Toddler Who Inhaled ‘Gold Dust Powder’ While His Mom Was Baking a Birthday Cake Will Have ‘Lifelong Injury to Lungs’

Katie Robinson says her son Dusty, 14 months, is a “fighter,” and when it comes to lingering damage, “We’re hoping he proves them wrong”

A toddler is in an induced coma and unable to breathe on his own after a shocking baking accident.

The 14-month-old needed emergency surgery after accidentally inhaling decorative cake dust.Credit : GoFundMe

NEED TO KNOW

Dusty Wildman, 14 months, inhaled gold cake powder while his mom was baking a Bluey-themed birthday cake
The powder caused a lung blockage requiring emergency surgery and will likely result in lifelong lung damage
Dusty is recovering in the hospital with a feeding tube and asthma therapy but is making daily progress

A toddler who was hospitalized after inhaling gold decorative cake powder is recovering — but will “likely have a lifelong injury to his lungs.”

Dustin “Dusty” Wildman, 14 months, is still in Queensland Children’s Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery to clear the substance from his lungs, his mother, Katie Robinson, told Australia’s news.com.au in an interview published on Thursday, May 14.

“He is definitely a fighter,” Robinson, 36, told the outlet about her son, who fell unconscious after grabbing and inhaling a container of “gold dust powder” that his mother, a baker, was using to make a Bluey-themed birthday cake for a friend’s child.

A toddler is in an induced coma and unable to breathe on his own after a shocking baking accident.

Katie Robinson said her son is a “fighter”.

“Within seconds, he had pulled the cap off with his teeth and inhaled and ingested it at the same time,” she told news.com.au.

The substance caused an immediate emergency in the toddler’s lungs, family friend, Rochelle Evrard, explained in a GoFundMe originally established to support the family.

“When the dust is mixed with water, it turns to paste — so it immediately blocked Dusty’s lungs. He went unresponsive,” wrote Evrard, who has since paused the fundraiser as the family is staying at a local Ronald McDonald House while Dusty is undergoing care.

Dusty is now awake and alert, and “making progress each day,” she told news.com.au, but her son still has a long road ahead. “He still has the feeding tube as he won’t take a bottle yet, and he has also started asthma therapy,” she said.

“He will need physio and probably an Occupational Therapist. Doctors are saying he will likely have a lifelong injury to his lungs,” she said, “but we’re hoping he proves them wrong.”