Story
In 2023, my wife, Abi, spent 5 months in hospital in Southampton receiving specialist treatment for Anorexia Nervosa. Having lived with an eating disorder for the majority of her life, this treatment was both life changing and life saving.
Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder, from medical complications associated with the illness as well as suicide. That’s why treatment like this is so important, and I’m so grateful that it was available to Abi, albeit so far away.
When Abi was admitted, there were no inpatient eating disorder units in Wales. In the last couple of weeks Welsh Government announced that the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee has secured access to dedicated adult eating disorder beds in Wales. This additional capacity can support eight people, with the potential to commission support for up to 15 people if needed. This has been a long time coming and is a step in the right direction for people living in Wales requiring the often life-saving inpatient support.
It’s estimated that 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder. We have benefited so much from the resources from Beat, the eating disorder charity, to get a better understanding of how this disorder works and how Abi can overcome it. There is so much support available from Beat for individuals with an eating disorder or for their loved ones, including an online learning platform, chat rooms and the Nexus coaching support programme.
With a few friends, I’m planning on walking from Newport to Southampton. While some progress has been made with the recent announcement, in the week Abi was admitted to Southampton, over 70% of the patients were from Wales. This doesn’t just have an impact on patients, but also has an impact on loved ones whose family members are suddenly hours away from home.
That’s why I’ve decided to take on this challenge - to raise awareness and raise money for Beat and to help them carry on providing the amazing services they do.
The walk will start on 17 March 2024 and end on 22 March 2024 which is Abi’s birthday.
There are currently around 15 people who will be part of the challenge and walking from Newport to Southampton across 6 days.
To be clear, this is a huge challenge and I totally understand that for some people the relationship between their eating disorder and exercise can be a difficult one and has the potential to be detrimental to their health.
This is not about applying any pressure, or setting unrealistic goals. Anyone who takes part can walk for as long as they feel comfortable.
This is not about pushing ourselves to the limits, but about raising awareness and fundraising in a safe way.