TRAGIC REAL LIFE
When Erin Gibson, 44, from London, found out her daughter was on her way to Turkey, she had a bad feeling...
Dishing up a mouthwatering Sunday roast, I placed aplate of chicken, veg, roasties and gravy in front of my daughter Morgan.
‘I can’t eat that,’ she said. ‘You’re not on another diet, are you?’ I sighed. ‘You’re perfect as you are.’
Morgan had been on and off diets for years, her weight constantly yo-yoing. She’d lose weight, but then put it back on when she went back to eating normally – the cycle continued.
On the larger side as achild, Iknew she’d grow out of her puppy fat.
But starting secondary school, some of the kids picked on her –calling her nasty names, it got so bad that Ihad to move her to anew school.
She thrived there, and although she plastered on a smile, Iknew the comments had got to her deep down –and she turned to food to cope.
I even took her to see a counsellor, to help her work through any issues it might have caused and to help her feel better about her body image.
And she seemed to be OK. She made agood group of friends and blossomed into a beautiful young woman.
Moving out at 15 and in with her boyfriend Jamie, Morgan had always been in ahurry to grow up. Wanting to be just like her big sister Kayleigh, who was six years older, she was fiercely independent.
And Isaw alot of myself in Morgan –we were both as stubborn as each other, which meant we sometimes clashed.
Morgan spent years yoyo dieting
But despite that, we were still close and spoke on the phone every day.
Morgan had always been a mother hen, and leaving school, she got ajob in a nursery –she dreamed of being asocial worker one day.
And Iknew she’d achieve whatever she put her mind to.
When Covid hit in 2020 and we went into lockdown, like a lot of us, Morgan piled on the pounds –stuck in the house, there wasn’t much else to do except comfort eat.
And her fad diets continued, despite me telling her she was beautiful inside and out. She tried everything –Slimming World, Atkins, going pescatarian and vegetarian, counting calories... ‘What do you think about gastric bands?’ she’d asked me one day, when she was 18.
‘You don’t want to do that, Morgan,’ I said, shutting the idea down. ‘You shouldn’t mess with your body like that.’
And when she never brought it up again, Ithought she’d forgotten about it.
But on 5January this year, I was coming home from work when my phone rang.
‘Morgan’s on her way to Turkey,’ afamily member told me.
‘What do you mean?’ I asked. ‘Is she off on holiday?’
‘No...’ there was apause. ‘She’s going for agastric band op.’
