Anorexia: An Eating Disorder that Almost
Destroyed the Lives of Two Sisters
By Dr. Fourkan Ali
A parent’s worst
nightmare is for their child to become ill or get hurt. This means that most
parents will do everything in their power to ensure their children are safe.
They will try to steer their kids in the right direction by talking to them
about the dangers of chemical substances such as alcohol and drugs, which are
known to be highly addictive. However, these days, parents have another worry
when it comes to their teenagers – eating disorders such as anorexia are claiming the lives of a number of
individuals around the world.
Devastating Competition
To have one child suffer from anorexia would
be horrific enough, but for two daughters to be affected by the illness does
not even bear thinking about. However, that is exactly what happened to the
parents of Courtney and Rebecca Grimshaw from California.
Courtney wanted to be thinner than sister
Rebecca, who was popular and would often tease her younger sibling about her
weight. Rebecca, who was fourteen to Courtney’s twelve, called her younger
sister ‘fat pig’ and ‘fat ass’, but the teasing led to devastating
consequences. Courtney began starving herself and, within a year, had lost
three-and-a-half stone. By the time she was fifteen, she was painfully thin and
her health was suffering.
Obsessive Dieting and Exercising
The sisters were soon in a competition to see
who could be the slimmest and they became obsessive about restricting their
food intake. They would consume just 350 calories per day and were exercising
for hours on end in a bid to get even thinner. Courtney said, “I planned on
losing 5 lbs but it got to the point where Becky and I were living on next to
nothing. We were both competing to be the skinnier sister. Becky realised that
what we were doing was dangerous but I was too far gone – all I could think about
was losing more weight.”
Cruel Remarks
It was the cruel comments from older sister
Rebecca that put Courtney on the path to destruction, but it was her own
self-loathing that made the problem even worse. She said, “Becky would tease me
for being chubby and call me a fat pig. She made me feel really horrible about
myself. I always wanted to be like her. She was really pretty, she always had
boys all over her, all of my guy friends liked her – they thought she was
cool.”
However, although the sisters planned to lose
weight together, it was not long before they were in a deadly competition, with
each trying to lose more weight than the other. They would play tennis for
hours on end, which would leave them with little energy. They were eating
nothing more than dry bread and cereal and they quickly shed the pounds.
Unable to Stop
When Becky dropped to just 6 stone 5 lbs, she
realised her weight was at a dangerous level. Unfortunately, Courtney could not
stop her quest to get thinner. She said, “When I looked in the mirror all I
could see was fat. I was disgusted with my body. It got to the point where I
was exercising six hours a day and eating next to nothing. We rarely ate
together as a family, so my parents had no idea what was going on.”
Courtney’s body was being damaged by her
illness, and by the age of 15, she was losing her hair; but she still could not
stop. Becky described her sister’s appearance at the time to being like a
Holocaust survivor. She admits that she was ‘tortured’ by the fact that her taunts
had led to Courtney developing an eating disorder. She said, “The damage was
done and I hadn’t realised what I was doing at the time. For a long time, I did
blame myself and I still do.”
Treating the Problem
By the age of sixteen, Courtney weighed just five
stone and officials from her school contacted her parents. She was told that if
she did not eat she would be taken to hospital by child protection services.
With support from her family and the care of a dietician and doctor, Courtney
started to slowly gain weight.
Unfortunately, her self-esteem issues were
still causing a problem and now that she was back to consuming calories,
alcohol was no longer restricted. Courtney turned to alcohol to help deal with
her emotional and mental issues and began drinking heavily. By seventeen, she
was in rehab for an alcohol problem but it was here that she finally got the
help she needed to get control of her life again. Her weight is healthy now and
she is planning to go back to school. However, she wants to use her experience
with anorexia to help other sufferers.
Sister Becky admits that she still feels
guilty about how Courtney’s eating disorders came about but the pair are now
closer than ever.
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