Saving Amy

Amy, our daughter, is a fighter. She has fought, and is fighting, every single hour of every single day. Anorexia Nervosa is a silent killer, which is stripping our daughter of the ability to live any semblance of life as we know it. She is losing her fight as we watch helplessly. Before this illness began Amy was a vibrant, funny and passionate girl who was just your typical girl next door with a heart of gold who was beautiful inside and out.  As you can imagine this is excruciatingly painful and heartbreaking. After many years of struggling with this disease we have reached crisis point and as all other options are increasingly exhausted we are now hoping to reach out to you for help. We want to help our daughter conquer this horrendous disease, but we can’t do it alone.

Amy began her battle over 10 years ago. During this time the pain, anxiety and isolation that Amy has endured is incomprehensible. She has spent long periods of time in hospital being tube fed, crisis care, day units, psychiatric assessments and Eating Disorder units. Whilst we are so thankful for the support of the GPs and staff within these establishments, we are now caring for a daughter who no longer feels she can go on: she is at a frighteningly high risk of suicide. We are painfully aware that the reason she is still here is for us, her family. So we make this plea for her. After all this time we are losing this battle and we need your help if Amy is going to survive this disease.

Having exhausted the NHS options open to Amy we believe the only hope left is for her to seek help in the private sector. Amy has sought help in a live in eating disorder unit before as she was told then if she did not do it voluntarily she would be committed under The Mental Health Act. This has involved drugs and force-feeding, which has placed the focus on Amy’s weight, to the detriment of addressing the underlying mental health issues with which she is suffering. We desperately need a healthcare plan that is personalised to Amy’s complex needs, both physically and mentally. Quotes gathered so far for private facilities require up to £700-800 per day. This is a considerable sum and our decision to go down this route is testament to the desperation that we feel. We know and have been advised that Amy will need a lengthy stay in order to begin to have a chance at recovery. As a family we cannot fund this alone. We need help. It is increasingly a matter of life and death for Amy.

Anorexia is not a choice. It’s not a life style. It is not Amy’s fault. We are so immensely proud of her for fighting for so long, but now we need others to help her continue her fight to live. Please help us.

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This help is urgently needed now or else, we fear,  Amy will become another sad statistic.