It was with deep sadness that I read Katya Szymankiewicz’s article about the death of her 14-year-old daughter Ruth (“The ward resembled a prison. What did I let them?”: how my daughter was crushed by the health service meant to help her, November 8).
As the parent of a child who also suffers from an eating disorder, I remember the same feelings of terror of loss of control as we watched our daughter being separated three times in a mental hospital. Health Act.
Our daughter was institutionalized for 15 months where self-harm, suicide attempts and escape attempts were the norm.
When she was admitted to the unit, she was the same age as Ruth, away from home and without access to therapeutic support as she was considered too ill. As parents, we were isolated, unsupported, and spent our time writing letters and making phone calls in a labyrinthine system designed to confuse the situation.
Through our persistence, we eventually gained access to a six-week family support group outside our health authority because nothing existed locally. Just talking to other parents has been very valuable. The lack of such support has made a mockery of the theory that families are at the core of treatment.
We are lucky that our daughter is still with us; many times we thought it wasn't so. She is now undergoing private therapy, part of which is aimed at addressing the trauma caused by the institutions she was sent to. We live with the guilt of allowing the separation to happen, but the choice was taken away from us too quickly.
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