Charlene Roberts has been struggling for 13 years.
She has bulimia, and for as long as she’s had it, she’s been trying to beat it.
Sometimes, she makes herself sick up to 15 times per day.
She struggles with everything. She’s been in the hospital 13 times this year. She often cannot stand up, eat for herself, or carry on a physical relationship with her boyfriend.
Charlene first started struggling with her weight when she was young. She was only five feet tall, but she was already 140 pounds. She would pray every night to become thin.
“I wasn’t bullied at school, but I wasn’t very popular and I longed to be thin,” said Charlene. “I used to get any kind of illness so I could lose weight.”
When she was 15, she finally caught the right one.
“The pounds dropped of me and I began to really like it. I wanted to be ill so that I could be thin, so I started making myself sick.”
However, at the age of 16, she was admitted to a hospital for four months, and her parents realized she had an eating disorder. But Charlene didn’t mind—she enjoyed it—at least at first.
After a time, it began to control her.
“I would eat a big meal around the dinner table with my family, but then I would feel a terrible pressure to make myself sick.”
She feels she’s tried everything.
This year, she went to Les Marianne Wellness Sanctuary for eight weeks, which was paid for by fundraising.
However, she returned home late in November, still without hope.
She currently weighs 73 pounds, and believes that she’s running out of options.
She’s been admitted to the hospital several times throughout her life, and her periods stopped four years ago.
Just this year, she’s been close to death nine times. Doctors say if she doesn’t get help, she’ll die before she turns 30. Charlene is currently 28.
She’s trying to beat the illness, but says, “I want to enjoy life—I want to live and be healthy—but I don’t know how.”
However, her mother believes she will persist, and says, “I’m proud of the work she does to fight for recovery, not just for her but for others too.
“All I can hope is the opportunity to help her further comes sooner rather than later.”
