Luna's fight with Anorexia Nervosa (true story)

5

April 2010, 12 years old
POV doctor Robinson (pediatrician)

The girl who just arrived with her parents at the teenage ward is sitting quietly on the bed with a pale face. A mixture of terror and resistance can be seen on her face. In the referral of the pediatrician of the hospital she was seen this afternoon, I read her height, weight, and blood sugar levels.

With a lot effort, her mother gets Luna to drink some lemonade. I can tell that Luna has no idea what she has done to her body with her refusal to eat. When I ask, Luna says she has experienced no physical symptoms at all. Her mother says that she finds Luna a bit slower than normal, but otherwise Luna does not seem to feel a single signal from her body.

Unfortunately, we see that a lot in people with anorexia. The willpower they possess not to eat and keep control is so strong that it can ignore every physical need and every feeling of fatigue or pain. Even now I see a girl who has a lot of power, but unfortunately she uses it the wrong way.

I explain that she will get a tube soon because she desperate needs energy. I'm telling her that her blood sugar levels is so low that she can go into a coma with permanent damage and her heart can suddenly stop. She starts crying and crawls onto her moms lap.

Her father looks scared and worried. I feel and see the horror and despair of parents who discover their child has anorexia. It makes me emotional every time.

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POV Luna (from her diary)

19 april 2010
I've been in the hospital since Friday.
Today was a hard day because I didn't sleep well and there were many doctors.
In the morning I washed myself with bowls of water and then I got tube feeding.
I also got an ECG.
After that they came to draw blood again.
Today my favorite nurse works, thankfully.
Mom came after taking blood.
She had brought some more stuff for me, but unfortunately there was no new T-shirt which I had secretly hoped.
The nurse came back for the tube feeding, which I didn't like, but yeah.
She suggested I can try to eat some normal food instead of tube feeding.
Normal food taste good, but I don't want to eat because then I'll gain weight.
I was alone with mom when the dietician from the day treatment came and after that it was time for tube feeding again.
After the tube feeding other people from day treatment came to talk to mom and me.
I'm not looking forward to go to day treatment and having to eat.
Mom and I are looking through magazines because Emily, Naomi (younger sister, Luna is middle child) get to change our rooms.
My aunt also came to visit.
She brought a book and an audio cd, which I liked.
We didn't talk for long because the nurse came by and suggested some normal food.
She chose an apple for me and grabbed one herself.
I'm very tired, so I'm going to stop writing in a bit.
Riley (Luna's friend) also came to visit, I really liked that, but I had a hard time in the evening.