossville, TN whom I have had the opportunity…show more content…
As discussed earlier, Prader-Willi is linked to the results of obesity. The girl weighed 128lb and had no intentions of slowing down. “It’s like her body doesn’t have the ability to feel full,” she repeatedly announced. The mother shared that all food has to be put away and locked at all times. There are padlocks on the refrigerator, cabinets, and pantry. She even has to hide the trash. She shared that her daughter will try to eat her toys, leftover food scraps in the trash, food outside on the ground, and says that she will even attempt to take a bite out of a stranger’s food if they were in a setting like a restaurant. The girls screams, fights, and even picks at her skin from the anxiety of not satisfying her appetite. The mother fears that the girl will one day eat herself to death. The mother believes that there should be some type of rules and procedures to deal with this issue. She had questions such as: Is it okay to starve the child for a period of time, or what procedure is almost guaranteed to work? She confessed that the biggest alleviation for her was being able to talk and share with other parents whose children are experiencing the same thing. It was obvious that her child’s weight, was the biggest obstacle and most overpowering concern from experiencing a mother of a child with Prader-Willi. She explained that, when normal people eat too much, we get sick and it comes back up. Children with Prader Willi lack this ability, so if you do not monitor them closely, they will literally eat until their stomachs explode, which will result in death. She stated that it makes her so upset when she sees her child screaming for food, but she would only be hurting her child if she tried to give her
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    Introduction Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a condition triggered by a deletion or disturbance of genes in the proximal arm of chromosome 15 or by maternal disomy in the proximal arm of chromosome 15. Generally related charactnnneristics of this syndrome include weakened fetal activity, obesity, hypotonia, mental obstruction, short build, hypogonadotropicl hypogonadism, strabismus, and slight hands and feet. In 1887, Langdon Down defined the first patient with Prader-Willi syndrome as a teenage girl

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