Panic

This is a painful topic which I'd been hoping will go away by itself, but it's obvious now that it will not.  I will delay the posts to blunt the sensitivity.

23 September 2023

Back in June 2023, I took SE to a doctor to check why her weight was so low.  She was given an all-clear.  However since then, and despite our efforts to push it up, her weight gradually meandered downwards from 28kg in June to 25kg in September.  In a panic at a sudden half-kg drop one weekend (weighing takes place on weekends as the scales are at home and not our apartment), I took her to our neighbourhood paediatrician.

Blood being taken from a skinny arm

This doctor is a caring one whom we'd taken the girls to as babies and toddlers.  I only didn't go to her this round as hers is a stand-alone clinic and I'd preferred a medical centre with access to more facilities.

Her prognosis:  No good.  Doc took time to check SE and concluded she was suffering from anorexia.  She had the symptoms of malnutrition, was emaciated (this one is obvious to the eye), lacked energy, had 'lanugo hair' on her abdomen which is apparently a sign of an eating disorder.

Doc took the trouble to call me that night when the blood test results were out.  It was past 11pm and I was about to go to sleep with the girls.  We spoke for over 20 minutes.  Doc advised to see a specialist urgently and ended by saying that she will be thinking of us.

My poor, poor girl.  Anorexia is an adult-sized problem and she is just a kid.

In case she reads this:  This journey will be a tough one, you have to walk it yourself, but Mummy will be beside you every step of the way.