Ottawa teen credits CHEO and family support for recovery from eating disorder

Elsa Barlow, 17, says she would not be here today without the care teams at CHEO and her family. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

Seventeen-year-old Elsa Barlow, who struggled with an eating disorder for years, is sharing her story of recovery, crediting her family and the specialized teams and care at CHEO for helping to save her life.

Today, Barlow is a swim instructor, lifeguard and active teenager surrounded by supportive friends. But not long ago, when an eating disorder began to slowly take control, she says she was the one needing help.

“It kind of started in Grade 5, and it kind of progressively got worse,” said Barlow, adding that, by Grade 8, the disorder had taken over. “I was really sick. I wasn’t happy. I was anxious all the time. It’s like, ‘Go on a diet, you’ll look better or feel better about yourself.’ I was like, ‘This is fine. I know what I’m doing,’ but I didn’t know what I was doing. I felt numb. I knew that I was weak.”

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As her health declined, Barlow lost weight, withdrew, and struggled to explain her behaviour to her parents.

“And my parents would ask me, ‘Why are you doing this? Like, why can’t you just eat, why can’t you eat your favourite foods?” she said. “And it was like, ‘I can’t. I don’t know why; I just can’t.’”

Her mother, Christine Barlow, says watching her young daughter’s health decline was hard to understand.

“It was probably one of the darkest times of my entire life,” she said. “It was devastating.”

After being referred to CHEO, Barlow received a diagnosis and a warning about the seriousness of her condition.

“After a bunch of tests, I was brought into a room with three doctors who told me I was close to hospitalization,” she said. “I was not healthy and I just remember my world collapsing.”

The illness forced her to stop swimming, a major part of her identity. She was then supported by CHEO’s eating disorder team, which includes physicians, therapists, dieticians and nurses.

Janice Cox, a nurse with the program, says routine and continuity of care helps build trust with patients.

“For patients, it’s usually the same nurse, so when I see them every week or every other week, or sometimes once a month, depending on where they are in their program, it is a bit more comforting,” said Cox.

Dr. Elizabeth Quon, a clinical psychologist at CHEO, says ensuring the family is involved is a key part of the program.

“Our main treatment that we use is called family-based treatment, and it’s working with the family but really working closely with the parents to help them to feed their child at home,” said Dr. Quon. “A big part of why we do what we do is to help young people and these families really get back on track with their life.”

CHEO is also expanding its work in eating-disorder care through a partial hospitalization program, described as the first-of-its-kind in Canada. The program is designed to provide additional support before patients reach a crisis point and can also help youth transition back into the community after hospitalization.

“Our partial hospitalization program is a step-down or step-up unit. Patients that have been through the inpatient hospitalization program can step down, in order to have sort of a gradual transition back into the community,” said Dr. Quon. “But it is also an opportunity for patients in our program who may be struggling at home and who need more support, and so we can intervene earlier there and actually prevent a hospitalization in some cases.”

Community donations also help to fund research at CHEO, aimed at tracking patient outcomes and improving treatment for eating disorders.

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For nearly a year, Barlow says she felt trapped by her illness before deciding she wanted to recover.

“And then, in Grade 10, I was like, ‘I can’t keep doing this,’” said Elsa.

Her mother says CHEO’s approach gave the family hope. And helped to save her daughter’s life.

“As soon as we saw the love, the compassion, the support, the exceptional care, and then we realized that we were going to be okay, that she was going to be okay,” she said.

Looking back, Elsa Barlow says the support she received from her family and from CHEO made all the difference in her recovery.

“I feel lucky,” she said. “Not everybody has such supportive parents, a sister to lean on, but if it weren’t for CHEO and my family, I would not be here today, and that’s undeniably important and that’s something that I’m never going to forget and never going to stop being grateful for.”

The 43^rd CHEO Telethon continues all week on CTV News Ottawa, CTV Your Morning Ottawa and Newstalk 580 CFRA, with the grand finale on CTV Ottawa on Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

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