Daily Mail, Friday, August 16, 2019 Page 23
After parents won right to force feed her in landmark court fight...
AT her lowest ebb, teenage ano-
rexia sufferer Vicki Carter weighed
4st and was so thin her waist was
no bigger than a man’s neck.
Despite being warned she had just
days to live, the 16-year-old refused to
be force fed in hospital, prompting her
distraught parents to take her to court
in a bid to save her life.
Thankfully, judges at the High Court
sided with David and Linda Carter and
helped their daughter begin her long road
to recovery. Now, 20 years after the case
made headlines around the world, Miss
Carter has spoken for the first time about
her struggle with the eating disorder and
how becoming a mother herself helped
turn her life around.
Doctors warned that the anorexia was
likely to have damaged her fertility, so she
and partner Dan Stones, 28, were delighted
when she unexpectedly fell pregnant with
their first son, Finn, in 2010.
‘It thought I would never be able to con-
ceive children, so it was a huge surprise,’
said Miss Carter, now 36. ‘The court case
saved my life and I am pleased I lost it. At
that stage I had a long way to go.
‘Being pregnant helped complete my
recovery as I was responsible for nurturing
another life, not just my own. Now, I have
a great relationship with food.
‘I eat normally, I enjoy takeaways and
meals out with family and friends and I rollBy Liz HullAGED 18
In the grip of the eating disorderGrateful: Vicki
Carter with
sons Finn, nine,
and Tobias, one
yesterdayBecoming a mum helped
me f inally beat anorexia
WHY WE
TOOK OUR
STARVING
DAUGHTER
TO COURT
The Mail, December 16, 1999Struggle: With her parents in 2001In the grip of the eating disorderSt l With h t i 2001my eyes if I hear one of my friends say they
are dieting or counting calories – life is too
short. My family now definitely feels like a
blessing, it feels like the anorexia and court
case was something that happened to
someone else.’
Miss Carter’s problems began when she
lost her appetite following a bout of glan-
dular fever in February 1999. At the same
time, she was stressed about her exams
and felt isolated at school and home – she
was the shy middle sister of three.
Coupled with her desire to ‘look like a
famous actress’, it caused her to become
obsessive about food and to stop eating.
Her weight, then 8st 2lb, plummeted as
the illness took over her life.
Miss Carter spent her 16th birthday, five
months later, in hospital. As she began to
suffer organ failure, doctors gave her three
days to live.
Hospital staff were not allowed to force
medical intervention and, because as a 16-
year-old she was legally free from parental
consent, her parents had to seek a High
Court order to allow her to be force fed.
Miss Carter, who works as a cook, said:
‘When the court case happened, I
was days away from dying. At that
point my whole capacity for rea-
soning had gone, my brain was
shutting down too. It must have
been difficult for my parents, but I
was too far gone to understand
what was going on.’
After losing the case, Miss Carter,
of Stockport, Cheshire, spent afurther five months in hospital,
being force fed via a tube.
She was discharged – only to fall
ill again. Miss Carter was sec-
tioned under the Mental Health
Act and in and out of hospital for
three years, being discharged for
the final time when she was 19.
But she continued to have issueswith food until she fell pregnant
aged 26 and developing cravings
for crisps and cheese. She has had
no problems since. She and Mr
Stones, a British Gas worker, now
have another son, Tobias, one.
Although Miss Carter’s relation-
ship with her parents became
strained during the court case, shenow understands why they took
drastic action and is grateful.
Mr Carter, 63, a retired electron-
ics worker, said: ‘At the time, an
independent paediatrician told us
Vicki was just three days from
death, so the court case did save
her life. Anorexia wasn’t well
understood at the time, I readalmost every book I could on it
and felt I knew more than our GP.
‘It was a difficult two or three
years, but [eventually] a switch
just flicked in her head, she realised
she didn’t want to be like this. We
are so proud of Vicki now, she is an
example to others battling ano-
rexia that you can get better.’