:(:(Kaleb longs for a meal - any meal | Herald Sun
KALEB, 5, cannot eat. He does not just have a peanut allergy, or a milk allergy.
He is allergic to all food so the only things he can put in his mouth are water and a certain brand of lemonade.
He is fed for 20 hours a day through a machine that pumps nutrients directly into his stomach.
Unless doctors can find a cure, he will never taste a birthday cake.
He can't even share pencils with friends in case he accidentally ingests a bit of food left on them.
His mother, Melissa Bussenschutt, says doctors still have no idea exactly what is wrong with him except that food makes him violently ill and fills his stomach with ulcers.
"Little did we know he was in so much pain," she said. "He's got severe malabsorption, so he doesn't absorb food. They're doing tests to find out why it is that he can't eat food.
"It can be really hard. If we go out to dinner, to a restaurant, he gets a cup of ice, and he'll say: 'What are you eating? What does it taste like?' or: 'It's not fair!'."
Kaleb had a birthday party in February, with a clown and face-painting, and a birthday cake.
"He still wanted a birthday cake, but he wanted his sister to eat it. He still wanted to blow out his own candles, but he wanted his sister to have his cake," Mrs Bussenschutt said.
About one in 20 children have some sort of food allergy, but most of them are mild and many disappear in time. Peanut allergies are the most common.
But Kaleb's allergies have become worse with time.
"He's an unknown . . . a very complicated case," Mrs Bussenschutt said.
"They're going to do food challenges at some point (to get more details on his condition) but he'll have to be in hospital for that."
Allergies have risen in recent years, but it is not clear why.
Experts refer to the present generation of children as "Generation A", in reference to the increasing number of allergies, and have called on governments to invest more in research.
The Bussenschutts are trying to raise money so more research can be conducted.
They have organised a bicycle ride from Melbourne to Adelaide early next year.
For more information, or to contribute to Kaleb's research fund, phone 0417 - 814 870
