I Lift My Eyes To The Hills

To bring awareness to Eating Disorders, I've been sharing our family's story with anorexia. Hopefully our story will bring hope to others as National Eating Disorders Awareness Week approaches.

When I left off yesterday, I shared with you that I finally was beginning to have a sense of peace. Since August of 2005 it had been an emotional roller coaster day in and day out. Now here we were March 30, 2006 boarding a plane and heading for Phoenix, AZ to place our daughter in treatment.

After a very long flight we arrived, got our rental car and drove another hour to a charming little desert town called Wickenburg. Until now I had never heard of this place before in my life. Quite frankly I never really thought the desert was all that pretty and thought the cactus plant was ugly!

We checked into the small little Best Western there and stayed the night. Our bodies were spent. After yet another restless night, we got up early hoping for the best. We had to be at the check in office of Remuda Ranch pretty early which was located there in Wickenburg.




I must say we were treated so well. They know when you walk in, you are suffering looking for help. One promise after another was being made by our daughter to eat if we would just forget all this and go back home. Part of me was buckling and honestly at times I was weak, fighting back tears, wanting to go hop in that rental car and take her back home, knowing all along that would be the worst thing in the world to do.


After all the necessary papers were signed, we then followed a lady out to the house where "K" would be staying for the next 60 days. She would be under the care of primary care doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors and nurses 24/7. Did I mention that this was at Remuda Ranch, a Christian Eating Disorders facility?



Once we got in the house, I was blown away at the level of care she received right off the bat! Immediately checking her vitals and taking care of us. We only had a few minutes with "K" before we were taken for a couple of sessions ourselves, giving us an overview of what every minute of her day would be like for the next 60 days.

My heart was already breaking just knowing that we wouldn't get to see each other on Easter and Mother's Day, but God had worked all that out. We were allowed to visit one weekend...Easter weekend. Family week came just around Mother's Day. Everything according to what we learned that day was going to work out so we'd be able to see her at least twice.

I felt such a sense of peace, until we had to say goodbye. I couldn't let her go. Tony couldn't let her go. Sick to my stomach would be an understatement, but I knew that she was going to get well.

That night after we checked in to a hotel just outside of Phoenix, my body ached as if I had the flu. In my dreams that night, what little I slept, all I could see was her little face with tears streaming down asking "why"?

The next day, we flew back to Raleigh...both our families were there and the flight was a lot less. Emptiness filled the house where there had always been lots of laughter.

We all knew she was being taken such good care of and that she was going to come back to us happier and healthier. "K" was in a place where she could rest, find hope again and peace.

Psalm 121:1-2
I lift my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lod,
the maker of heaven and earth

Ginger