The staff at St George’s are concerned that two patients may have damaged their internal organs - albeit for very different reasons.
Raymond, a 66-year-old carpenter, has fallen from a height on the building site where he was working and now has a worrying amount of excessive fluid in his abdomen.
Sammy, 14, has anorexia nervosa and as a result of her dramatic weight loss her heart rate is much too low, which may indicate internal problems. As paediatric registrar Zanna explains starving yourself means you lose muscle tone – and, of course, the heart is a muscle. But it’s challenging to treat because it’s not simply about eating more.
SUMMARY
A teenager with anorexia nervosa is rushed into the paediatrics emergency department with dangerously low blood pressure. Her mother reflects on her daughter’s lifelong struggle with her eating disorder, and the pain she feels at being unable to protect her child. A 66-year-old man who fell from a great height onto a concrete surface is brought in to St George’s, and doctors fear he has sustained organ damage and internal bleeding. His daughter talks about their close relationship and the sacrifices her father has made over the years
