Karen's Hospitilization and weight gain

[cam89]

Hi All,
Sometimes I think what Karen must have been going thru. I am glad that she made the attempt to get therapy in 1982 from Dr. Steven Levenkron. So she chose 1 hour sessions, 5 days a week. Most anorexics wouldn't do this, they would have 1 or 2 sessions a week, so Karen was really trying to hurry the therapy treatment up. So in reality, her treatment was longer than a year and a half if not more. I know Richard doesn't agree with her method of treatment, but I am proud of the steps that she took with her treatment. I think those around Karen, her family and some of her friends, just kept harassing her to hurry up with her therapy...when are you going to be done...when are you coming home etc. That must have strained her a lot. So finally she checks into Lenox Hill Hospital and they put an iv into her. The requirement is that they inject nutrients within her, and they decrease the dosage when she increases her food intake. So she DID begin to eat normally! And finally she got used to the way she looked. She had been down to 77 pounds on her 5 ft 4 1/2 inch frame and gained weight of 31 pounds to a near normal 108 pounds, which she maintained till her death. I believe she won her fight. Would she have had a relapse? Probably. A lot of people with addictions do, and food was no exception...I mean, you are faced with food at least 3 times a day, if not more. But I feel that she was mentally and physically stronger. The bags under her eyes, were probably due to her sudden weight gain. I wonder if this is what happened with those released from concentration camps and had gained weight back. It takes the body a lot of time to get itself back to normal. Karen's heart must have been stressed, with the fact that she kept running around and keeping busy after her release from the hospital...she should have just took off several months of complete rest.
I like the fact that she knew she had hips, and she says to Dionne Warwick, "I've got hips!" Of course, she still hid them with her sweaters and clothing but it was a beginning. If she were around today, she could compete with J-lo. LOL.
I am glad that she did her treatment. I wish she had taken a lot longer. Also, in regards to her mother not wanting her to go on a weekend holiday with Olivia Newton John, but wanting her to rest instead, which made Karen upset. Richard says that she wasn't emotionally better. Which is so silly. Is Karen supposed to be magically 100% better. No, of course not. Karen's parents and Richard's involvement in her therapy process was not good at all. The fact that Richard wouldn't talk to Karen for a period of time during her therapy hurt her badly. I think in order for an anorexic to become better, they have to want to get better, and have the support and unconditional love of their family, and friends. Karen did want to get better and did, but I feel that the support wasn't as high as it could have been. I guess these lessons we can use in our own lives and care about those around us more with unconditional love...

My thoughts,
Cameron Longo
[email protected]

 

[Murray]

Sometimes I think what Karen must have been going thru. I am glad that she made the attempt to get therapy in 1982 from Dr. Steven Levenkron.

Steven Levenkron isn't a doctor. He has a Master of Science degree in psychology, and is a licensed psychotherapist.

While I applaud Karen's attempts at overcoming her eating disorder, Levenkron's methods were not exactly effective. Despite being counseled by him for months, Karen continued to lose weight until she got to a very critical level, and ONLY gained weight after being hospitalized and tube-fed (putting the weight on way too fast, and overstressing her heart). She would have been much better off if she'd checked herself into a treatment center, as was suggested to her by Cherry Boone. Of course, much less was known about treating anorexia in those days. It is commonly accepted now that counseling does little good on it's own, until at least some weight restoration has taken place (rational thought is near impossible while the brain continues to be malnourished).

Murray

 

[cam89]

I just had to add a few more thoughts. Yes, not alot was known about anorexia nervosa or bulimia in that day. But Dr. Steven Levenkron has had only 1 fatality in his practise with anorexia-Karen herself. I think she terminated her therapy too fast. And maybe, she thought, if I put on this weight, she would silence those around her, and then eventually lose it again. I had written a story on what if Karen had lived, and I kind of used this scenario, where she got better, but not completely and had a relapse, worse than the first. With Richard harping about her eyes, and the instances where she froze, in the restaurant with getting her cycle back, it probably made her feel that Richard and others were worrying needlessly over her health. Of course, Richard being her brother, would have known when she was in good health and in poor health, and only wanted her to be 100% better. So I give him credit there. Of course he loved his sister. Who could not love her? And her parents were thrilled when she ate at the restaurant and ordered a taco for home, which surprised her parents. I wish more photos were taken of her at this time. Does anyone have any color photos of her? I have seen some, where Karen is at Christmas opening some Mickey Mouse gifts, and she looks thin but a lot more healthier. I think that the Carpenter family had a lot of issues to deal with as does most families. Sweeping it under the rug does nothing for any family. I wish we could hear Karen's side of it.

Cameron Longo
[email protected]