I didn't know anyone who had this devastating illness until this year. A young family member suddenly started losing a lot of weight. At first everyone complimented her on how well she looked. Soon her sudden good looks took a different turn. People no longer admired her good looks. Now they stared at her frightening skeletal frame.

She had lost half her body weight. Her body started shutting down. Her organs could not function properly.

Family, friends and medical staff could not help her. She could not eat. When she tried she was repulsed by food. She looked in the mirror and saw an enormous fat person. So she refused to eat. She refused to look at herself. No one could help her.

She still struggles every day. Her family is devastated. They feel helpless, angry, frustrated and hurt. As tension builds her illness worsens. Medically there is very little out there to help her. Medical practitioners cannot help her until she reaches bottom and wants to be helped. She has asked for help but it is a slow process. Medical facilities are few and overburdened. The waiting list is long. Unless she is in great danger she must wait for a bed in a treatment facility. In the meantime she continues to move towards a life-threatening situation. When that happens and she is admitted the family prays that irreversible damage to her body has not been done or that it's not too late.

What started out as a simple diet to look good has turned into a nightmare that is slowly destroying a young girl and her whole family. She is literally dying to be thin.

If you know of anyone who has an eating disorder please contact me at donna@mycaledon.com .I would like to know how they are coping, what help they are getting and how successful their treatment is.

Donna

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