Patient Profile
EMBARGOED: WED, MARCH 30, 2016
Emily, 30
Mother-of-three & ANGI participant recovering from anorexia nervosa, PERTH
Happily married mother-to-three young boys, Emily, 30, Rockingham, Perth
fought the potentially life-threatening illness, anorexia nervosa, from the
tender age of 13.
Raised, together with her sister, by their widowed mother in the small
country town of Denmark – a four-hour-long drive south of Perth – Emily’s
health suffered due to the inadequate health services in her town.
Initially, Emily’s mother chose to conduct background research into her
daughter’s illness, and to consult their family doctor in Mandurah, before
confronting Emily about her health.
In 2001, against Emily’s will, her mother drove her to Princess Margaret
Hospital, Perth, where she commenced her anorexia nervosa rehabilitation.
Feeling scared and disoriented while continuing to wage a war against the
devastating illness, this initial hospital admission would lead to Emily spending three long periods in a clinical ward
over the ensuing two years.
Nowadays, having restored her body to a healthy weight, Emily is preparing to commence an undergraduate degree
in Nursing at Murdoch University, Perth in 2017, while continuing to work on her personal rehabilitation.
This is Emily’s story.
“I find anorexia very hard to describe. It’s an extremely debilitating illness in which you almost begin to feed off your
own happiness,” said Emily.
“I’ve never really understood when my illness began. It was a combination of things.
“After my father passed away when I was a nine years of age, I developed anxiety and to top it all off, I began to feel the
pressures of being a teenage girl,” Emily said.
At the beginning of her illness, Emily’s mother chose not to immediately confront Emily’s problem with her weight –
not because she was neglectful, but rather, because she wanted to confirm with her family doctor first whether her
instincts about Emily’s health were correct.
In 2001, with Emily’s health in serious jeopardy, she was forced by her mother to attend a doctor’s appointment at the
Princess Margaret Hospital, where she was immediately diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and placed in the
rehabilitation ward.
“I was absolutely livid! I thought my mother was being ridiculous, and I begged her not to make me stay in hospital,”
said Emily.
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“That evening, my mother took me to hospital and I was checked into my room.
“I was forced to drop out of school and basically disappear for three months,” Emily said.
Over the ensuing three years, Emily checked into hospital on three occasions for extended periods of time.
“When you return home after being hospitalised, you hate yourself, because you’ve put on weight and you’re out of the
loop socially, which is why I was admitted on multiple occasions”, said Emily.
During her second admission to hospital, Emily was determined to check out and shed the weight she had gained in
rehabilitation. When she returned to hospital on the third occasion, her mother recognised that although the treatment
at Princess Margaret Hospital was excellent, it was not working well for Emily, and decided to relocate her to a private
hospital.
By the age of 18, Emily’s relationship with her mother and friends had sourced to such an extent that she moved out of
home and isolated herself from the world.
“I just wanted to be left alone with my illness, but my mum wouldn’t accept that, which is why we didn’t have a positive
relationship for so long.
“My illness was exhausting. I realised I couldn’t treat myself like this for the rest of my life, because it took every ounce
of will power to obsess over myself. If you could see inside the head of a person with anorexia nervosa, it’s just so sad,”
Emily said.
In 2004, Emily met her now husband during a night out with friends in Northbridge – an evening that marked the
beginning of her personal recovery from anorexia nervosa, and an upward trajectory of progress.
“At first, my then boyfriend, knew nothing about my illness. But after I explained it to him, he did some research and
slowly began to understand how to better support me.
“My three sons keep me on the road to recovery. I constantly remind myself of the fact that ‘if I don’t love myself, how
will I be able to love my family properly?’
“I no longer feel controlled by the illness, and now I’m closer to my mother than ever before. I am also thankful to my
sister, who travelled every weekend to come and sit by my side while I was in hospital,” said Emily.
Emily chose to participate in the Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative (ANGI) – the world’s largest and most rigorous
genetic investigation into the illness – to help others living with, or predisposed to the life-threatening illness.
“I support the ANGI study 100 per cent. Even if a cure is not found in the near future, at least for the time being, this
initiative will generate awareness of anorexia nervosa, and that’s great!”
“I would like everyone who have previously experienced, or is currently living with anorexia nervosa, to know this illness
is not bigger than them; that they’re stronger then they think, and deserve to be happy with themselves,” Emily said.
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For more information, or to coordinate an interview with Emily, please contact Kirsten Bruce or Mark Henderson
from VIVA! Communications on 0401 717 566 / 0431 465 004.