I am 2 days away from my first 10k as I edit this 'story'. After 3 months of inpatient treatment and 2 months of day patient, I have seen my best friend learn to laugh again. I have seen her come back to life. I've also seen her struggle and fall. Her strength to continue is nothing less than inspiring. Her journey is far from over but with the support of everyone around her I know she can do it.

I am running three 10ks and taking part in a 15 mile walk to fundraise for my best friend. She has been battling with eating disorders for 17 years since the age of 13. As anorexia and bulimia have spread over her through the years she has found herself exhausted, broken and in desperate need of help. The last year in particular has been unbearable and left her feeling like there was no hope of recovery. No hope of life.

Living with an eating disorder is beyond debilitating and consumes all of your thoughts, all of the time and they have the highest suicide rate of any mental illness.

In September 2017 she made the brave decision to get her life back and put her name on the NHS waiting list. Due to the length of the NHS wait time and the severity of her illness, the decision was made with her family and medical professionals to seek private care. This would give her the best possible chance of a successful recovery. But with a cost of £21,000 a month inpatient and £6,000 a month day care it doesn't come cheap.

I aim to raise £2,000 to pay for 10 days of day-patient treatment. 17 years of suffering cannot be cured in a few weeks. The ongoing day-patient treatment is essential to stop relapses from occurring.

The hospital does a fantastic job educating on nutrition, meal planning, kitchen skills, therapy sessions and more.

Anything you can give will be appreciated and sharing this link on social media would be a great help to share her story.

Thank you

Rachel