The Maudsley gets tough

It was the first time that all four of us - Waif, older daughter, Hubby and I - have attended the Maudsley Hospital together. And the first time we have seen the Head Honcho who will from now on be Waif's doctor. She has a reputation for being hard hitting and direct. This could be just what Waif needs although Waif was in tears for most of the session :-(

Head Honcho took one look at us all and announced that she was in a room full of underweight people. She asked each of us why we thought Waif had not put on weight. I said I was surprised as I felt that Waif was now eating a normal amount of food - the same as me, at least. HH asked Hubby if he thought that #I# ate enough food (!) This put Hubby in a bind as he actually reckons I eat far too much. He settled for a "yes". Oddly, he is looking terribly thin at the moment.

Whatever the reason, Waif need to eat more in order to get well. HH read us the riot act and said that Waif is not just a "bit" anorexic but that in Canada or Australia she would have been compulsorily hospitalised by now :-( This was just after Hubby came out with his theory that he was very skinny as a teen and that Waif is also a "slim" build, although he did admit that he conceded that she is underweight (phew).

Older Daughter said that mealtimes can be stressful and records Hubby asking her to put back food when he thinks she has taken too much (yes, he used to do that, although he has now stopped) and said that there was not enough to eat last Thursday night (when I left Hubby to cook supper which he subcontracted to Waif). He said he was too busy to cook any more food as he had to take OD to choir.

Waif has grown a cm since she was last measured, and is now 160 cm. This makes her more underweight for her age and height which is a worry. On the plus side, she has put on 300g since her last visit :-) :-) ten days ago, which is not far off her target gain of 500g every 7 days, especially as she was wearing leggings today instead of her usual heavy school skirt :-) :-) That's the best news I have heard in months :-) :-) and gives me hope.

Ho hum, having promised to eat 40% more again, we followed the Maudsley by dining out at Pizza Express where Waif opted for the children's menu. Sigh. At least she ate every morsel of all three courses, and has now eaten some cheesecake and has drunk a hot chocolate as a late night snack. She is not, naturally, talking to any of us tonight as she finds her appointments challenging.

Waif's target weight is now about 46-47kg. At 500g a week, we could be there by the end of June. I reckon that every kg will make her look healthier and give her more strength to live her life happily.

Our next appointment is not for 2 weeks, given HH's prior commitments (really, we are aiming at weekly meetings) so I hope that Waif will be 39kg in her school skirt by then.