‘I CANNOT FULLY EXPRESS THE STRAIN MY DAUGHTER’S ILLNESS PUTS ON US — WE NEED HELP’

FOR the past two years, family life has been turned upside down for Melissa, with her 16-year-old daughter in and out of hospital with an eating disorder.

“My younger children were eight and 12 when this began — they are now ten and 14. In that time, my oldest daughter has been in hospital in London, where we live, then in a hospital in Manchester last year. She came home for a while and now she is in another hospital in Maidenhead.

“Her first hospital admission was the week before my middle child’s barmitzvah.

“I cannot fully express the strain it puts on us, the worry we have for her and her future; the time and money travelling to and from the unit where she is being treated; not to mention the logistics and the huge amount of energy it takes out of us,” Melissa adds.

She says she and her husband are fortunate in having flexible work arrangements and a supportive family. “But it still means time away from the other children and a lack of continuity for them. Plus their big sister is now not living with them.

“I know we need help with the practical stuff, trying to maintain normality in the home; the needs of my younger children. It would be great for them to be around other kids who understand or to spend time with one of Camp Simcha’s volunteers, who could take them out.

“My daughter’s clinical team are doing everything they can to help her get well. It would just be good for the rest of us to get the support we need so that we can all hopefully come out the other side.”