Anorexia

We arrived at the hospital in the early afternoon and waited overnight for over 12 hours – in both the Emergency Department waiting room and then a private cubicle – to be seen by a doctor. My entire immediate family was there, including Nanna. When I was finally seen and examined, I was immediately admitted. Following blood tests and other assessments, the doctor advised us that my body was only hours away from going into multiple organ failure. We were also told that I had developed a (thankfully temporary) heart murmur. My weight was a mere 36 kg; therefore, to reach the minimum healthy weight for my age and height I would need to put on a minimum of 20kg. The RPA had an eating disorder in-patient wing, which was actually a part of a mental health unit but without high security. It was a separate dark-brick building on the edge of the hospital, just metres from the expanse of the University of Sydney. While the in-patients consisted mostly of girls with anorexia nervosa – there were no male patients with this eating disorder for the duration of my stay – there were a few with other mental health issues such as depression.

There was also an out-patient component to this wing where those with eating disorders could visit for ongoing monitoring, counselling, and other treatment services. This was mostly used for those patients with bulimia – as they often remained at or close to their normal weight and therefore did not require immediate life-saving medical attention – and those who had previously been admitted with anorexia nervosa but remained in a stable condition.  During my weight-loss stint I never considered that I might be developing anorexia nervosa. My parents would shout that I looked anorexic at times, however in my irrational frame of mind I took it as a form of compliment. My diet must have been working brilliantly! I was asked by one of the health professional staff members if I understood how long I may be there for, and I very innocently replied that I expected to be an inpatient for a week or two. I knew that they would want to ‘feed me up’ and I genuinely thought that I would quickly regain the weight with just the re-establishment of a normal diet with a few extra servings of ice-cream. As it turned out, I was there for approximately 3 months.