18 November 1998
To all concerned parties,
David was brought to the Montreux Clinic on October 28, 1995, after all my efforts were exhausted her in New York. Every medical doctor that my son was seen by found no organic reason for his failure to eat.
My husband and I took David to a Nutritional Counselor who did diagnose him with 'failure to thrive'. But with her methods David's illness increased. We were instructed to no longer push food on him until he became so hungry he would eat anything or everything in sight, not understanding the situation David was in and how damaging this was. Out of desperation we followed her instructions. This did not work, of course, and David went four days without eating or drinking. I am still outraged at this procedure and cannot even imagine that I followed these instructions. But we were grasping at straws and looking for a solution.
By the grace of God, that night we watched 20/20 in which I saw the episode they did on the Montreux Clinic. All I could think of was my prayers were answered. After hearing the other patients speaking of voices in their head, I knew this was the place that David needed to be. For prior to seeing that show David mentioned a "man" that lived under his hair telling him he was bad and not allowed to eat.
The very next day, I faxed a letter to the clinic expressing the urgency with my son. I prayed the letter would be answered quickly for David was deteriorating fast. In four days Peggy called me at home and we had a lengthy conversation. I didn't feel alone anymore and I knew she understood him and he would be helped. She at first gave me information on trying to help him here in New York. She gave me free reign to call her at any time of day if I needed her. I followed her instructions but it was hard to be objective with our son. My husband and I could not put our emotions aside to be strong for him. We were forcing him to eat by restraining his arms and legs in hopes of getting one tablespoon of applesauce down his throat. With the doctors request we also had to force four cans of Pediasure down him too. In fear things were worsening I called Peggy and explained that things were not going as planned. In which we then discussed us bringing David to her in Victoria.
My husband and I needed no coaxing at all. We called our families, gathered money, I quit my job and off we went. We were greeted graciously and David was treated like a precious gift, as so he was. The clinic supplied and paid for a place for us to stay along with all the things we needed.
After my husband, David and I had a lengthy meeting with Peggy she asked if she could feed him. Much to my surprise David took to her like to no one else. With some coaxing and a lot of love and gentleness, David opened his mouth for her. I had never witnessed him eat so normally before. Yes, there were rough patches but my heart and mind I knew he would be saved by being there.
As I look back at my journal, I see that in the first week of being there David thanked me for bringing him to the clinic and saving his life. What more is there left to say?
Peggy then established a residence for me. To which she paid the rent and supplied my son and I with furniture, cookware, glasses, dishes; all the things we needed to survive. David was picked up in the morning and then brought back to me by 8:30pm, his bedtime. He was fed at the Rockland house and played with to distract his suffering. They also bought him every toy he loved to bring him comfort. David felt safe there.
But again there were bad patches. To which I noticed and couldn't help him when he was back with me. Peggy and I discussed this in full. We both came to the conclusion that on very bad times David should spend more time at the clinic. These over night stays were at the St. Charles house which I was well aware of. He stayed there for long periods of time with my consent. I was never told I could not see him, but I knew that during bad episodes it was best to leave them to handle the situation. Out of respect for Peggy because I believed in her and I still do! I trusted her and knew she was doing the right thing for him. I was always contacted and nothing was done without my consent.
The whole process took approximately two years. But if it would have taken five, I would have stayed. I have never seen David so happy, so happy with himself. He looked confident, proud and alive. He played like a little boy should, and accepted gifts (they did spoil him), but he deserved it. He ate with no restraining at all. This was my son. This was how he should be, happy, healthy and free!
Once David was able to eat on his own, once the bad episodes were gone, he lived with me everyday all day long. A care worker was sent by just for the first few weeks to ease the transition. Lucy who he adored and vise versa also visited. David loved the visits but he knew where be belonged and with whom. There were absolutely no problems with the transition at all.
And if you could see David now your heart would melt. He is happy. He loves school and he is full of life. I am totally in debt to Peggy for the rest of my life. She saved my sons life and asked for nothing in return. No money passed from my hands to hers.
All decisions for David were made with my consent. And for this my son is alive today.
I thank you again, with sincere gratitude, respect and love.
Testimonial #2
We write this letter to exemplify our complete and unconditional support for the Montreux Clinic in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Our daughter Bronte has been a patient at Montreux since May 1st, 1996. We love our daughter more than anything in the world and feel that we have demonstrated through our actions and ongoing commitment to her that we are prepared to give up everything in order for her to lead a happy, healthy, long life.
Bronte's anorexia was first diagnosed in July of 1994. Being a tall young woman she soon became medically compromised, often with a postural drop exceeding 30, significant tachycardia and severe dehydration. She was hospitalized for almost a year continuously in a general hospital ward, given anti-depressants (of the Tri-Cyclic family) which caused severe drop in blood pressure and on several occasions almost killed herself. During this time she attempted suicide twice, mutilated herself and became uncontrollable in behaviour, displaying violent mood swings, paranoia, obsessive traits and panic attacks. She thrice escaped from the hospital whilst under total bed rest orders, only to be tracked down by police, hospital staff and family members.
To say our lives were like an out-of-control rollercoaster would be a complete understatement. Our daughter was treated as a prisoner, with a punitive ethos underpinning her therapy. At one stage she was placed in a single bedroom with no color or embellishment, no means of entertainment, hospital issue pajamas, curtains drawn and was refused visitors. This punitive system was supposedly meant to make her recognize the error of her ways and encourage her to conform and to use common sense. She had a timer placed before her with each meal and if she did not eat it in the designated time was given a bollus through a naso-gastric tube.
On another occasion the charge nurse told her that she deserved to die, that she was taking up space in a hospital designed to help genuinely sick people.
In June 1995 we became so alarmed at Bronte's obvious desire to die that we negotiated with her medical and psychiatric teams to allow her to come home and be cared for by her family. We learned how to perform the ritual of naso-gastric feeding and monitor her medically. In June of 1995 Graeme gave up work and commenced 24 hour care and supervision of Bronte at home in consultation with the hospital staff. The head of the psychiatric department told us to give up, that we were wasting our time because Bronte was considered terminal by all concerned and that the sooner we accepted this the better it would be for all.
For the next few months we provided for Bronte's every need, each of us covering a 12-hour shift, hand-feeding, naso-gastric feeding, reassuring her, preventing her from self-harm and still her condition deteriorated. In desperation we went on several national television programs to seek information about other forms of treatment. What ensued helped us form a comprehensive picture of availability of treatment within Australia and we now knew that what we were doing was the most we could hope for.
We might add that by this point Bronte was showering (supervised) up to 5 times a day to get the calories off her, was a total recluse (because people carried calories on them) and was curled in the fetal position in the corner of a tiled bathroom with towels stuffed under the door to prevent calories coming in, for much of each day. The whole family suffered through this. We could no longer prepare or eat food at home as it would provoke a panic attack and would require several adults to restrain her from harming herself.
Our lives were a living hell but nothing compared to her suffering. The crunch came the day she had been kicking her own shins as a self-punishment for having accepted a little water. After restraining her she looked into my eyes and pleaded with me to let her die. I wanted to die too. I couldn't bear to see my child suffer like this anymore.
A few months previous this my brother who lives in the USA had phoned and told us about the Montreux Clinic. In September 1995 after Bronte had been hospitalized with suspected cardiac failure, I flew to Canada to look into the Montreux program.
After meeting with Peggy Claude-Pierre and her team we knew without a shadow of doubt that this program was the treatment we had been looking for. It is based on unconditional love and support of the patient and all consuming in its positivity.
As mentioned in our introduction, we love our daughter very much and it was painful for us to relinquish her but if we had to we could not thing of a more loving, supportive environment for her to move into.
I was recently interviewed by a national current affairs program and made the following comment. "When I visit Bronte at Montreux, it makes it a lot easier for me to turn around and get on that plane to go home knowing that she is so loved and cared for." I continued with "Sometimes I look up at the sky and imagine her sleeping in a bed on the other side of the world. It comforts me to know that she has someone with her, comforting her and giving her all the tenderness and love that she deserves."
After my last visit in September 1997, it was she who was comforting me when I was leaving. She demonstrated to me that she was enjoying her life in Canada and assured me through her actions that she wanted very much to continue as she was.
We are and will forever be eternally grateful to Monteux, Peggy and Bronte's carers for the commitment they have made to Bronte's complete recovery.
Bronte truly loves Peggy, her carers and others at Montreux. She is happy with her surrogate family for now and never asks to come home. She is not being kept there against her will by either ourselves or the Montreux staff. In fact she would be devastated if she could not stay to complete her treatment.
Full documentation of Bronte's battle with anorexia and her subsequent ongoing triumph over it has been made by Australia's leading television journalist and current affairs program. They have followed Bronte's story for the past 2 years and are committed to follow until Bronte is fully recovered and home in Australia. The Australian public have been amazed by her progress and have supported us as a family in many ways.
It is important to note that we have never been coerced, remunerated or contracted by either the media or Montreux for the television, print and radio appearances and interviews we have given. We did this purely to help raise awareness of the suffering involved with anorexia, the lack of appropriate treatment in Australia and to instill hope in other victims that we will someday have the treatment offered by Montreux in our own country.
Once again we would like to reiterate our support of Montreux. Without their help Bronte would be dead and we can't begin to imagine what our lives would be like without her.
We know that someday Bronte will come home to us but until that time we would like to express our heartfelt thanks that she is where she is.
Yours sincerely,
Jan & Graeme Cullis
Testimonial #5
Our fourteen-year-old daughter was a beautiful, energetic, vibrant teenager until anorexia took her as its hostage. Little did we know then, that our family was in for the rollercoaster ride of our lives. Our daughter quickly became very ill, a skeleton of a being, completely losing her will to live. It appeared living with anorexia was too painful and recovery seemed impossible. As hard as she tried to overcome anorexia, it was in the driver's seat and was relentless.
After eight admissions to hospital within the first year, she decided she would rather die than return. She realized that although the hospital was able to medically stabilize her (take care of her physical health) she needed much more. She knew that without psychological help she would not beat anorexia.
She watched a program on TV where Peggy Claude-Pierre was a guest. As she listened to Peggy speak she realized that this woman understood what she was feeling. Our daughter wanted help desperately and so we made contact with the Montreux Clinic. From our very first contact with the clinic there was compassion and understanding. Upon our daughter meeting Peggy for the first time, she threw herself at Peggy something she had not allowed since becoming ill (she had not allowed herself to be touched or hugged).
Peggy and the rest of the dedicated and committed staff allowed her to believe in herself, to believe that she would get better, to believe that she was worthy to live a good life free from anorexia. The one-on-one individual care plan met her needs both physically and psychologically.
We are eternally grateful to Peggy and the devoted Montreux staff who always treated her with the dignity and respect she needed to overcome this horrendous disease. After two bouts of liver failure and with dangerously low weight it was clear that without intensive treatment to the body, mind and soul our daughter would die. She did receive this treatment at Montreux and today we are happy to report that she is alive and well.
Now twenty-four years old, she is enjoying all that life has to offer. She is excited about waking up everyday and experiencing life fully. This Saturday she and her sister will travel to Europe for six weeks to explore, to travel, to enjoy, free from the grips of anorexia.
We owe a debt of gratitude of the Montreux staff. For allowing our daughter a second change at life. Montreux never let us lose hope that she would get getter and indeed she did!
Testimonial #6
I have been thinking a lot lately about the program my daughter went through with Montreux back in 2001. She has just recently been married and given birth to a beautiful baby boy. I never believed it was possible for her to be so happy until I met Peggy & Montreux.
Since her completion of the program she has slowly put her life together and has far exceeded even her own expectations. Montreux's constant positive reinforcement and incredible support group gave her the tools she required to achieve her goals on her own.
A talented athlete at a junior Canadian level my daughter had all her dreams pulled out from under her when she became so desperately thin she could no longer compete. When we first can to Montreux we were extremely desperate. She had been in and out of the hospital several times and had pretty much given up hope of ever recovering.
It was fate that I ran into Peggy and I will never forget her encouraging words. Her book "The Secret Language of Eating Disorders" inspired my daughter to pay a visit to Peggy and the rest is history. From the moment she arrived in Victoria and literally into Peggy's arms she began her journey back to health. I realize more and more each day how much I learned from my daughter's experience. Seeing the transformation first hand was incredible. Witnessing several girls as well as my own go through the different stages of the program was amazing and extremely heartwarming.
I truly believe I have my daughter still with me today because of the special people surrounding Montreux. I will never be able to thank them enough for the support, the knowledge, the hope, the understanding and most importantly, the belief that my daughter would become whole again.
I want you to know that all of you hold a very special place in my heart.
