I was sick and fit
I was admitted to hospital at about 4pm in the afternoon on a Friday in May 1993.
It was closing in on the end of year exams for my first year of secondary school.
Unfortunately I had already been sick at home for more than 20 days with severe stomach cramps.
The local doctor (who is now a homeopath, make of that what you will) had been out to see me twice in the last 20 days.
This time he recommended I go to hospital.
I was booked in with suspected appendicitis.
Diarrhoea and vomit has been my constant companion for this whole period and I was down more than 2 and 1/2 stone now.
(You're welcome for the visual)
I woke up the morning after my admittance to be met by a doctor.
"This is a training hospital Mr Ley, would you mind if some of our student Doctors viewed the examination?"
Real pain and fear is the kind that superseded embarrassment.
So in they pourer, one doctor after another to watch this stranger pop his fingers up my bum and confirm.
"No appendicitis here,
just a lot of inflammation,
start gently re-introducing food
what ever it was has gone".
and that was it,
done,
the day before,
the worse day of all 20 odd was clearly the darkest night before the dawn.
Noting further to be said on the matter.
Re-feeding need to be done slowly.
The pie I was given for lunch was the best I had ever tasted.
More of an indication of how much I had missed food than how good the food was I'm sure.
11 months ago I had just received my last primary school report.
"Edward is a bright, engaged pupil who enjoys Maths, English and science and has curiosity for understanding the world."
A report that mirrored previous years, and that coupled with good exam results saw me winning a place in a top set in secondary school.
One of my fondest memories of primary school was the amazing cooked lunches I got every day.
One week into secondary school, I'm LOVING the school lunches though, they are very different from the home cooked food of primary school.
Deep fried drummers and chips and a pack of skittles every day.
But pretty soon my afternoons are a right off, I can't concentrate and I'm nodding off.
It's all I can do to get to the end of the school day without a nap.
After a few months my behaviour is a little manic all of the time, one minute I can't sit still and the next I can't concentrate.
I was a chess tournament finalist and table tennis champion in primary school, now I couldn't sit still or focus for 5 minutes.
On my return to school in September I find myself demoted to a middle set, something that knocked the wind out of me until university if I'm honest.
You believe what you're told when you're a child and nothing says average like a demotion to a middle set.
I know first hand what nutrition can do to a persons life but it never crossed mine or anyone else mind back then.
I didn't gain weight,
I was still fit and active
but my brain stopped working properly and long before my body revolted.
I continued to eat that way on my return too, my diet didn't really change until I was 16.
Help people to find the perfect diet for them is one of the things most enjoy doing with my clients these days.
Especially those who are struggling, not just with weight but with stress, concentration, bloating, and all sorts of different health struggles.
I find it fascinating how easy it is to falsely attribute our experience of life to personal incompetence.
I'm not say that's never the reason but nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress are always the place to look first in my experience.
Ed Ley
