Erika
Born in Kitwe, Zambia 13th August 1939

I once wrote all about the years of my sister Erika’s 18 (eighteen) year battle with anorexia and she was horrified that strangers might read the details of those years. I removed the post immediately and now its years later; even though she passed away in 2000, I'll honour her wishes and only say that she suffered terribly but that isn’t what killed her.

Erika lived in England but used to visit us here in Australia once a year and always stayed with Step-Mum and Dad. After Dad died, she made arrangements to have an operation here on the Gold Coast during one of her visits. She recovered from her operation and from anorexia and looked fantastic and healthy. When it was time for her to go she seemed to develop a bad cold and was coughing while waiting for the airport bus.

She went home to England. A couple of months later we got a call from her partner Nigel to say Erika had been taken in to hospital and was on a respirator as she couldn’t breathe on her own. It wasn’t long before she was diagnosed as OK and discharged from hospital.

Not long went by and the same thing happened and she was again in hospital and yet again, they discharged her.

Again, not long after that she was found by the neighbour at home laying on the kitchen floor where she had been all night – Nigel was working in Geneva. He used to go home to England over the weekends and sometimes she used to go back with him to Switzerland and go travelling.

She was taken to hospital by ambulance. Nigel phoned and spoke to me and told me that he didn’t think she could pull out of this and that if we wanted to say goodbye to her that we should come immediately.

Mum and I flew the next day to England. We went straight to the hospital and we both cried when we saw Erika. She did not know we were there. She had so many machines attached to her and was crying out in agony and the pain ripped through her legs and body. The doctor told us that they didn’t know what was wrong with her. They kept giving her medication and then the tests came out ok – but as soon as they stopped the medication her condition worsened – so he said she had to keep on with the medication.

We were there for 2 weeks whilst Erika improved slightly but still had needles all over her and was so thin – so very very thin. I brushed her hair and cleaned her teeth. Mum and I sat for hours every day. She was moved three times to different hospitals during those 2 weeks. It was a terrible thing to see. Erika and Nigel told us that they had intended getting married before she got sick and that Nigel wanted to marry her immediately so that he could take her to his place in Geneva and hopefully better medical care.

We tried everything to get a bedside marriage but none of the doctors would sign to say they thought she was definitely going to die. In England – if you want a bedside marriage – the doctor has to sign a form saying “this person will die”. None of the doctors would do this. So we brought her clothes, dressed her nicely, put her in a wheel chair and drove to the marriage court so they could get married. I have the picture of the wedding home and will not post it. They got married. She went to Geneva and when she didn’t respond to their treatment they did further tests and discovered that she had Pancreatic cancer and that the cancer was so far advanced that it had spread to her other organs and that there was nothing they could do for her except to make her comfortable.

So basically all the time she spent in hospital - in and out constantly - in England - Erika had cancer. Had they bothered to check her out properly, they would have found out the problem.

Erika discussed her condition with Nigel and decided that when it got too bad she wouldn't like to have any further treatment and would then just die.This did happen.

Erika died May 18th 2000 in Switzerland.

Sorry – so sad a story – but one which must be told.