Anorexic woman who weighs only 102 pounds seeks relief in the kitchen by baking chocolate chip cookies to raise funds for treatment



Baker: Camilla Kuhns bakes cookies that she uses to raise funds for her anorexia treatment

A woman who suffers from anorexia finds an unusual outlet for her stress in baking, and she is now turning to her culinary expertise to help her in her health battle.

Camilla Kuhns is trying to raise $50,000 to help pay for the intense treatment program that she requires to fight the disease.

Her case is so severe that the 29-years-old who is 5'8" weighs only 102 pounds.

Kuhns says that she has been suffering from the disorder for the past 18 years, and tried other programs for help but she now realizes that- at her doctor's urging- she must go to an inpatient facility where she will be guarded throughout the day.

'In the last year and a half it has become the worse it’s ever been. I am 5’8”, I weigh 104 pounds with my clothes, shoes, and purse,' she wrote on her blog .

'I tried a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and an intensive outpatient program. I did not gain weight. I struggled with meal compliance. I struggled tremendously with guilt from the cost and the burden I was putting on my family.'

The intensive program at the Center for Change in Utah, which was recommended for her by her doctor, costs nearly $1,000-per-day, and she will need at least six months of treatment.

So far, KOMO News reports that Ms Kuhns has raised $7,000 through donations on her blog and the money she has earned baking cookies.



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Determined: Ms Kuhns, who has been anorexic since she was 11, is receiving treatment in Utah

The irony in the decision to use sweets to help raise funds for her anorexia treatment is not lost on Ms Kuhns's relatives.

'She has a great deal of fear around food, so I couldn't understand why this was working for her,' Ms Kuhns' mother Ilene told KOMO News.

While chocolate chip cookies are her speciality, Ms Kuhns never tastes her own creation.

Her brother Seth serves as taste-tester, but Ms Kuhns' diet normally only consists of a head of cauliflower with hot sauce and a tablespoon of nuts.

Thin: Though she enjoys cooking for others, she only eats cauliflower and nuts



In addition to that scant meal plan, she also works out between three and four hours per day, but she is hoping to change her routine during her treatment at the Utah center.

Though it will take time to fully recover from the disease that has followed her for nearly two decades, Ms Kuhns is fighting for progress and keeping her supporters updated on her blog.

Because she does not have internet access in the facility, she writes her posts longform and then has her father upload them after he visits on the weekend.

'I feel so blessed... My heart rate is up, my blood pressure is more normal, and I’m not as dizzy,' she wrote in a recent post.

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