I am going to tell you my story about caring for my daughter who has been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa since the 25th January 2024. She was diagnosed by CAMHS on the 22nd January 2024 and was admitted to our local hospital for refeeding for a week. This was a very difficult traumatic week but bit by bit my daughter started to eat again. We were discharged to the eating disorder unit within a week of her hospitalisation. Here with the help of the eating disorder unit nurse my daughter started her recovery. It was very difficult to see my daughter so distraught trying to eat. We were given an eating plan which we followed to the letter. Slowly my daughter started to gain a little weight.

We found giving the eating disorder a name was a great idea as it separated my daughter from her eating disorder. Caring for a child with an eating disorder is one of the toughest things I have ever had to do. Every day is a battle for your child to eat. I had to take time of work to care for her so financially it was hard too. I’m now back to work part time. My daughter couldn’t attend school for most of 2024, only returning in September. An eating disorder affects all aspects of your child and families life: She is doing a little better now but each day is still a struggle for her. I hope someday in the future she will be able to control her eating disorder and not have it control her.

I found taking part in PiLaR and the Maudsley course online was a great help to me. It was great to talk to parents who were in the same situation. We are still attending the eating disorder unit fortnightly where they help my daughter to deal with her eating disorder.