His mother was baking a birthday cake for a friend when the 14-month old got his hands on a common cake ingredient that last left him in an induced coma, unable to breathe on his own
A toddler has been left fighting for his life after coming into contact with a common ingredient used to decorate cakes and other desserts, with the 14-month-old now unable to breathe by himself. Australian mum and professional baker Katie Robinson was making a Bluey-themed birthday cake for a friend’s son when her own child, Dustin, got his hands on a container of gold decorating dust. The lustre powder is commonly used to decorate cakes but is dangerous if inhaled, which is precisely what happened to the now-comatose Gold Coast boy.
Dustin was soon unresponsive, with his mum Katie dialling triple zero – Australia’s emergency number – for an ambulance. When cake decorating ‘luster dusts’ make contact with moisture, the powder reacts and forms a paste, which is exactly what happened inside the little boy’s lungs.
He was rushed to Brisbane’s Queensland Children’s Hospital for urgent treatment, and remains in intensive care. Family friend Rochelle Evrard has since launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to support Dustin and his family through such a difficult time, with Rochelle admitting she feels responsible as the cake Katie was making was destined for her son. Speaking on to Australian breakfast programme Sunrise on Wednesday, Rochelle described Dustin as “the most beautiful little adventurous boy”.
“Katie has been making cakes for us since I was pregnant,” she said. “This weekend, for my beautiful boy’s 1st birthday, she had offered to make him a Bluey cake — and sadly, while she was making his cake, her little man Dusty got hold of a “gold dust powder” and inhaled it. “He got into a drawer and got some powder out and inhaled it. He’s not doing too well.”
She confirmed little Dusty is now in an induced coma and has been unable to breathe on his own. Rochelle, who lost her own daughter while she was admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in 2023, told the Aussie morning show that she can understand the rollercoaster of shock, pain, and horror the family was going through. “I absolutely know the feeling of having a baby in NICU, and it’s horrific, and the last thing you need to be thinking about is finances,” she said. So, she set up the GoFundMe fundraiser for the family two days ago, which has raised a staggering £16,704 – or AUD$31,312 – of donations as word spread about Dusty’s horrific accident. Doctors are now continuing to monitor little Dustin’s condition, with medical experts unsure of his prognosis due to the rare nature of such a freak accident. He is set to undergo further surgery to move his breathing tubes, Rochelle said, and to check his lungs again.
As for the gold dust at the centre of such a harrowing incident, its supplier has pulled the gold cake decorating dust from shelves. As for Dustin’s mum, family friend Rochelle said she was determined to raise awareness among parents and bakers about the dangers of the decorative cake products. “Katie is just wanting all mums to know, and maybe cake bakers in particular, that products that happen to be in our shelves or in our cupboards aren’t necessarily edible,” the family friend said.
You can donate to the GoFundMe by clicking here.
