CASE STUDY: Annie's Story

This case is of particular interest to me because I know the subjects personally and have followed this case closely from the beginning.

When little Annie was just about 6 years old her parents were separated and going through a bitter divorce. What's this have to do with wellness, diet, etc.? The answer is EVERYTHING!

Little Annie was scared and confused by what was suddenly going on in her life. She was just 6 years old and life had become very unhappy for her. Not really having many options at that age, she began to attempt to eat her way back to happiness.
Note: That does not work... not ever!

Annie began putting on extra pounds... gradually at first but then more rapidly. To add to her misery she was taken out of her community, out of her school and moved with her mother, Claire to the other side of town. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that she continued to eat until the little size 6 outfits she had been wearing had to be replaced with size 12 outfits. That would have been bad enough if that were the end of the story but it was actually just the beginning.

One day when Annie returned home from school she seemed nervous and afraid and when Claire inquired as to what was wrong, little Annie, with tears in her eyes said, "I think I killed her. I think I killed Cindy" (Cindy was a school friend in the new school). Can you imagine Claire's reaction? How would you react if your not so little 6 year old came home with such a story? Upon questioning, Claire was able to determine that Annie had put her hand on Cindy's shoulder and believed that because she had touched the child... the child would die.

It seemed that somehow Annie had the notion that anyone she touched was going to die. This presented real problems since it meant that not even her mother could touch her. It didn't stop there, however. Annie would run screaming through the apartment knocking things off of tables, deliberately smashing things and she remained convinced that anyone she touched would die. There was no reasoning with her and certainly she was too out of control to even attempt discipline. Little Annie was obviously very sick.

When the pediatrician had no idea what was gong on he recommended a psychiatrist. Out of desperation, Claire took Annie to the psychiatrist who couldn't put a name on what was happening but reported that the child had asked to be put someplace where she couldn't hurt or kill anyone else or herself. Hearing that broke Claire's heart into a million pieces. The psychiatrist prescribed imipramine, telling Claire that it was all he could do for her as a last ditch effort to avoid having to lock her up somewhere …maybe for the rest of her life.

Holding back the pain and tears Claire had the prescription filled and headed home with Annie in tow. The psychiatrist had told Annie (in front of Claire) that the pills she would be taking were anti-kill pills and that they would keep her from killing people if she touched them.

Back in the apartment Annie was given her first pill, a pill about the size of the head of a pin. Within 6 seconds of having swallowed the pill Annie went totally crazy. She screamed and told her mother that the doctor had given her the wrong pills. She insisted that they were NOT anti-kill pills but rather KILL pills and now everyone she touched would die. The child was so out of control that Claire fully expected to see her head spin and green rags come out of her mouth as with Linda Blair in The Exorcist. There was no head spinning, no green rags but there was lots of blood and suddenly it was all over poor little Annie and then all over Claire as well. As it turns out Annie was having a serious nosebleed that occurred quickly and covered her and everything around her in blood in a matter of mere seconds.

Annie had completely exhausted herself with her rampage so once she was cleaned up and all the blood was out of sight she fell asleep on her bed. It was late by that time but in desperation Claire phoned the home of a pediatrician whom she knew socially. While he was not Annie's pediatrician, Annie's pediatrician had no idea what to do other than what the psychiatrist he had recommended.

To shorten this story as much as possible without it loosing its impact, the pediatrician friend listened to the whole story and then asked, "And what would you like me to do?" "I have no idea," Claire said. "I just know I need help." As it turned out this pediatrician had been researching food allergies and as fate would have it had a camp for children with food allergies and a new session was starting the very next morning. After listening to the entire story the first thing he did was ask Claire to promise not to give Annie any more drugs. The second promise was to have her packed and ready to go with him to this camp in the next state by 8:00 AM in the morning.

Claire didn't know if it was the right thing to do but when the options seemed at that point to be either locking the child away for the rest of her life (even a good and caring mother isn't able to think too clearly under such circumstances) or sending her to a camp…camp won handily.

Annie didn't want to go and screamed most of the way there. It was a two week camp and after the first week the doctor made an agreement with Annie that if she would remain calm and not do anything to upset her mom he would phone home for her and let her chat briefly with Claire. Annie agreed, but as soon as she had the receiver in her hand she began screaming Mommy, come get me out of here. I hate it and they make me...." The phone was taken away from her and the call was ended.

The following week was hell on earth for Claire. The following weekend she headed to the next state in tears, feeling really lousy by now for having just shipped her crazy little Annie off to this horrible camp and she wasn't looking forward to their reunion.

Upon arrival at the camp a minister she knew welcomed her and asked if she had seen Annie yet. "Not yet," she replied. "Where is she?" The minister pointed to a group of people and said, "Right over there." Claire looked at the group but didn't see her fat little Annie there and began to look around in other directions. Seeing her confusion, the minister came to the rescue. "She's right here," he said pointing to that same group again. "Well, I don't see Annie" Claire said, but the words were no sooner out of her mouth when this little tiny girl with her clothes pinned up on both sides so they would stay on her tiny little frame turned and said, "Mommy, I'm so glad to see you. Lets go in the recreation building and I'll serve you some of the yummy treats we made for the parents."

According to Claire, Annie reminded her of a "Stepford" child. She was clearly not the child who had been sent to camp just two weeks earlier. This rapid transformation just could not be possible. They socialized with and met other children and parents for about 40 minutes or so and then decided to head home since they had a long drive ahead of them.

On the way home Claire mentioned that she was really hungry and wanted to stop at a restaurant to have dinner. They found a really nice restaurant and they were seated quickly. The waitress brought the water, and menus and Annie and Claire both opened their respective menus and began to view the choices. Within just a few minutes little Annie closed her menu and looked right into Claire's eyes (bear in mind Annie was 6 years old) and said, "Mommy don't you realize that if we go back to eating the way we did before, you have wasted all the money you spent to send me to Doctor Bob's camp?" "Out of the mouths of babes... ." Claire closed her menu, tipped the waitress generously and explained that something had come up that necessitated their leaving.

They stopped at an all-night grocery store and bought things that Annie knew she could eat without consequence. Neither of them ever returned to their old eating habits again. Claire admits that for months after the camp experience she was uncomfortable around Annie. She feared that at the drop of a hat Annie could go "crazy" again.

Annie never did. In fact Annie never was crazy and never needed drugs. She just needed to eat good wholesome foods. It's not that they had been eating horrible things. They ate what everyone else they knew ate. It's just that Annie had a severe reaction to sugar, wheat and dairy. That was it; sugar, wheat and dairy were her problem and neither she nor her Claire ate enough fresh vegetables and fruit nor did they drink enough water to keep their systems properly hydrated.

So at this point, if I were you I'd be asking how long a 6-year-old could actually maintain this new, healthful diet. What happens the first time she goes to a friend's birthday party with all the cake, ice cream and soda pop? Well, Annie could remember vividly how life was for her when she attempted to eat her way back to happiness and as a result she never…never was tempted by those foods that she spoke of as having made her sick. At parties she'd go quietly to the kitchen and ask for a piece of fruit and a glass of water. Most of her friend's mothers would call Claire and ask her to please tell Annie it would be okay if she wanted cake and ice cream. Claire would do their bidding while they listened in on the conversation. When the call ended Annie would ask once again if she could have a piece of fruit and a glass of water. At her young age she was well aware that the food that had made her so sick would make her sick again if she went back to it.

Alright, now I can answer the question as to how long Annie was able to continue to eat healthfully and maintain her newly found great mental and physical health. Annie has a birthday coming up soon, as a matter of fact, and she will celebrate it with good, wholesome foods that she has learned to love. The difference this year is, as in many years past; her mom won't have to take her to the store to shop for her healthful birthday foods. Annie will drive herself to the Wholefoods market where she will purchase the ingredients for her delicious and healthful, at home, birthday dinner. You see, this year Annie will celebrate her 35th birthday.

Happy Birthday Annie!

© Copyright, 2008 J.Sewell Perkins - All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety or in part without the expressed, written permission of the copyright holder.