FRIDAY
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April 6, 2012
A division of
Vol. 27 No. 28
COMOX VALLEY RECORD Your community. Your newspaper. www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
ON THE MEND ND
Isaac LeBlanc showing signs of improvement after months in hospitals. ■ A5
NOMINATED
A HAPPIER AND healthier Amber Foster is seen in these before and after photos. The Comox woman weighed as little as 67 pounds but is now up to 110. PHOTO BY SCOTT STANFIELD
One of Shane Philip’s earliest memories is of his dad smacking his hands for using the kitchen table as a percussion instrument while the family was eating. Now the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is nominated for three Vancouver Island Music Awards. “I’m surprised and excited,” says Philip who moved to Courtenay last year.
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With fear of food gone, life is now good Scott Stanfield Record Staff
Amber Foster is alive and well, with colour in her face and a bit of meat on her bones. The 30-year-old Comox woman sports a healthy 110 pounds on her 5’3” frame — a far cry from the 76 pounds to which she had plummeted a few months ago. “Nobody recognizes me, it’s crazy,” said Foster, who received treatment in Alberta for anorexia nervosa. After struggling with the disease since her teen years, Foster suffered heart attacks, transient ischemic attacks (mini-strokes), seizures, re-feeding syndrome and internal bleeding. She had a difficult time receiving medical stabilization and psychological assistance in her home
province. She tried unsuccessfully in case she wanted to make a call. to access government funding for She spoke briefly with her mother, treatment beyond B.C. borders. Laura Mitchell, before heading After numerous phone calls, how- into the operating room. “It was quite the ordeal. For the ever, the money came through and she attended the University of first four or five days they weren’t sure if I was going Alberta Hospital’s to make it.” eating disorder It was quite the But she’s eating program, which again and working she otherwise ordeal. For the first way to a tarcould not have four or five days they her get weight of 115 afforded. pounds. Her lowShe credits the weren’t sure if I was est had been 67 program for saving going to make it. pounds. her life. “I have no fears “It’s such an amazing program,” said Fos- of food anymore,” said Foster, who ter, who needed blood transfu- sees a doctor once a week. “It (surgery) really knocked my sions and had most of her colon removed. “I just about died. It was head straight on. It kind of made my life flash before my eyes.” really bad.” She plans to take a year off and Fearing she might not make it through the procedure, the sur- re-connect with her mother, her geon handed Foster his cellphone 12-year-old son Wade, her sister
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Brandi Foster and nephew Jaxon, who is not even two months old. “When you’re in your disease I think you tend to be selfish,” said Foster, who will tell her story Tuesday to CBC News - The National. Next month, she is scheduled to meet with provincial Health Minister Mike de Jong to discuss concerns about eating disorders, which represent the highest mortality rate among psychological disorders. Foster said eating disorder patients are not restricted by time in Alberta. In Vancouver, however, they are allotted one to three weeks, which she said is equivalent to an emergency program. “It’s a medical stabilization program, where Edmonton it’s a rehabilitation program,” Foster said. reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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