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Trigger Warning: Eating Disorder
My youngest daughter Kiella has struggled with her mental health for the past 3 years and was recently diagnosed with anorexia. On Friday, December 3rd, Kiella was admitted to the Alberta Children’s Hospital to get treatment for the most crucial organ in her body, her brain. Kiella is so malnourished that her brain can’t function properly and her heart was starting to be negatively affected, which is what got her admitted to the hospital.
As you can imagine, this is having a tremendous impact on our entire family. I have not been working this past year for various reasons, including my own mental health. At this time I am asking for financial help to cover overdue bills, winter tires so I can safely drive from Okotoks to the hospital, and the costs of food, parking, etc while we are here and Kiella is getting treatment. In addition to this critical time, I will need financial support to be able to afford a strict dietary plan and other costs I’m sure I haven’t even considered yet once she is finally able to go home.
Most people think eating disorders are about food, but they aren’t about food at all. Anorexia is a mental health disorder. It is the deadliest mental health disorder and has the highest mortality rate of any other mental health disorder. 1 in 5 people with anorexia die by suicide.
The number of people with eating disorders has skyrocketed since covid. There isn’t space in hospitals for proper care and the waiting times for help outside of the hospital is 6 months plus. In a recent news article, it stated that “during the first wave of the pandemic monthly new cases of anorexia have increased by more than 60% and monthly hospitalizations nearly tripled compared to pre-pandemic rates”. This is all very, very scary.
For us, this is just the beginning. The hospital stay right now is to stabilize her physically. She has been on bed rest since we arrived and you can’t even imagine what she is going through right now trying to fight this. When your brain continually tells you that you are not worthy, it is very hard to fight for your life. During my undergrad for psychology I learned that anorexia is basically a slow suidicide. Once Kiella is stable physically, she can then start the lifelong work this is going to take. The recovery for anorexia is a long one, and at this time we don’t even know what the next steps look like.
I’ve grown up learning that it isn’t cool to ask for help, and have often been shamed for it so this isn’t easy for me, but I need it more now that I ever have. For now I am asking for emergency financial aid to get through this first step and to get us through getting home and figuring out what treatment will be needed when she is discharged. By helping me financially, you will be contributing to caring for Kiella in a way that I can’t do on my own right now. This will also help reduce the tremendous stress and fears that come with not being able to financially support our needs.
Thank you for all of your support, I appreciate it so much.
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