Celeste Devoldere (20) from Zillebeke has been fighting anorexia for eight years. Although she was hospitalized several times, the eating disorder continues to define her life. Together with her friend Eve Dumolein (24), she now runs a cookie sale for the purchase of a specially trained companion dog. “I see that as my last life preserver,” Celeste says.
Celeste Devoldere lives with her parents in Zillebeke and studies to become a primary school teacher at Vives. Ever since she was thirteen, anorexia has overshadowed everything she does in her life. Several times she was admitted, several times she seemed to crawl out of the valley, but she is not getting the eating disorder small.
The right words
“I’ve tried many therapies and treatments, but because I also have autism, I find it difficult to adapt to a new environment,” says Celeste. “I see my anorexia as a thread around myself, and the autism is then an extra thread that is still around. That makes it even more difficult, because it makes the anorexia even tighter around me. It’s actually not going well at the moment, although I don’t find that easy to say. Lately, anorexia has taken over a lot. My body weight has decreased again. And there is also a lot of discussion at home with my parents.”
Her eating disorder has an impact on just about every aspect of her life. “I can’t study normally, I can’t do athletics, I can’t swim…” Celeste says. “It’s in everything. Soon we are going on a trip and we would like to canoe, but the doctor has already said that it is too dangerous for me. That touches me, because I’m actually an adventurous girl.”
“Especially among the older generation, I still see a lot of misunderstanding. People who say, “Come on, just eat something!”
Celeste is currently on the waiting list for Alexianen Zorggroep in Tienen, an institution that offers a treatment program for girls with eating problems. But in the meantime, she has to manage at home, and her best friend Eve Dumolein (24) helps her a lot. “Before I met Eve, I didn’t really have any real friends,” Celeste says.
“Maybe it’s also because of my autism that I find it difficult to make friends. What I love about Eve is that she always finds the right words to support me. A lot of people mean well to me, but instead of really supporting me, I sometimes get blamed for not understanding what anorexia is. Eve can always give it a positive spin, but she is also honest with me.”
Eve herself is also grateful that Celeste has come into her life. “It’s really great to have a girlfriend like Celeste,” says Eve. “We can share a lot with each other. We chat, have fun and go crazy together. Celeste is someone whose heart is in the right place. She always wants to help people, she sparkles with inspiration for good initiatives… It’s just the eating disorder that makes it so terribly difficult for her.”
Breaking Taboo
While it’s not easy for Celeste to talk about it, she speaks with conviction about anorexia to help dispel taboos and prejudices surrounding the disease. “Once and for all: anorexia is a disease and not a choice,” emphasizes Celeste. “Especially among the older generation, I still see a lot of misunderstanding. People who say come on, just eat something! I know they want to help me and mean well, but statements like that don’t help me. Then I think maybe they’d better not say anything.”
“Or people who say I look good. That doesn’t help either, because in my head it means I’ve gained weight, while my eating disorder just doesn’t want to hear it. The eating disorder likes it when people say: you really don’t look good. That’s not good either, because then you’re feeding the eating disorder. Eve is doing well. She says: I don’t look at your appearance. That there is someone who sees the good in me, that’s great to hear.”
“Once and for all: anorexia is a disease, not a choice”
“I see Celeste as a person and not as a body or an eating disorder,” Eve adds. “Her weight doesn’t matter to me either. I don’t like her more or less based on her weight. The strength in her, that’s the most important. Despite all the difficulties and all the stress of her eating disorder and autism, she perseveres and does everything. At sports camp she helps children who are having a hard time, on my birthday she went out of her way to surprise me…”
“Sometimes I don’t know where I’m going to get the strength,” adds Celeste. “Being able to do something for others and make them happy, that gives me strength and that makes me happy. I’m not giving up hope either. The doctor says that there will be no full recovery, but there is still a lot we can do to improve my quality of life.”
“I would like a companion dog, with the intention of following a training together so that the dog can respond to my feelings. As a buddy, just to talk to. A dog will just listen. Together with the dog I can also rebuild my eating pattern. I have the feeling that there aren’t really any treatments that can help me move forward. I currently see the dog as my last life preserver.”
cookie sale
Because such a dog costs a lot of money, Celeste and Eve organize a cookie sale. “It is the second time that we are doing a benefit sale together. The first time we did a lunch box sale to break the taboo surrounding anorexia and to benefit cancer research. We then raised 410 euros.”
The cookies are for sale for 8.5 euros per bag. Each bag also contains a free ticket for Bobbejaanland. People can order bags via celeste.devoldere28@gmail.com. The friends bring them around themselves within a radius of 20 km around Zillebeke village.