An 8-year-old boy is forced to exercise daily in order not to die

Jake Vella, an eight-year-old native of Malta, found himself in a difficult life situation. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with ROHKHAD syndrome, an extremely rare disease that causes non—stop obesity. Jake, however, is not discouraged and shows amazing persistence for his age. He follows a strict diet and burns thousands of calories every day.

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Source: Metro

A similar hormonal failure has been recorded in less than a hundred people throughout history. The disease causes hyperventilation of the lungs and dysfunction of the pituitary gland, an appendage of the brain that is responsible for the production of hormones. As a result, a person gains a lot of weight every day and can stop breathing in his sleep at any moment. Doctors believe that this disorder is genetic, but an exact answer has not yet been received. The average life expectancy of patients with ROHKHAD syndrome does not exceed ten years.

Jake is aware of his prospects, but does not give up. In order to somehow keep his body in good shape, he plows as if he is preparing for the Olympics. Three times a week, the kid trains with the Maltese Association of Young Triathletes, which has become a second family for him. On other days, he does sports at home, in a more gentle mode.

"Triathlon (triathlon: swimming, cycling, running. — Ed.) helps Jake burn a lot of calories and maintain mobility," says Maruska Vella, the poor man's mother. — In principle, he leads a normal lifestyle. He goes to school, plays the drums, but at the same time he must be extremely careful, because due to weakened immunity, any infection can lead to serious complications."

Sometimes it happens that others unknowingly make caustic comments when they see a well-fed athlete. Jake is not offended, he is generally very friendly. Coach Matt Azzopardi says of him: "Jake is a positive guy, he gives himself completely to the goal. But it's very hard to watch what he has to go through."

After Jake's story got into the press, local entrepreneur Hugo Chetkuti contacted his parents. He promised to arrange a meeting of the baby with the famous British triathletes Brownlee brothers. Flights are contraindicated for Jake, so Chetkuti will try to make sure that the brothers themselves flew to Malta. Let's hope that it will work out: meeting with idols will strengthen the spirit of the young wrestler even more.