Anorexic who was given a week to live is training to be a psychologist

February 17, 2021

Anorexic student, 18, who was given a week to live when she weighed just 6st 7lbs transforms herself into a picture of health and is training to be a child psychologist to help other sufferers

Abbie Bonnyman weighed 6st 7lbs and refused to eat more than 500 kcal a day
Student, 18, was given a week to live and told her heart would stop in hospital
Now a healthy 10st 2lbs, Abbie is studying to be a child psychologist to help others with anorexia

A student who was given a stark seven-day warning by doctors that her heart could stop if she didn’t start eating has transformed herself into a picture of health after conquering anorexia.

Abbie Bonnyman, 18, weighed just 6st 7lbs and refused to eat more than 500 calories a day, surviving on ice-lollies and fruit after she started suffering with the mental health disorder, aged 14.

At its worst, the cafe-worker from Falkirk, Scotland, was hospitalised after starving herself of food and drink for two days and was given a nasogastric tube to feed nutrients directly to her stomach.

Abbie Bonnyman, 18, weighed just 6st 7lbs and refused to eat more than 500 calories a day, surviving on ice-lollies and fruit after she started suffering with the mental health disorder, aged 14. She is pictured aged 16 at height of illness

The student was given a stark seven-day warning by doctors that her heart could stop if she didn’t start eating. She is pictured in hospital

But now the 5ft7inch university student who is studying psychology at the University of Stirling has transformed her life, weighing a healthy 10st 2lbs.

She now aims to become a child psychologist to help others beat the disease.

‘I was 16 when the doctors told me that if I carried on not eating at the rate I was, I would be in hospital within a week and my heart could stop beating,’ she said.

‘I could see that I was small but I didn’t think I was small enough, I was going to be happy until I was the smallest I could possibly be.

Now the 5ft7inch university student who is studying psychology at the University of Stirling has transformed her life, weighing a healthy 10st 2lbs.

Abbie is pictured at prom aged 17 after starting her journey to get healthy following her hospitalisation

Abbie is pictured now, aged 18. She now aims to become a child psychologist to help others beat the disease

‘I couldn’t find clothes to fit me, I had a size 4 dress that just hung off me.

‘I was cold and tired all the time, I slept constantly. My hands would go purple because my circulation was so bad.

‘I had agonising stomach cramps and my hair would fall out leaving me with bald patches.

Abbie’s anorexia was triggered after the loss of her grandparents at 14, but didn’t become noticeable until a year later when her ‘healthy’ eating regime had become so extreme they were unhealthy. She is pictured before her transformation

After a 48 hour stint of complete starvation aged 16, Abbie collapsed at home and was rushed to hospital where she was fitted with an NG tube to keep her alive. She is pictured aged 16

Now the size 8 brunette has turned her life around and has even managed to ditch the weight-gaining meal plan doctors put her on, having gained the confidence to eat three square meals a day with no prompts. She is pictured now

Abbie is pictured in hospital with her NG tube. She is now healthy following her hospital visit

‘My periods stopped for two years and the doctors warned me that if I carried on I would become infertile.

‘I remember seeing my parents cry and begging me to eat, but I was so afraid of gaining weight and losing control I just couldn’t bring myself to listen to the warnings.

‘I didn’t really value my life as much as I valued being small.’

Pictured: Abbie Bonnyman’s body at 16 during the worst of her anorexia. She says her parents ‘begged her’ to get better

Abbie’s arms were so thin you could see bone. She says her parents ‘begged her to eat’

Abbie is pictured pre transformation weighing just 6st 7lbs, where she was given a week to live

WHAT IS ANOREXIA?

Anorexia is a serious mental illness where a person restricts their food intake, which often causes them to be severely underweight.

Many also exercise excessively.

Some sufferers may experience periods of bingeing, followed by purging.

Sufferers often have a distorted view of themselves and think they are larger than they really are.

Untreated, patients can suffer loss of muscle and bone strength, as well as depression, low libido and menstruation ceasing in women.

In severe cases, patients can experience heart problems and organ damage.

Behavioural signs of anorexia include people saying they have already eaten or will do later, as well as counting calories, missing meals, hiding food and eating slowly.

As well as weight loss, sufferers may experience insomnia, constipation, bloating, feeling cold, hair loss, and swelling of the hands, face and feet.

Treatment focuses on therapy and self-help groups to encourage healthy eating and coping mechanisms.

Source: Beat Eating Disorders

After a 48 hour stint of complete starvation aged 16, Abbie collapsed at home and was rushed to hospital where she was fitted with an NG tube to keep her alive.

But now the size 8 brunette has turned her life around and has even managed to ditch the weight-gaining meal plan doctors put her on, having gained the confidence to eat three square meals a day with no prompts.

She said: ‘I’d lost both my grandparents in a short space of time and I was already feeling hateful towards my body.

‘I started exercising and eating extremely healthily, so at first my parents just thought it was normal for a girl of my age to want to be active and live a healthy lifestyle.

‘But it gradually built up and became out of control.

‘I kept losing weight and my mum insisted I was referred to the child mental health service.

‘I could see I was upsetting everyone around me and I was losing friends.

‘Eventually I realised I needed to get it together for my family and I knew I wanted to be able to go to uni.

‘I started drinking supplement drinks and eating fruit and later started a weight-gain meal plan.

‘Now I don’t need prompting to eat, I’m not on a meal plan, I just eat what I want and try to make sure I have three big meals a day.

‘I think it’s terribly sad when I think about what I went through but I feel amazing knowing I’m going to help people who are suffering with the same things I struggled with.’

Source: Read Full Article