The Power of Parents Connecting

For a long time I have been trying to articulate why I volunteer with NEDIC.  There are many obvious reasons: I have always felt that giving back in any way I can is so important, my children are now adults which allows me the time to help, and I truly believe in NEDIC, their mission, and the people who work there. The most important reason, however, is that my daughter has Anorexia Nervosa. 

My daughter’s journey with Anorexia started just over 10 years ago, and her journey with mental health challenges started long before even that. All along our family has done what we have believed is best - we sought the appropriate help at the right time, listened to the professionals who were guiding our journey, and supported our daughter in any way we could.  When Anorexia showed up, the beginning of the journey was bumpy to say the least.  We received some horrible guidance and directions.  We believed that the professionals we had first contact with were the experts and the advice was the right path even when my stomach was in knots. I did not trust my instincts. We have since met many professionals who have provided excellent care for our daughter.

About 8 months after my daughter’s official eating disorder diagnosis, a mutual friend introduced me to another mother who was going through the same journey.  I finally felt like I was not alone.  She told me about NEDIC and a lot of other resources that felt like a lifeline. I started researching reliable resources and connecting with many other families going through similar experiences.  With the guidance of the right professionals, eating disorder support groups and the wisdom of other families on the same path, we were able to find the right care for our daughter. We become advocates for her and learned how to deal with this awful disease. All along, I kept wishing I had known all this information so much sooner.  The what ifs are hard – what if I had known the symptoms and triggers earlier?  Would I have been able to stop the ED from happening? Would I have acted sooner?  Would we have chosen a different path of treatment?  

While there is no way to know what could have happened, I do know that having the knowledge I now possess  would have helped me feel more empowered to deal with this. I also know that I want to share all of this with other parents who are feeling lost and misguided.  I volunteer with NEDIC so I can be part of a team that empowers parents to listen to the knots that they feel or the red flags they see, to trust that they know their child best, and to learn how to be their child’s advocate – especially when their child is struggling to see how sick they are and won’t advocate for themselves, and especially when medical professionals are under equipped to provide the type of ED care their child needs and deserves.

Our journey with Anorexia is not over. Not yet. We (it is rarely done alone) are working hard on recovery and celebrating all the wins along the way.  My daughter is a beautiful writer and has a blog where she discusses her eating disorder and recovery.  This is her latest post. She is the reason I will never stop working volunteering to empower other people going through a similar journey. She is the reason I volunteer at NEDIC.

Author Bio:

Sarah is a proud mom of three adults and lives in Toronto, Ontario. She is also a retired RN, mental health advocate, and active in the eating disorder community. Until December 2022, she was the chair of NEDIC’s Advisory Committee and has participated in parent panels as part of NEDIC’s outreach and education work. Sarah is passionate about sharing her experience with those it could help.