Emi's Road to Recovery (Anorexia & ILO)

Once a vivacious, humorous and athletic tween, our 12-year-old daughter, Emi is now confined to a hospital bed in North Carolina to treat severe anorexia. For the past several months her dad and I have struggled trying to understand the "why" behind this horrendous mental health disorder. Whether it be Covid isolation, divorce, mean girls, body shaming, social media, racist comments or middle school tactics, the fact is, Emi needs intensive care to repair the damage that Anorexia has taken hold of her body, mind and spirit. Tragically, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness among adolescents. It is clear that the sooner someone with an eating disorder gets the treatment they need, the more likely they are to make a full recovery. Emi came to us in February of 2023 asking for support for a potential eating disorder. Eating disorders have a long-term impact on all those involved, so despite being devastated, her dad and I were proud of her willingness to self-advocate. With therapy and patience, we thought we had shut the ED (eating disorder) down. It regrettably came back with a vengeance so pronounced that almost negligible food or liquids were consumed.

Emi was ultimately admitted to a local eating disorder treatment facility in Bellevue, qualifying for the highest level of care. Full hospitalization coupled with education plays a vital role in putting an end to the devastation caused by EDs. However, her ILO (Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction) was triggered almost immediately upon admission. The facility attempted to curb the situation, but they ultimately medically discharged Emi after one week. Eating disorder treatment centers are not as common as one would think; after being medically discharged, Emi was denied entrance to more than 25 eating disorder facilities across the USA, claiming her ILO was a liability and they could therefore not treat her ED. In the meanwhile, Emi's vitals plummeted while we frantically tried to find her treatment. All of the facilities demanded the highest level of care, but none of the facilities would allow her admission due to medical discharge.

Seattle Children's Hospital ultimately admitted her to the Emergency Room to stabilize her due to severe dehydration and malnourishment after being discharged from ERC. She remained there for three weeks on a feeding tube and 24/7 care. On July 18th, our prayers finally came true and she was admitted into a facility in North Carolina. Dad, twin sister and I traveled there to admit Emi. A few days into her treatment, Emi expressed her excitement to start this journey to recovery; however, her ILO flared up again. Just this morning (July 25th) we received a call that they are transferring Emi to the emergency room, with the probability of discharging her from the ONLY eating disorder facility in the USA that would take her case. We are terrified. She is almost 3,000 miles from home and scared.

I plead to anyone reading this, if they are able, look into the crisis in the USA surrounding the lack of access to treatment as well as education surrounding eating disorders. The first step is to spread awareness so that people can gain an understanding that can equip us with the skills and advice to help those in need. Emi's pre-diagnosis with ILO is deterring her any treatment for the eating disorder. Her eating disorder is triggering the ILO. Despite being divorced, William and I are a united front doing what we need to do to support Emi. The emotional, physical and financial stability of each of us is deteriorating quickly. To offset her increasing medical bills, travel expenses and our potential loss of employment, we are asking to raise money for our accruing bills.

Thank you so much for your prayers, support and advocacy.