Gym-addicted anorexic who lived off one protein shake a day overcomes her condition after nurses confuse her for a CANCER PATIENT
At her worst, Kat weighed just over six stone... and had a BMI of 15
A gym-addicted anorexic who lived off one protein shake a day was given a wake-up call when her skeletal body left nurses confusing her for a cancer patient or AIDS sufferer.
After a 10-year battle with eating disorders American Kat Manzullo, who was left with crippingly low self-esteem by childhood bullies, weighed just over six stone.
Hospital nurses thought Kat was a CANCER PATIENT when she was first admitted
At her worst the 27-year-old, from Fort Walton Beach in Florida, was living off one 300-calorie protein shake a day – and at 5ft5 had a BMI of just 15.
Kat began reducing her portion sizes at the age of 18 before cutting out solid food altogether – whilst hitting the gym five days a week.
Kat said: “I was hopeless and helpless, anorexia had gotten me.
“I would drink half of the 300 calorie shake in the morning and half at night, because I wasn’t able to eat solid food.
“It was absolutely horrible – I was so exhausted all the time, I could barely function and was just wasting away on the couch.
“After being hospitalised one nurse thought I had cancer or AIDS because my cheeks were so sunken and hollow, all of my ribs stuck out, my limbs were like sticks.
“I was horribly skeletal and was wasting away, I looked like a cancer patient, and at that point I could barely stand up without blacking out.
“I’d also suffer with chronic neck and back pain from muscle wastage where my body was consuming anything it could to keep me alive.
“Over the years I’ve had to battle so hard, but couldn’t get the treatment I needed due to my insurance.
“Each time I relapsed it was worse than the last.
“When a nurse believed I was a cancer patient it was really shocking, that was one of the triggers that made me realise I had to battle to get my life on track.
“Eating disorders are really difficult to deal with mentally, I’ve really struggled dealing with weight gain but my husband has been there for me every step of the way.
“He’s been very supportive and I can't imagine how hard it's been for him to watching the woman he loves wasting away before his eyes.
“I wanted to get better for my husband, when you’re in that bad a state you’re just existing and now I want to start living my life again.”
With the support of husband Kevin, 31, Kat finally reached a healthy weight of seven and a half stone, two weeks ago.
She believes the root of her eating disorder began at the age of seven, when she blamed school bullying on her weight - which later spiralled into an eating disorder.
Kat added: “The first time I thought I was fat was when I was seven - and from then I started being really picky with fatty foods.
“They used to tell me I was put on earth to annoy people, they would shun me whenever they could and even ran away from me on lunchtimes - they would deliberately pretend I wasn’t there.”
At the age of 18 Kat restricted her food intake to 1,000 calories a day and would regularly force herself to be sick.
She was first taken into hospital in 2009, but Kat claims she was denied access to specialist rehabilitation treatment because of her medical insurance.
She said: “My insurance cut my treatment short and I was only getting help for limited periods of time - they classified anorexia as a ‘lifestyle choice’ rather than an illness.
“The first couple of times after getting some help I hoped I’d beaten anorexia and wouldn’t be hospitalised any more, but the treatment never dealt with the mental health battle I had against anorexia.”
Kat has been taken to hospital seven times since then.
She was even forced to drop out of nursing school in May last year when her weight fell to 6st 4lb, leaving Kat with emaciated features and protruding bones.
Kat added: “The urge to lose weight will always be with me, it’s always going to be a tough battle but I want to lead a happy life so it’s worth fighting.
“I’m hoping to return to school soon so I can help other people with eating disorders and for that I need to be well.”