Charlotte Carson, 3, is receiving a special, live-saving gift after entering a bodybuilding contest to win a year’s supply of protein.
READ MORE: #GSDstrong: Côte Saint-Luc toddler with rare disease enters protein contest for bodybuilders
The toddler suffers from a rare congenital illness called Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD).
Her liver can’t store the sugars her body needs as people with GSD consume protein in the form of muscle tissue.
Charlotte needs five doses of raw corn starch a day to keep her from hypoglycemia.
If left unchecked, it’s a potentially life-threatening condition.
READ MORE: Do men with more muscles really need more protein? Here’s how much you should be getting
Charlotte’s mother, Lauren Wodnicki, entered her in a Canadian Protein bodybuilding contest to win a year’s supply of protein.
The contest included bios of the different entrants and asked the public to vote for who they want to win.
Charlotte started running away with the votes within the first week – gathering over 1,000 votes more than her opponents.
This week, the Côte Saint-Luc family received some good news.
“I burst into tears. I just burst into tears. My husband was actually at work and I burst into tears. Happy tears, but tears,” Wodnicki told Global News.
“Humbled. Gratitude. You don’t know what to think in a situation when people reach out like that.”
A Toronto-based company, Body Plus, said it was willing to give Charlotte a year’s supply of whey protein.
READ MORE: Can protein shakes build muscle mass in seniors?
Tim Pernitsch’s wife showed him Global News’ article last week.
“Right away I thought it was something potentially we could help with,” he said.
Around the same time, Canadian Protein also offered her a year’s supply of their protein – whether she won the contest or not.
“Regardless of what happens, we’re actually going to offer them what we’d offer a sponsored athlete,” said Dan Crosby with Canadian Protein.
“I was like oh wow, this is a different type of situation. We don’t get entries like this. But I figured, you know what? It’s for a great cause. We’re going to leave it up.”
According to Dr. David Weinstein, of the Glycogen Storage Disease Program at the University of Florida, there’s a lingering stigma surrounding the treatment of GSD, which can involve eating household foods like corn starch and gravy.
Charlotte’s family said the provincial health care system won’t cover many alternative treatments.
She has a doctor’s visit scheduled with Dr. Weinstein on Sunday in Gainesville, Fla, which was covered by a fund for people with GSD.
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