Gold Coast: Toddler in induced coma after inhaling gold dust powder while baking Bluey-themed cake with mum
A healthy 14-month-old baby is fighting for his life after a horrific cooking incident left him in a coma.
Dustin Wildman was with his mother Katie Robinson, a professional baker on the Gold Coast, as they baked a Bluey-themed cake for a friend on Friday afternoon.
Ms Robinson said: Courier Post Dustin began rummaging through the oven drawer and found a small bottle of metallic rose gold decorative powder, which he then inhaled.
“He was very fast. He was wandering around like he usually does when he suddenly gets his hands covered in dust,” he said.
“I wasn’t using it in the Bluey cake, but it was in many of my baked goods.”
Shortly after inhaling the ornamental dust, Dustin began choking and crying and became unresponsive.
“One minute I’m cooking and the next minute I’m trying to keep my baby conscious,” she said.
Dustin was taken by ambulance to Queensland Children’s Hospital, had surgery to clear his lungs and fell into a coma.
Ms Robinson has since learned the dust contained copper and is now calling for the dust to be labeled as toxic.
“I was horrified when I heard about powder containing copper that did not dissolve in the blood and accumulated in his lungs,” he said.
“Now we have to wait to make sure his kidneys and liver are OK.
“I can’t believe he can’t breathe on his own and is on breathing tubes.
“This has turned our lives upside down with doctors saying it is a watch and wait situation.
“Doctors are as shocked as we are at the damage that has been done.
“The dust turned into a poisonous paste.”
He says he has been in contact with suppliers who allegedly assured him they would pull the ornamental powders from supermarket shelves.
At the time of publication, no recalls had been published on the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards website.
A. GoFundMe It was founded by a friend named Rochelle Evrard, who is the mother of the child for whom the cake was baked.
On the page, Ms Evrard wrote that Ms Robinson and her partner had suspended work on the Gold Coast so they could be with Dustin in Brisbane.
“Katie and Chris are free trade and because Dusty’s condition is so rare they don’t know when they’ll be able to work again, they don’t know how long he’ll be in hospital,” she said.
“Ronald McDonald House only has accommodation for them until tomorrow, so they now have to pay for their accommodation while trying to cover their mortgage and normal living expenses.”
By Wednesday morning, it had raised more than $16,000.
