Beth woke up, looked at me, and said just two words, “Mom, please don’t.” I kissed
her again, said, “I love you”, and walked out the door as she called my name. It was one of the
hardest things I’d ever had to do. Even as I write this today, I still feel the ache in my heart.

I don’t remember walking down the hall or even getting in the elevator that night. I walked to
my car thinking about all that had happened over the last 6 hours, and the reality of it all
overwhelmed me. That was the first moment that I began to believe that this eating disorder
could actually kill my daughter. The thought that my daughter could actually starve herself to
death seemed so real to me that night. All the words Dr. Briggs said to us that day, the heart
monitor alarms, and the feeling of my daughter’s emaciated body as I held her in my arms, all
came flooding into my head, and my mental strength was depleted. I remember falling to my
knees in the parking garage as I approached my car. I just kneeled by my car and sobbed until I
had nothing left inside. I felt so helpless and alone.