Woman, 26, whose weight plummeted to five-and-a-half stone after school nurse said she was obese conquers anorexia to gain master’s degree

• Rowena Buxton-Henderson suffered from anorexia throughout her teens
• She developed condition when after a school nurse weighed her and told her she must lose weight because she was ‘morbidly obese’
• Aged 13 and at 16-and-a-half stone, she was overweight, but the humiliating incident caused her to become terrified of eating
• At her lightest, Rowena weighed just 5-and-a-half stone and her BMI was 11
• She spent 7 months in hospital being tube-fed and nearly died
• But after successful treatment at a psychiatric unit, Ms Buxton-Henderson started studying at Manchester University
• Now has just graduated with a 2:1 master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry

An anorexia sufferer who was so close to death her mother visited funeral homes to pick out a coffin for her has battled back to gain a master’s degree.

Rowena Buxton-Henderson, now 26, developed the condition when a school nurse weighed her and told her she must lose weight when she was 13.

At 16-and-a-half stone she was overweight, but the humiliating incident traumatised Ms Buxton-Henderson so much that she became terrified of eating.

She then spent the entirety of her teenage years in and out of hospital and even had to be resuscitated after she stopped breathing.

At her most frail, 6ft tall Ms Buxton-Henderson weighed just five-and-a-half stone and was so ill her mother, Carolann Henderson, started to prepare for her death.

When she was 16 she spent seven months in a specialist eating disorder unit in Northampton for where she was fed through a tube, but she kept pulling it out of her body because she was frightened of putting on weight .

Now Ms Buxton-Henderson, from Nottingham, has spoken out about the eating disorder after winning her battle and graduating from Manchester University with a 2:1 master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry.

Ms Buxton-Henderson, who now weighs nine-and-a-half stone, said: ‘I lost my most precious years with my family and friends – a time I should have been enjoying.

‘The doctors resuscitated me once. The nurse said I had to get some sugar in me and gave me some Lucozade.

‘My first response was “how many calories is in that?” – I was in complete denial.

‘I was tube-fed for seven months when I was 16 and weighed just seven stone but I kept pulling the tube out, I was awful.

‘I weighed the lowest when I was about 18 or 19-years-old, that’s when I got down to below six stone and knew I had to start eating.

‘You need to want to change. I had seven years in and out of hospital. I received help several times but I only really got better when I wanted to.

‘Before then, I would put on weight so I could get out of hospital and lose it again.

‘I regret the time I’ve lost but I wouldn’t be the person I am if I had not been through what I have.’

Ms Buxton-Henderson first started losing weight when she was aged 13 after a school nurse told her she was morbidly obese after she weighed in at 16-and-a-half stone.

She stopped eating and her obsession with dieting continued until she was hospitalised when she was 15 after collapsing at home.

Her mother, 57, a retired police officer, said: ‘I visited a couple of funeral homes because I thought she was dying when she was 16 or 17 and was at her worst.

‘Her BMI was just 11 and we had a couple of calls from the hospital say she wasn’t going to make it through the night.It was a horrendous thing to go through.

‘I never thought we would be here with Rowena having a master’s degree.

‘She’s incredibly intelligent, brave and determined and I couldn’t be prouder.’

Rowena received treatment at Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s child and adolescent psychiatric unit before being admitted to a specialist eating disorder unit in Northampton.

After seeing her health improve, Rowena started studying at the University of Manchester five years ago.

She needed to do a foundation year before starting her degree, as she had missed two years of school after being hospitalised by her illness.

She said: ‘I’ve got the most ridiculously lovely family and friends.

For anybody out there who is suffering, it’s incredibly difficult if you don’t have support. It’s a long process. You go forward and do take steps backwards.

Rowena’s mother, a retired police officer, said: ‘I never thought we would be here with Rowena having a master’s degree. She’s incredibly intelligent, brave and determined and I couldn’t be prouder’

‘Everyone has their ups and downs. I think it’s never going to completely leave me but there are different ways of managing it so I can have a life.

‘I’m hoping to go into forensics or drug design. As long as I can help people in some way, that would be nice.’

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