A teenager who was sent home from an eating disorder clinic after being diagnosed with anorexia was fighting for her life in hospital five days later.
Claudia Fletcher, 19, started losing weight rapidly in September 2022 while working in a warehouse to raise money for travel.
The work was “brutal” and took a toll on her health, as she walked 20,000 steps a day and lifted heavy boxes during her 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift.
In November, Claudia contacted her GP who referred her to eating disorder services, but was told she would have to wait six weeks before her first appointment and a further six weeks before being assessed for any kind of help.
Just five days after her first appointment, Claudia was admitted to an acute ward at Glenfield Hospital, unable to walk or get out of bed.
In the space of just three months, Claudia had lost around 12kg, almost two stone.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Claudia said: “There really wasn’t much left of me. I was so controlled by the disease and anyone who got in my way (she thought) was out to get me.
“My mother was so desperate. She was on the computer all day, every day, researching and trying desperately to find a place to take me and I’ve never seen my dad so scared. They were just terrified of where this was going to end.
In the days before her hospitalization, Claudia ate nothing at all, just “a few grapes” at most, and was reluctant to accept help from her parents.
Claudia thinks that if she hadn’t been hospitalized after that first appointment, she would have died before the next one.
She believes the anxiety caused by Covid lockdowns affected many young women and that’s when her eating problems began.
“I think Covid has had a big impact on a lot of young girls, with their body image, their eating habits and things like that,” she said.
Claudia smiling after being discharged from Glenfield Hospital in Leicester (pictured right)
Claudia (photo left) with a friend. The 19-year-old said the support of her family, friends and hospital care unit staff was what put her on the road to recovery.
Today, Claudia is in full recovery and is currently studying her first year at Newcastle University for a degree in psychology.
While Claudia said the care she received from the inpatient unit was “impeccable”, she said more NHS funding was needed to ensure people “can be seen before they are become seriously ill.
She will be skydiving this summer to raise money for BEAT, the UK eating disorders charity, which supported her family during her hospitalization.
She set up a JustGiving page to raise money for her challenge.
Writing on her JustGiving page, Claudia said: “Anorexia is the deadliest mental illness, killing 1 in 5 people.”
“The hospital care I received from the NHS was impeccable, and I can’t thank them enough for everything they did for me throughout my 6 month admission and for the support they continue to provide bring me through outpatient care.
“However, it is still unacceptable that eating disorders are seen as ‘weight-related’ illnesses and that people only get the treatment they need when it is often too late and they find themselves in a critical physical position.
Claudia (photo) with her father a few days after his release from hospital
“No one should die from an eating disorder in 2023. I am one of the lucky ones still here today fighting for more funding for eating disorder services in the NHS, so that everyone can get the help he needs before his physical health becomes so bad the impacts are irreversible and traumatic.
“Everyone with erectile dysfunction deserves help, regardless of their physical health or weight. Anorexia nervosa is a mental illness, not a physical illness.
“I’m raising money for the BEAT charity who supported me and my family when the NHS failed.”
Claudia admitted that she had struggled with food a few years previously, but it became serious when she started working as she was “isolated”, which gave her “the perfect opportunity to dive into it.”
“I always wanted to lose weight, going on diets here and there, but my weight never really changed,” Claudia said.
“As soon as I started working out, I noticed that it was a way to lose weight, I latched onto the idea and completely spiraled out of control.
“Once I started losing weight, the issue of how I looked wasn’t important anymore. I just wanted to eat less and less and do more and more. And I didn’t know how to stop it.
Claudia (pictured) at a concert just days after being released from hospital
“I have always been a perfectionist and I like to have goals. There was a pickup rate at work for how many boxes you were supposed to sort per hour. It wasn’t the end of the world if you didn’t hit that rate, but in my head it did.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself and had a sense of accomplishment in losing the weight and with people worrying, it kind of validated it all and really fueled the eating disorder.”
Claudia was discharged from the hospital on June 14, 2023, approximately six months after her admission.
Thanks to the care she received at the Bennion Inpatient Center, which included meal plans, contact with dietitians and therapy, Claudia is now enjoying college life.
Founded in 1989 as the Eating Disorders Association, BEAT is a national helpline that exists to support and encourage recovery.
People can contact the charity online or by telephone. Representatives listen, give advice and help people take positive steps toward recovery.
Pascale Harvie, President and CEO of JustGiving, said: “Claudia is truly inspiring. Despite an incredibly difficult 18 months, she is using her experience to raise money and awareness for a very important charity.
“From everyone at JustGiving, we wish Claudia the best of luck in her mission.”
To donate to Claudia’s fundraiser, visit her Just Giving page here.
If you have an eating disorder or are caring for someone who does, visit beatingdisorders.co.uk for advice and support.
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