Eating
Disorders Treatments: Rarely Covered Health Care
-
The Long Search for Help: A Fatal Journey
James Sinclair, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington,
D.C.
Bereaved husband of a lobbyist who lost her battle with an eating
disorder
(Washington, D.C.) - James Sinclair is used to dealing with facts and
figures in a large government bureaucracy. As an employee of the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, he is used to events following a pattern. But
when he spoke at the U.S. Capitol to a Congressional Briefing organized by
the Eating Disorders Coalition, his story was about mysteries, emotions,
and loss.
Sinclair's wife of 30 years, Joanne, died from an eating disorder in
December.
"Joann had two advanced degrees. She did grassroots political work for
IT companies. She had a very active life, and when she was under a lot of
stress, she would respond by not eating. Her weight would fluctuate, and
she'd lose 10-15 pounds."
Sinclair was speaking to a packed room in the U.S. Capitol. Legislative
aides and a member of Congress listened as he described a subtle,
long-term decline in his wife's health and the difficulties the couple had
finding doctors in the nation's capital trained to deal with her eating
disorder.
"I'm a government employee," Sinclair said. "I probably have the best
possible health coverage."
"When we married 30 years ago, Joann weighed 120 pounds. Over the
course of their marriage, Joann's weight declined to 67 pounds. She looked
terrible, and a lot of people just wouldn't acknowledge how bad she looked
when her weight was really low."
After years of searching for professionals who could help with his
wife's medical and psychological needs, James and Joann believed they
found a good psychiatrist in 2001. Even as the couple tried to focus on
improving Joann's health, complications from extreme weight loss started
effecting Joann's cognitive abilities. James noticed that his wife started
having difficulty keeping track of time. She was running late for meetings
and forgetting things.
Late last year, Joann started fainting because of low blood sugars.
Then, in early December, her blood sugar levels dropped while she was
asleep and she slipped into a coma while in bed, next to her husband.
Sinclair learned about the EDC in May when the coalition was featured
on ABCNews.com in a story about older women with eating disorders.
Sinclair called the coalition and asked how he could help. EDC Executive
Director Marc Lerro said, "Tell your story at our next Congressional
Briefing." Sinclair jumped at the chance to talk about his wife's
experience.
"She didn't want to die. She wanted to live."
We thank Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN)
and Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) for hosting this briefing.
This
briefing is made possible by the generous support of the Eating Disorders
Institute, Park Nicollet Health Services, St. Louis Park, Minn. (Click
here to visit the Eating Disorders Institute.)
Additional financial support was donated by EDC Board
Member Mary Gee in memory of her mother, Wai-Kwan Ho Gee.
