Kim

It’s not often a friend gets in a national newspaper… Kim was interviewed some weeks ago; yesterday her story was published in ‘The Sun’:

‘I am 39 years old, but my life is nearing its end, my body ravaged by more than 20 years of anorexia. Everything I hoped for in my future when I was younger – adventures, a successful career, a loving husband and children – have been taken from me. My doctors have told me that my heart could stop at any moment.’

Kim tells her story – the death of her father, her ‘odd relationship with my body and food’, winning ‘Miss Lowestoft’, the nature and power of her eating disorder, her declining health…

She’s open about her condition, sharing her journey online, giving talks to doctors, wanting to ‘help others choose a better path’…

‘I look back at photos of myself as a teen beauty queen and just wish I could tell her to stop destroying her body, to seek the opinions of doctors and demand help until it was given. That young woman would never have believed that, 20 years later, she’d be receiving end-of-life care and making peace with the fact she may not see her 40th birthday.’

Unsurprisingly The Sun cut the part of the interview that was most important to Kim – the importance of her faith.

I’ve known Kim for most of her life – coming to church as a child, deciding to ‘follow Jesus’, being involved in Christian activities. She’s open about the fact that at times her faith has been weak, but throughout all the tough times her God has been her rock: ‘I couldn’t have made it this far without God – I should be dead; thanks to him I’m not.’

Today she believes God continues to use her… appreciating the prayers and support of her Christian friends and family… trusting the God who’s been her comfort and strength through it all, to continue to be with her in her future – whatever it holds.