When Good Care Is Hard To Find

Madeline, 15, lives in a hospital in Sydney, Australia, away from her friends and family. Her parents, who live in Dubai, were forced to send her there when she began losing one kilogramme a week.

“There was nothing here for her,” her mother, Sarah, said. “I want to be around her but we need to keep working. My concern is if I get her back here and she relapses, what do I do?”

While this is an international story, friends in the US and Canada have similar stories as well. Affordable, effective treatment centers can be hard to find, particular if you are hoping for one close to home.

And in the case above – her family has accepted that they may have to relocate themselves and their other two daughters to be with her.

She has been in hospital for six weeks, and doctors say she could be in for another three months.

“It’s amazing how prevalent it is, yet there doesn’t seem to be much here to help them,” Sarah said.

“It’s shattering. We want to be there to support her, but we also need to work and our two other daughters are here. I’m finding it heart-wrenching.”

We ought to do better than this somehow.