Gordon Day lost his daughter to an eating disorder - and he now wants greater awareness and resources for sufferers
Over 1.6 million people in the UK are estimated to be directly affected by eating disorders and the figure may be as high as four million as sufferers typically don’t seek treatment and therefore are not included in official figures.
Eating disorders are serious mental health issues affecting mainly (but not exclusively) girls and women. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rates among psychiatric disorders.
My daughter Kirsty started being regularly sick aged 15. She underwent a lengthy series of physical and non-physical assessments before she was eventually diagnosed as bulimic.
She would binge eat at meal times, go to the bathroom, return and binge eat again. She would be walking along the street beside me and just vomit.
For over a decade her life was horrendous. She went from a healthy full size to being painfully thin. She would vomit several times a day every day.
As a parent, I felt helpless and useless, I watched my child suffer and deteriorate and did not know what to do to help her
Gordon Day
The acid rotted her teeth so badly she had to have her entire upper set removed. Potassium levels dipped dangerously low leading to multiple hospital admissions in a life-threatening condition.
Low potassium means muscles cannot work properly and this includes the heart. Getting her help on the NHS was practically impossible. Clinics full. Unable to even get on to waiting lists.
It was only the threat to her life that her condition posed, plus endless pestering of specialists, that eventually got her seen at a clinic but resources for treating such illnesses are woefully poor.
As a parent, I felt helpless and useless. I watched my child suffer and deteriorate and did not know what to do to help her.
Even dedicated charities did not have the resources to help as they were simply overwhelmed.
And of course, a major aspect of the condition is that the sufferer does not want to be treated as they think the treatment will lead to weight gain.
This meant that a missed appointment at the clinic would mean a threat of being discharged from treatment. It felt like we were battling everyone with no support.
I wish with all my heart that there was a happy ending to this story but on 24/02/16, Kirsty suffered heart failure and died aged 27. Sadly, this is all too common an ending for sufferers.
I have written this as I want to raise awareness of the severity of this illness.
I want people to try and understand the dangers associated with eating disorders, that they often prove fatal.
Hopefully, increased awareness will lead to improved resources to treat sufferers and support families.
Gordon is doing the Kintyre Way Ultra - 42 mile cycle on 5 May to raise funds for Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity.
