Maria Paola was 12 years old when slowly, day after day, anorexia entered her life and that of her family. A disappointment of love, which at that age may seem like the end of the world, led her to feel more and more sad. He began to eat less and less until his parents noticed. A first cycle of treatments has arrived, with private professionals, which have proved effective. The interests, sport, scouting, going out with friends and a boyfriend are back. But when the days became more difficult, that stifling anxiety resumed. Fast again. Because often the eating disorder lurks and waits for the right moment to strike again.
Maria Paola had just turned 18 when her life broke down. A story among the stories, like those of the six girls who died of anorexia in a week, in September. Stories that repeat themselves. With the difference, compared to a few years ago, now males are also getting sick. Sometimes these patients are not even counted, because they are unable to seek treatment.
Much more should be done to fight the DCA, an evil that in the days of Covid became an epidemic in the epidemic: in fact, the number of boys and girls who get sick has increased by 30%. Among them there are those who cannot make it. More services and more information are needed for families. A battle that today Maria Paola’s father, Giuseppe Rauso, continues with the Emmepi4ever association.
How did you understand that your daughter was not well?
“It was 2007 when we realized that something was going wrong. She was only 12. She started a crash diet after the summer. We made the mistake of taking her to a nutritionist who didn’t specialize in ACD. She ate less and less and had lost weight. For this we turned to an excellent professional specialized in DCA, in the province of Caserta. He is located near our house, we live in San Tammaro. Maria Paola was followed by a private multidisciplinary team, coordinated by a very competent professor on the subject “.
Did you know this disease and did you feel understood by friends and relatives?
“We weren’t prepared and we were ashamed of what was happening. We didn’t have adequate training to understand what eating disorders were. Then our friends, even less prepared than us, began to isolate us. They feared that Maria Paola might somehow” infect “their children and make them sick in turn. We were left alone and we closed ourselves more and more”.
There is a strong stigma surrounding eating disorders and all forms of psychological distress.
“We must not be ashamed. Knowledge can make the difference in these cases. For this reason today I, my wife, my son and all the founding members, with the association we created to remember Maria Paola, MP4ever, we work hard to raise public awareness. We want to break down the stigma so that families can quickly reach adequate treatment paths, in public facilities, without wasting precious time. Every day can make a difference “.
Who should they turn to?
“It is important to contact the National Health System, because the public must be made aware of what is happening. When we did so, belatedly, we were told that they ignored Maria Paola’s case. these situations are not recorded. It is also fundamental to bring out the shortcomings of the NHS, because only a few regions are equipped with adequate treatment programs. But in public structures there are the most reliable centers “.
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You turned to a multidisciplinary team of private excellence, how did you find yourself?
“The first phase of the treatment went well. Maria Paola had anorexia, sometimes accompanied by bulimia. After two years of therapy followed by a private multidisciplinary team, she was better and returned to her interests and her social life. joy at a new sport, rugby, and twice participated in the selections for the women’s rugby team, she also resumed her outings with the scouts, she was fine. She seemed healed, then relapse “.
What happened?
“Maria Paola continued to have checkups every six months and the professor noticed that there was a problem. She had just left with the boy. A displeasure that brought back the anorexia but this time it had changed shape and size. Maria Paola had grown up and was convinced that she could manage everyone and the disease but it was the disease that managed her and all of us. She didn’t want to be treated anymore and told the professor that she would never go to study again. Day after day everything changed “.
Has your mood changed?
“She was more closed and aggressive. Aggression is part of the crises of patients with ACD and our family did not know how to handle the situation. Seeing similar behavior in a girl like Maria Paola, who wouldn’t hurt a fly, was difficult . After the crises she would cry and apologize. She hardly ate any more. She was very hungry, but to curb it she ate only ice. We didn’t know what to do anymore. “
But then you managed to convince her to get treated
“Yes, but we made a mistake. We chose how and where to treat her and the local health authority we had contacted let us decide also for a problem of costs. It was decided to hospitalize her in a semi-residential facility about 80 km from home. She came in at 1.30pm and left at 8pm. It was a way to make room for her social life and keep seeing friends, but that was where the problems were for her. The sentimental disappointment re-emerged. She would need more adequate care. in a residential structure, but the residential structures were outside the Region and the migration would have had high costs for the NHS. After a month Maria Paola attempted suicide for the first time. After about a month of treatment she seemed to have recovered and told us that she was better. But on January 9, 2013 she took her own life, she was only 18 years old “.
With his wife and his daughter’s friends has created an association to help other children like Maria Paola who are fighting with this disease and their families.
“We want to give meaning to his end and to our life, we have given life to Emmepi4ever, an association that is part of the National Consultation for Dca, Consult @ noi, a 2nd level association that currently brings together 18 associations from from various regions of Italy that deal with DCA, to support families. There is a lot to do “.
What advice would you give to a parent?
“Observe the changes in mood and nutrition, but also pay attention to excessive physical activity. You also need to see if the boy often goes to the bathroom after meals, this is also a warning sign. And then you must be very careful. relapses that are even more dangerous, because the patient knows the disease and is convinced that he can manage it himself “.
What must the NHS do to combat these pathologies?
“The massacre continues and has never stopped. The DCA kill our children. It is necessary to arrive as soon as possible to the treatment pathways, the sooner we reach the treatment pathways, the higher the recovery rates, the sooner we reach the pathways the shortest course of treatment is the treatment path itself. Family doctors must be trained and informed of the existing treatment paths in the area and a capillary network of specialized centers for the treatment of ACD with trained personnel is needed, a network not only nominal but actually existing and operational throughout the national territory. To date, only a few regions are equipped to cope with this epidemic that already existed before the health emergency from Covid19 “.
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