Aleisha's Journey to wholeness

Hey, my name is Aleisha and I’m 33 years old. For as long as I can remember I’ve battled with my weight, it has been a deep source of pain and has been a barrier for most of my life. Over the last few years, I’ve been in recovery for a lot of my behaviours that have caused me a lot of pain and distress in my life, as well as drug\alcohol, self-harm addictions and learning to manage my mental health better. This year I have been able to address my food issues.

I’ve had a serious binge eating disorder that I’ve struggled with for as long as I can remember and has continued to be a deep source of shame.

My weight has caused me many health issues. These include sleep apnea for which I need to use a CPAP(Continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) uses a machine to help a person who has obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) breathe more easily during sleep. A CPAP machine increases air pressure in your throat so that your airway doesn't collapse when you breathe in.) machine every night I sleep so I don’t stop breathing. I also live with and struggle with PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition in which the ovaries produce an abnormal amount of androgens, male sex hormones that are usually present in women in small amounts. The name polycystic ovary syndrome describes the numerous small cysts (fluid-filled sacs) that form in the ovaries) which makes losing weight extra challenging due to the hormonal issues it causes. I don’t want to end up with permanent health issues and not having any treatment means there is a real risk I could.

If things don’t change there is a real chance I won’t live past my 40th birthday.

For me, it has been important to deal with the emotional side of my eating before I seek this option and now I appreciate food as the life source, not the comfort that it once was.

I’ve attempted to do this through the public system but unfortunately I’m not unwell enough, and I was told to come back when my weight-related issues become more serious. I don’t want to do that and I don’t want to suffer anymore. I’m now working with professionals on the triggers and getting to the bottom of what’s been causing my binge eating. I’m in active recovery, working daily on the things that come up around my relationship with food.

I feel ready to take this next step which is a medical intervention.

Up until the last week or so, my goal had been to try and fundraise for weight loss surgery as I believed this to be my only option. A recent conversation with my GP has turned up another way, that's less invasive but can help just as much as the surgery would.

There is an injection available called Saxenda (https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/medicines/l/liraglutide/) that is injected daily and works with a healthy routine of eating well and mild exercise to achieve weight-loss. Saxenda suppresses your appetite by increasing feelings of fullness and reducing feelings of hunger, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight. Pretty much what surgery achieves. Unfortunately it is not cheap, at $500 per month, and my doctor recommends that I give it 2 years to be able to achieve my goals. At $12,000 it’s very expensive, yet not as expensive as the $26,500 I would need for the surgery.

There is a chance this treatment may not work, and then I will move forward in trying to fund the weight loss surgery, but I hold hope that if my doctor believes this is a good option for me then to go for it.

Putting myself out here has been a really big challenge though I know I’m unable to do this next part of the journey alone.

I have fought so hard for my recovery that now I really want to be alive long enough to actually live. Currently my weight will see me dying young which I don’t want. For so many years of my life I didn’t want to be alive and now I really want to live, study, live my dream of becoming a counsellor so then I’m able to help and support others, and other dreams like having my own family one day, tramping around New Zealand, skiing and other sports that my weight has caused me to miss out on.

I’ve currently lost 22kg on my own, just through dealing with the bingeing, learning how to love myself with food not for comfort but for nutrition, and daily walking. My hormonal issues really makes losing any more weight on my own extremely hard.

For those of you that know me, I really believe I’m worth fighting for, that God is leading me on this journey, to become who I’ve always meant to be, not what the world has made me. It's something I haven't taken lightly and I’ve honestly tried to avoid doing this. I’ve put so much prayer and discernment into this whole process,

And if you don’t know me, I promise your contribution will change my entire life, this is the last thing for myself I need to overcome and it’s a real chance of having the life I know I’ve been called to live.

This treatment is a tool, in a whole toolbox of things I have. And it’s definitely not an easy option, or the magic fix. It’s a real chance at having a life I believe is worth living. And I so appreciate anyone that is able to support me in any way through this next chapter.

What I am hoping for is people to support me on this journey financially. The cost of the injections is $500 per month for at least 2 years. My aim is to try and fundraise $12,000 for this course of life-changing treatment. I don’t need it all upfront, I only need $500 monthly, so whatever you are able to support me with if that’s a one-off contribution, or perhaps supporting me monthly to be able to move forward with this treatment. I don’t want to start the treatment and then find that I’m unable to continue due to funds. It will be too hard on my body and my mental health.

Words can’t express what it means to me for you to give me this honestly life-changing gift. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you and God bless.