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Volume CXXXIII, Number 6 |
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Parents of bulimia victim share story at Bowdoin
STEPHANIE WITKIN
STAFF WRITER
Andrea Smeltzer died at 19 years of age after a 13 month struggle with bulimia. Her parents are keeping her story alive, visiting Bowdoin and other schools in an attempt to keep college students from having the same experience.
Tom and Doris Smeltzer's first Bowdoin presentation last year increased awareness about eating disorders and their damaging effects on campuses. Traveling from their home in Napa, California to various places all over the United States, the Smeltzers work to communicate "what eating disorders are and why they [exist]," said Doris.
Their moving presentation on October 9 consisted of Doris' s informational lesson juxtaposed with Tom's reading of selections from Andrea's diary. The format gave the evening an educational aspect and allowed for an intimate, personal connection to Andrea. The audience was introduced to her thoughts, experiences, and reasoning through her written words.
While the presentation focused primarily on women, the information provided and the underlying messages conveyed were equally applicable to men. Because the Smeltzers saw their daughter's struggle with an eating disorder firsthand, however, their research has been mostly about females.
Andrea was only 19 when she died in her sleep of an electrolyte imbalance that caused her heart to stop. She was a sophomore at Pitzer College and the younger of two daughters. Her sister, Jocelyn, is now 29. Andrea was an excellent student with skill in music and languages. Her mother felt that while Andrea had insights beyond her years, she had an innocent way of viewing herself.
Andrea had a close friend suffering from anorexia, about whom she worried constantly. In a draft of a letter to this friend (called Emma for the purposes of the presentation), Andrea pleaded with Emma to begin eating again so that her health might improve.
Clearly, Andrea could identify all of the consequences of eating disorders. She knew that he friend was in danger and could see the physical damage to her friend's body caused by anorexia. Yet, although Andrea had been fighting bulimia for 13 months, she did not show the typical physical signs of a bulimic individual. Because she wasn't "too thin" like Emma, she believed that she was safe.
"Information is the solution [to eating disorders] only when ignorance is the problem," said Doris. Andrea was certainly not ignorant. Her problem was her disbelief that an eating disorder could have such a toxic effect, specifically on her own body.
Eating disorders are a matter of control. Despite the common belief that eating disorders are strictly a way of becoming thinner and consuming fewer calories, in reality they are about coping with issues such as self-doubt, loneliness, and guilt. Andrea's disorder began like most other cases when she started focusing all of her attention on her body. Weight became the single variable that she could control to allow for improvement in many aspects of her life.
Andrea had already been eating poorly for a year before she first vomited. Doris said that "the purge was her step over the top." Fighting a battle against her own body, Andrea titled her stomach "it," for "it" was the enemy at a time of war. Her body became an individual entity separate from Andrea and her mind.
As Andrea starved her body of nutrition by purging regularly after she ate, her metabolic rate lowered itself in an attempt to fight back against famine. Doris explained, however, that "in a war with our bodies, biology always wins." Andrea died at 5'4" tall and a weight of 115 pounds.
As a result of her tragic death, the Smeltzers continue to teach and work to help those who can still be saved. Today, eating disorders are a dangerous epidemic, killing more individuals than any other psychological disease. Andrea did not understand the universality of her condition or her feelings.
The cover of the informational pamphlet offered to listeners at the end of the presentation reads: "Andrea, 19, vibrant, talented, beautiful, strong, and loved, had the world at her feet...Today she is gone." In an effort to prevent the loss of lives like Andrea's, we must "ponder the messages you've received throughout your life about food and about your body, and consider them...Fitness, not fatness, determines longevity," Doris said. "[We must] change our lives, change our culture, and let our bodies be."
The Smeltzers maintain a website with more information at http://www.andreasvoice.org.
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