14-month-old Dustin was put in an induced coma (Image: GoFundMe)
The family of a toddler who was placed in an induced coma after inhaling cake decorating powder has shared a positive update on his recovery.
The 14-month-old boy has been battling for his life after breathing in an ingredient commonly used in cake and dessert decoration. Katie Robinson, a professional baker based in Australia, was creating a Bluey-themed birthday cake for a friend’s son when her own child grabbed a container of gold decorating dust.
Little Dustin was rushed to emergency surgery at Brisbane’s Queensland Children’s Hospital in Australia to extract decorative lustre dust that had solidified into paste within his lungs.
Katie has since confirmed that the Gold Coast youngster is now breathing independently as he continues his recovery from the ordeal.
“Dusty has had his breathing tube taken out and now has high flow oxygen through nasal prongs,” she wrote in an update to those who have donated to help support the family via GoFundMe.
Dustin was put into a coma (Image: Jam Press/GoFundMe)
“His meds have decreased but he is still in a drowsy state. The doctors are happy with his progression, however still unsure about lasting effects on the lungs.”
More than 1,000 people have contributed to the family through the platform.
“Thank you so so much for the incredible amount of love and support for Dusty and his family!” wrote organiser Rochelle Evrard, a longstanding client of Katie’s and the person she had been baking the Bluey cake for at the time of the accident, in a post on Friday.
“We have well and truly exceeded expectations from the community. Not only with monetary donations but our inboxes have been flooded with support and offers of help and accommodation.”
The young boy was being supervised in his home’s studio while his mother put the finishing touches on the cake. It is understood that he pulled down a tube of lustre dust powder before he began to choke.
“Within seconds [he] had just pulled it off with his teeth, the cap, and just inhaled it and ingested it at the same time,” Katie told an Australian news site earlier this week.
“He was just choking and getting upset, and you could tell that he was starting to struggle to breathe.”
Dustin’s parents, Katie and Chris, commenced first aid while contacting emergency services.
Katie, Chris, Dustin and the rest of the family, photographed in happier times (Image: GoFundMe)
“In the time it took for the ambulance to get there, he was not breathing well. He was grunting, really low grunt and then trying to take a quick, sharp breath in,” Katie added.
“His body was flopping around, his eyes were rolling in his head, and he was just getting unresponsive. I was trying to slap his cheeks, call out his name, and he just wasn’t opening his eyes. So [it] got really scary at that point.”
Dustin required surgery to “flush out his lungs” using a saline solution. Medical professionals subsequently established that the dust contained copper.
Copper is capable of triggering respiratory distress, severe lung damage and even long-term chronic damage when ingested.
“It’s just not a product that you would expect to be anywhere near anything that has to do with food,” Katie said.
“All the doctors have said this is such a rare case … they haven’t really seen this before. So it’s been a difficult one for everyone.”
The powder was labelled for use on decorative parts of a cake.
