Twin boys with rare condition can eat until they CHOKE

Stevie and Eddie Ahern, 12, were born with Prader-Willi Syndrome – which leaves them constantly hungry.

They also have autism, and the combination of the two leaves them prone to extreme anger and violent outbursts.

Mum Dianna Schatzlein-Ahern has to lock up her refrigerator and cupboards and hide cat food and even has to put cleaning products under lock and key, in case they drink them.

The thirteen stone boys are becoming increasingly strong and more stubborn meaning the 55-year-old single parent may be forced to seek help from the authorities.

Dianna, from Connecticut, said: “I have to keep everything locked away so they don’t get up in the middle of the night and have a feast.

“They can never feel full so could potentially eat themselves to death.

“I even have to lock up all of the medications in my room, then lock the bedroom door once I’m going to sleep.

“But that’s their disease.”

Prader-Willi affects one in every 25,000 childre, including Katie Price’s oldest son Harvey.

It leaves sufferers with an insatiable appetite, low muscle tone and speech delay.

Looking after the boys is a 24-hour-a-day job and the constant nature of it eventually took a toll on Dianna’s marriage with their father and means she can’t spend time with their other two kids.

Dianna said: “I’ve been living just me and the boys for two years now.

“I still see my other two children but it’s hard being away from them.

“It’s difficult for the boys because I’m very strict with their food intake and I only allow them 1200 calories a day.

“That can lead to aggression because they don’t understand why I have to do it.

“Stevie can be very violent, he will just pop and start knocking things over.

“He goes after Eddie all the time. I just say Eddie go in mommy’s room and wait but it can take hours for him to come out of it.”

Things came to a head recently when Stevie became aggressive in a supermarket while shopping.

Dianna said: “They didn’t have a little carriage for him to push so he became very agitated.

“Out of nowhere he started to smash the displays and when a stranger approached to ask if he was ok he pushed him as hard as he could and the man ended up on his back.

“Everyone was staring at me and eventually a woman who was a counsellor at a school came to calm him down.

“She knew not to approach him but it took her 45 minutes to get Stevie into the right mindset.”

As the boys become stronger Dianna has started to realize that she may need outside help to control them – she has yet to call the police but knows it is only a matter of time.

“I try to explain to them that they will be taken away from me, that they’ll have to go to a hospital but they’re not able to understand,” added Dianna.

Because of the severity of their condition Diana is unable to have the twins looked after by anyone who does not have a deep understanding of Prader-Willi – meaning she rarely gets a break.

She added: “They’ll eat out of the garbage, we always have to take the garbage and put it outside.

“I don’t think they’re aware of it, they’re just so hungry that they’ll just eat whatever they see, they’ll eat it off the floor and they’ll eat out of anybody’s garbage.

“Things are at the worst every day. There’s not a day that goes by when something major doesn’t happen in our lives.

“I really don’t know how I cope, it’s taxing but I can’t have a nervous breakdown because I’m all they have.”

While Diane does have the boys she plans on enjoying as much time with them as she can and taking a break whenever an opportunity presents itself.

She added: “They’re such good kids, they’re very loving to me and I love them so much.

“They call me the queen – I’m queen mom.

“I’ll keep fighting for them as long as I can.”

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