Yahoo News 'I was close to death and couldn't work for more than two hours before my hero boss saved my life'
For her entire adult life, Louise Delaney had dealt with a rehabilitating mental and physical disorder.
Since the age of 18, the 30-year-old has lived with Anorexia Nervosa - an eating disorder and serious mental health condition, but it was only last year she discovered just how much the condition had a hold on her life. Not realising she was even living with anorexia, Louise was working as a personal trainer and began training for a marathon, something to test her physical and mental agility.
But this was just the start of a long road to recovery.
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Talking to LancsLive, Louise from Rochdale explained: "My whole life I've been putting other people first and last April, I ran a marathon and I ran it without any pain, I had been training and I found out I had Hepatitis A whilst I did the marathon and I didn't even know. I continued to lose weight around October time and I went through a lot of blood tests and checks with my GP, it was unexplained weight loss.
"I was eating a good amount because I had to train for the marathon and I continued to eat what I thought was normal. I checked in with my GP and did ultrasounds and found out I also had gallstones.
"So at the same time as my liver being battered by Hepatitis and almost going into liver failure, I had gallstones." As her health deteriorated, Louise says she started to have suicidal thoughts, thinking she "just couldn't do it anymore."
"I think I ignored it for so long, it took me being in hospital to be like okay, I'm not well and that's when I went off sick and someone needed to help me. I couldn't help myself."
Quitting her job in the gym, Louise reminisced to her old days working at Starbucks and enquired about a job at The Market Street Kitchen on Market Street in Whitworth. Owned by Carl Pugh, Louise says she was given a fresh start by working at the coffee shop, but it's also when her health woes really kicked in.
At one point, she couldn't even work for longer than two hours due to her lack of strength.
Louise said: "I actually had a panic attack at work. I was a barista at the time and I had a panic attack in the kitchen with Sam, one of the chefs.
"She rang Carl, saying she was worried about me. I just tried to brush it off, saying Carl's got to do his work and everyone's just got to keep on going.
"He sat me down and I said I was going to quit, I said I just wanted to get off life and get off the conveyor belt. Like I said, I had suicidal thoughts at that time and he said, you can quit if you want to and go to another job if you want to.
"I'm a high-flying achiever when I first start somewhere and then if something bad happens, I'll quit and start again because no one knows who I am. Then if someone finds out I'm struggling, either they're going to leave me or I quit.
"Carl said you can go somewhere else if you want to and these were the words that sank in, he said, or you can let me help you. I just thought, why would someone want to help me?"
In December, Louise had her gallbladder removed, but this 13 minute surgery proved to Louise just how poorly she really was. "The doctors and nurses couldn't wake me up from the anesthetic, it took them two hours to wake me up," she continued.
"I'm six foot and the nurse actually said, oh you're only a little dot aren't you? No one's ever called me a little dot before because I'm so tall.
"Also, before I went under anesthetic, I turned to the nurse and said please let me live. It made me realise I didn't want to die."
As her GP grew concerned for Louise's weight and overall health, he started to refer her to everyone he could and Louise was subsequently diagnosed with anorexia. She was then given a plan for regular breaks and regular eating times, something that would be difficult to navigate around her work as a barista.
Wanting to help in any way he could, Carl created a job for Louise within his business. She explained: "He loved that I was very creative and artistic and I could see something that he couldn't.
"I loved his business so much and I loved connecting with people in the area and talking to them about their lives and he knew me on a personal level. He created a job where I could continue to work with people there but not lose energy by running around the shop.
"So he said I could come in take photos and he would pay me to do their social media. It's helped me to keep myself mentally and physically well but also keep myself social.
"He obviously owns Market Street Kitchen but he's also the Operations Manager for Sapporo Teppanyaki, a restaurant in Liverpool and Manchester. Carl saw that I had such a flair for this job that he's taken me to Sapporo, so I now do the social media for them.
"I go in to either Manchester or Liverpool for two hours a week and do the social media, so I'm on a better wage and I can actually feed myself now. I don't think he realises that he saw a light in me that was going out.
"He saw my light and let me share it because I was going to die but I don't want to die anymore."
Since her new job, Louise is still in recovery and thanks Carl and his wife for their help throughout this year. "My body is responding well to treatment and all my bloods are good," Louise said.
"I'm still underweight, but not as underweight. I've put on half a stone, it's just difficult because usually people going through treatment are quite young.
"I've only just started the treatment at 30, after having anorexia for 12 years without knowing. I'm having to do therapy at the same time and fixing my habits. It was just about finding that reason to live. Anorexia is a silent suicide."
If anyone is struggling with eating disorders, they should contact their GP. There are also many organisations that support people with anorexia and their families, including Talk ED, Beat, Mental Health Foundation and Mind.
