September

Well my daughter Annie has   gone away to live at University. It’s so exciting for her a new opportunity socially and academically. I will miss her but am so pleased she has the chance to experience living away from home with a group of people the same age as her. As well as her clothes and laptop and beauty essentials I have made sure she has a supply of all her favourite foods and knows how to prepare several healthy meals.

October 20th

It’s a month later and although Annie has kept in touch by phone she is coming home for the weekend and I can’t wait to see her J.

October 24th

Well the weekend was not as I expected. Although it was lovely to see Annie she seemed quite tense. She spoke enthusiastically about her course but seemed to become defensive when I asked her about her room mates and her social life. I tried to give her food to take back but she told me she was managing well and she could stand on her own two feet.

November

She is phoning home more and seems a bit homesick but that’s to be expected. I do my best to reassure her but it is so difficult L. I just want to give her a big hug.

January 12th

Well Christmas has come and gone and it was far more difficult than I had expected. It was lovely to have Annie home and all the family together but Annie did not seem her normal self. Not sure if she is just homesick or it’s something more. She has not eaten meat for years but has now stopped eating fish as well.  She seemed very tired but friends assure me their daughters (and sons) were the same after all that partying and hopefully plenty of studying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whenever I tried to talk about it she changed the subject but hopefully the second term will be a little easier now that she has settled in.

February 18th

What a shock we got a call from Annie’s phone and it was Sarah a flat mate. She was phoning as Annie had collapsed and they were in an ambulance with blue lights rushing her to hospital.  I have never driven so fast in all my life. Annie only had her pj’s and slippers and a dressing gown on. She looked so thin. Thinking back when she was home over Christmas she always had big jumpers and long trousers on but I thought she was just keeping warm.  The doctors checked her over and said she had low blood pressure and seemed a bit anaemic. Annie insisted she is an adult and did not want me with her when the doctor examined her so I am not sure what was said. She swore she is ok and it was just that she had been working too hard on an assignment.   I do hope she takes this as a warning and makes sure she looks after herself properly. As usual she told me not to worry or fuss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

March 12th

I have kept in touch each evening. I just need to hear her voice to check she is ok. Annie keeps telling me it was all a fuss about nothing. She seems less enthusiastic about Uni and if I ask about Sarah the flat mate who was so good to her she gets quite defensive and says she is not particularly a friend was just there at the time.

May 18^th

Oh how could I have been so stupid and miss so many signs - I am such a bad Mum. Annie has had to leave Uni and defer her studies. She has been admitted to hospital after a second emergency ambulance trip to hospital. This time she collapsed in a lecture and her course tutor stayed with her and by careful coaxing got Annie to admit to the doctor in A +E   that she has not been eating.  Now when I look at her it is so obvious that she had lost weight and looked pale but I had tried to avoid accepting the evidence in front of me.

Annie was admitted to a specialist eating disorder clinic where she received the treatment she needed for Anorexia. It is now several years later and although not fully recovered she returned to the same University and completed her degree and has been working full time for the last few years. I am so grateful that she got help in time as there were several times when I really thought she was going to die.

If you are concerned about yourself (or about a friend or even a passing acquaintance) please visit the B-eat website for advice.  Eating Disorders are an illness and no one should be too embarrassed to admit they need help. The sooner the sooner help can be provided the less chance of long term health implications.