A mother is hitting back at trolls who brand her a bad parent for allowing her daughter to balloon to nearly 300lbs.
Sherafien McDaniel, 29, from Atlanta, Georgia, is the mother of Angel, an 11-year-old girl who suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that makes her insatiably hungry all the time.
Angel’s ravenous appetite sees her get up in the middle of the night to sneak food into her room, often eating until she is physically sick. Her prime ‘food sneaking’ time, as her mother calls it, is around 3am.
At 275lbs and a little under 5ft, Angel has a body mass index (BMI) of over 50, and as she grows, so too does her appetite.
In the last 12 months alone, Ms McDaniel told DailyMail.com her daughter has gained 70lbs. Without a radical intervention, she could eat herself to death.
Angel and her mom smile for a mother-daughter selfie
Pictured in 2021, Angel shows off her softball uniform
Angel eats three meals a day with countless snacks in between, with her favorite dish being ramen. Ms McDaniel says she will eat just about anything but dislikes spicy foods.
Ms McDaniel has created a TikTok to raise awareness about Prader-Willi syndrome and is urging people to do their ‘research’ before attacking her.
She told DailyMail.com: ‘Nobody else can take care of Angel better than me. I am her mom. I am put on earth to take care of my child. She’s my child’.
Prader-Willi syndrome occurs when genes on chromosome 15, which is inherited from the father, are missing and not passed on to the child.
The defect of chromosome 15 disrupts the normal functions of a portion of the brain that releases hormones to control things like growth, sleep, mood and hunger.
Just 3,400 people have the disorder in the US.
Sufferers usually only live to their 30s because the excess fat puts them at higher risk of a host of health issues like heart disease and diabetes. But some have been known to live into their 60s.
There are already warning signs for Angel. In June, Angel developed a large rash on her body and was excessively thirsty.
Her mother took her to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with type 2 diabetes, which means she needs to take insulin before every meal and before bed.
Pictured above, Angel McDaniel at three years old on Easter in 2015
Four-year-old Angel on her first day of school in 2016
While there is no cure for Prader-Willi syndrome, there are some ways to manage it, such as taking appetite suppressants – which, have not worked in Angel’s case, according to her mother.
Ms McDaniel has looked into hormone therapy, which is known to help manage the disorder, but was told Angel’s sleep apnea, a serious and sometimes deadly sleep disorder caused by excess fat, would interfere because it can lead to heart problems.
Along with sleep apnea, Angel has hypothyroidism, a condition that causes the thyroid to not release enough thyroid hormone.
It has caused her metabolism to drastically slow down, putting her at even greater risk of weight gain.
Along with her need to constantly eat, she also struggles with developmental issues that mean she struggles to communicate verbally.
She also needs help bathing and going to the bathroom.
Angel on a trip to New York City with her mom in 2023
Angel on a trip to New York City with her mom in 2023
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk