Theresa Kressin

Theresa Kressin

Theresa Kressin is an active teen who likes football, hockey, skating, cheerleading and hanging out with friends. "I love my life!" she says. But not too long ago, she wanted to be someone else. She slept all the time, weighed only 60 pounds and was weak from not eating. Theresa's battle with an eating disorder has been a long and difficult journey, but she has a bright future.

Her journey began a couple of years ago as she noticed that some of her friends were thinner than her. "I wanted to be like that," says Theresa. "So I ate less food, like sometimes just an orange for a meal. I got skinnier. I didn't want dinner — I just sat on the couch. I didn't want to eat any food anymore."

Jackie Kressin, Theresa's mom, soon began to notice that something was different about her daughter. That spring, Theresa fainted. She slept a lot. "I thought it was part of becoming a teenager," Jackie says. But when Theresa remained very inactive through the summer, Jackie suspected something more serious.

Theresa Kressin and her mom, Jackie, who played an active role in Theresa's recovery.

Jackie says that Theresa already had gone through a lot prior to her eating disorder. "She lost her grandpa and her great-grandma; her father and I separated and divorced; and she had to change schools," says Jackie. Theresa also had been diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 9, and she needed medications and other treatment to control joint inflammation.

In the fall, Jackie took Theresa to see Lloyd Wells, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the Mayo Clinic Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders Program. He diagnosed Theresa with anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder usually characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight. Dr. Wells explained to a shocked Jackie the seriousness of Theresa's condition and how Mayo's eating disorders treatment program could help her.

Intensive eating disorders treatment
Theresa was quickly admitted to the inpatient Eating Disorders Program. She weighed 60 pounds, more than 20 pounds less than the average weight for her height. One of her friends could encircle Theresa's upper arm with her hand and touch her fingers.

"I thought I was going to the other hospital, the fun one, where they give you videos and TV," recalls Theresa. "But this wasn't like that. I cried myself to sleep that first night."

The hospital environment was very structured and Theresa had strict supervision. A nurse monitored Theresa during each meal, even timing the length of the meal. The treatment plan called for Theresa to consume a certain amount of calories per meal. The goal was for Theresa to gain weight and become healthier. Theresa could eat what she wanted, as long as she consumed the appropriate number of calories.

Theresa adjusted to the inpatient program. "The staff is so supportive ... they were compassionate and nice, but stern," Theresa says. She liked some parts of the inpatient program — movie nights, making crafts and playing music in music therapy.

As Theresa began to improve, she was given small freedoms, such as a pass to the gift shop. Once, Jackie surprised Theresa by bringing friends to visit her in the hospital's atrium.

During three months of hospitalization, Theresa continued to struggle with eating. Her mother and Leslie Sim, Ph.D., clinical director of the Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders Program, developed a plan for Theresa to continue her recovery at home.

As Theresa's main caregiver, Jackie was trained in family-based therapy. She learned to measure calories and she was instructed to watch Theresa closely, timing meals and even standing outside the bathroom to make certain Theresa didn't vomit her meals. Weekly meetings with Dr. Sim helped both of them stay on track and discuss problems or setbacks, as well as to monitor Theresa's progress with regular weigh-ins.

One meal at a time
Jackie says, "Theresa needed to learn to eat all over again. She needed to learn to eat steadily, to get food digested."

Gradually, as Theresa ate on her own without prodding, Jackie gave her a little more freedom. For example, Jackie would leave the table during a meal and not watch Theresa for 15 minutes; or she would not set the meal timer. Theresa noticed some of the changes: "When she stopped standing outside the bathroom door... freedom!"

When Theresa returned to school, she brought lunches packed by her mother. She ate lunch with her school counselor in the counselor's office. Sometimes, a relative or friend made dinner for Theresa when Jackie worked. All meals were witnessed and recorded in a three-ring binder Theresa carried. Every detail of every meal was clearly communicated to Jackie. "The accountability, support and communication of everyone really made it work," says Jackie.

There was no clear turning point when Theresa began to improve noticeably or to eat willingly. "It's one meal at a time," Jackie says. "She's gone through a lot — you don't go through so much without emotional, mental, physical changes. We still struggle. The eating disorder, it will always be there. It just won't be as prominent."

Theresa and Jackie still meet with Dr. Sim as issues or setbacks come up. But Theresa is healthy and doing well. Jackie says, "Confidence is a huge thing that's changed."

"My self-esteem is way high!" says Theresa.

Doing a "U-ee"
"In the hospital, I said, 'I hate my life. I wish I had someone else's life.' Now I say, 'I love my life," Theresa says.

Theresa shows off her Turnaround Achievement Award.

Having anorexia and undergoing treatment has been a long journey for Theresa and her mother. "It's like I was a car," says Theresa, "going down a really bad road with speed bumps, really wreckin' my tires. I took a pit stop and mom and the staff, they helped me fix my tires. And then I did a "U-ee" (U-turn), and now I keep going and going."

Theresa is active in school activities. She enjoys cheerleading. She's a WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) leader in her middle school, helping to orient new sixth-graders.

Last year, Theresa received the Turnaround Achievement Award, which is given to a middle school student in the school district each year for outstanding achievement in overcoming obstacles.

"They saw her potential," says Jackie. "She's gone through hardships, and it shows she can turn her life around and get better."