This is so sad

[cajungal]

Has anyone saw this story? It is so sad. For two twins so young with still there whole lives in front of them. I am amazed that their heart did not give out yet. I hope they can be saved, but the outlook looks very grim.


Courtesy theINSIDER
Rachel and Clare Wallmeyer are identical twins with anorexia.



Courtesy theINSIDER
Victoria meets the twins.




November 3, 2005

Can These Anorexic Twins Be Saved?


Send your messages of hope to Rachel and Clare by clicking HERE.



Thirty-three-year-old Aussie CLARE WALLMEYER has a serious problem: At only 60 pounds, she's enduring the ravages of anorexia. But even more tragic is the fact that she has an identical twin who's even thinner, weighing in at a stunning 46 pounds. That's the average weight of a six-year-old child!

Clare and RACHEL are identical twins with an identical disease, and they are slowly starving themselves to death!

"I don't think about food," Rachel tells "The Insider"'s VICTORIA RECAÑO. "Why would you enjoy it if you know the end is near?"

"Neither of us do," adds Clare. "It's like eating on death row for us ... If I had to choose to live like this for the rest of my life or to die, I would choose death, I think."

Melbourne natives Rachel and Clare are well-known in their country, having been profiled on "60 Minutes Australia" twice. They were once beautiful, bright students, vibrant and full of energy. But for two decades the twins have been struggling with their deadly disease, and are so sick they can barely function. Clare barely has the strength to buckle her belt, but unbelievably, she and her sister get up every day and exercise.

"We try and walk because it burns calories," says Clare. "It makes you lose weight, sort of. You know what I mean?"

There's barely any food in their house. The fridge is unplugged, and they don't even know if their stove works. In the pantry is coffee and one can of beans -- which they won't eat, because there are too many calories in them. Breakfast is their only treat of the day: coffee with milk and wheat germ. The twins say they haven't had chocolate in 20 years, and throughout the day they use laxatives.

"It makes you dehydrated," explains Rachel, "and last night I was sick overnight vomiting bile because I didn't have any food in me."

"I don't want to live like this," she adds, "and I can't see any other way out; I'm trapped in it. And in a way, death would be peaceful."

Now, Clare and Rachel are working with The Bronte Foundation to help treat their condition. A tax-deductible charity established in response to the need for equitable access to effective, humane and dignified treatment, The Bronte Foundation aims to ensure that all sufferers of eating disorders benefit from its life-saving treatment.

Watch "The Insider" for more of our exclusive profile of Rachel and Clare, and see how eating disorder specialist DR. IRA SACKER tries to help them!

More information: http://www.TheBronteFoundation.com http://www.helpingendeatingdisorders.org/

Edited by CM to add link...always make sure you include your link.
http://www.theinsideronline.com/celeb/3278/







November 15, 2006


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[JenBayles]

Gee, that treatment is really working. That is so sad, and since they're adults, what can you do? I've lost 2 friends in my lifetime to anorexia. Yes, they died. I was a ballet dancer in a former life, and eating disorders run rampant in that area. Blame it on George Ballanchine - he wanted skin and bones dancers and even though he's gone now, his influence still reigns. He must have really hated women I guess. I narrowly escaped the same fate myself, so can certainly sympathize with them.