Lovely friends

All four of us went out for a family roast with neighbours last night.

"Come round, and we will force feed Waif with roast chicken" said my friend. And he did :-)

Seriously, Waif does seem to eat enough (maybe 2,000 calories a day) but doesn't put on weght :-(

I bumped into him again this morning on my way to the park with the dog, and he asked if Waif was okay. He knows about the anorexia, so I asked what he meant. He said that even his 8 year old daughter had thought that Waif looked very pale and had big dark rings around her eyes. Hmmmmm....perhaps I should arrange that paediatrician's appointment.

Then, in the park, I met another neighbour, Jane - she was cycling to the hospital where she works. Coincidentally, she is a family psychiatrist. She stopped to ask me about triathlons (we are down for one this year) and about Waif. She was a great help. She said:

1. If Waif is eating 2,000 calories a day then she should be putting on weight. If she is not, then there is something else going on. I relayed the advice that the blood tests showed she was not being sick, so Jane wondered if she was over-exercising. Hmmm... not that I know of. Mind you, yesterday she took her bike off to the park to do some sketching. On her return she said she had in fact just sat in the cafe and eaten a large piece of cake. I suppose it's "possible" that actually she spent the time cycling up and down the large hill. But on balance I doubt it.

2. She said that if Waif s growing (she is) then she must be getting enough calories for the time being (great news), but that also it means she is getting thinner for her age and height. Jo said that what could be affected first are Waif's ovaries and her bone density and that these can have long term effects. She told me that she always tells her anorexic patients this so I will tell Waif when I next have a chat with her about eating.

We have fab friends.

In the meantime, I am waiting for the nutritionist team co-ordinator to phone today. I will still have the same conversation that I was planning - Waif is not making progress, she is obviously a hard case to crack and could we please have someone more senior. Another point struck me too: our current psych said that his strategy is to work up a rapport and trust with Waif over time in the hope that she will then confide in him. Well, noone on 6 month placements can do that!!! Waif also needs someone who is present, and not in exams, every week so that she is monitored closely.

Fingers crossed.