A 15-year-old girl who became "terrified of food" as she battled anorexia ended her own life, an inquest has heard. An emotional hearing was told how Eve Lewis had been "desperate to get better".
Eve was predicted top grades in her GCSEs and had dreamed of becoming a lawyer. Her family has now spoken of how she had discovered a talent for art and drama and did everything to the best of her ability.
It was because of all of this that they were not concerned when she said she was going out to walk her dog instead of going with family on a trip out on September 26 last year. Relatives thought she was over the worst of her anorexia and "had her spark back".
They added: “There was nothing to suggest that when she went out to walk the dog that day, that she wouldn't be coming home again. There were no cries for help.
"Eve had so many things to look forward to and so many plans for the future. We don’t believe Eve wanted to die; she wanted to put an end to the torment she was in. That torment was anorexia."
Eve was killed instantly when she was hit by a fast-moving train. Her dog was later found running free in a nearby field by a passer by.
The talented youngster, who was in her final year at Burscough Priory Academy, had developed the eating disorder in the latter part of 2020 in her "quest for perfection". Her mum Paula noticed she had lost a considerable amount of weight but, initially, Eve still appeared to be eating "normal" meals at home in Burscough, Lancashire, reports LancsLive.
However, as 2021 started, and Eve was forced to home-school because of lockdown, she became obsessed with her food intake. By the Easter holidays she "wouldn't even allow herself" to enjoy the Sunday lunch her mum had made and her weight plummeted to less than six stone.
By April 2021 mum Paula, a retired police officer, had become so concerned that she took Eve to see the GP, who recorded her weight as just 37kg - or 5st 8lb. The following day she was called by the eating disorder clinic, which advised Eve's parents to not allow her to eat low fat food, but after that "she just refused to eat at all" her mum said.
At an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court on Thursday (July 14), Paula said: "We were told to persevere and we would spend hours every day trying to get her to eat. She would be crying, I would be crying and it was absolutely horrendous. It got to the stage where she was terrified of food. She would hold a fork up to her mouth and her hand would be shaking."
In May 2021, as Eve's physical condition deteriorated and she became "painfully thin" from eating just 300 calories a day, she attended an appointment with the eating disorder service's practitioners and a GP. The doctor was so worried about Eve's low heart rate, caused by starvation, that he sent her to A&E with her family advised to pack a bag as it was likely she would be admitted.
Dr Johnstone told the inquest: "I was particularly struck by the terrific efforts of mum and dad, who had done everything to try to help her. They spoke of spending six hours a day trying to get her to eat. It was a very clear decision to admit her to hospital because despite all of that she was becoming more and more unwell."
When she was admitted to Southport and Ormskirk District General Hospital Eve weighed 36.55kg - five-and-a-half stone. She was only allowed out of bed in a wheelchair because of her frailty and she told medics that she was "worried she would lose control in hospital and become fat".
"She still had a sense of humour though," mum Paula told the inquest. "I remember at one point they asked if she had any allergies and she said 'oil, fat, butter, sugar....' and was joking."
After being warned that she would have to have a nasal feeding tube inserted if she continued to refuse food, Eve slowly began to eat while in hospital. By the time she was discharged, four weeks later, she had gained more than 5kg.
By September Eve, who was born in Ormskirk, had managed to gain more weight and she was deemed well enough to return to school. She asked her mum if she could have highlights put in her hair and her eyebrows tinted "so that if anyone says I look different I can say that's why," Eve told Paula.
Headteacher Lucy MacLaren described Eve as a "beautiful girl" who loved netball and who "contributed in every way possible to the school". The bright student, who could recite Pi to 40 digits, was part of a "lovely group" of friends who were very supportive.
Eve "was desperate to get better" and had written a list of "fear foods" such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream and McDonald's, which she and her mum were ticking off one-by-one as she managed to try them. On the morning of Sunday, September 26, the family was due to go out, but Eve had stayed at home because she was worried a "food situation" would present itself and she would feel embarrassed.
At lunchtime Eve took the family dog out for a walk near to the train line close to their home in Ainscough Drive and spent 20 minutes talking to a friend on the phone. Emergency services raced to the scene shortly after 1.35pm.
Hayley Bevan was walking over the same train line crossing and spotted a dog's lead and dog poo bags "placed on the ground". She then walked on and saw the Lewis family dog running free. Just before Eve ran across the tracks, she posted a message to her friends on Snapchat, created as she stood by the railway line, in which she thanked them for their support. She had also searched online for train times.
Assistant Coroner Laura Nash, who cried as she summarised the evidence, returned a conclusion of suicide. She also requested to see the family after the inquest to speak to them privately.
After the inquest Eve's family said in a statement that she had been "tormented" by anorexia. They said: “Eve was just 15 years, one month and eight days old when her life ended. All of the superlatives we could come up with would still not do her justice.
"She was the most caring, loving, funny little girl who was an absolute pleasure to be around. She brought joy into the lives of everyone lucky enough to know her.
“Eve was a perfectionist. She did everything to the best of her ability. She should have been taking her GCSEs this year and her grades were predicted to be 8s and 9s. She wanted to be a lawyer.
"Eve loved sports and exercise, and she was especially good at gymnastics. She enjoyed drama too, and had recently discovered that she was a talented artist. She had a great network of friends and was very popular at school.
“Unfortunately, in her quest to be perfect, she became anorexic. She was receiving treatment and improving daily. We thought that she was over the worst of it and had her spark back.
“There was nothing to suggest that when she went out to walk the dog that day that she wouldn't be coming home again. There were no cries for help.
"Eve had so many things to look forward to and so many plans for the future. We don’t believe Eve wanted to die; she wanted to put an end to the torment she was in. That torment was anorexia.
“Looking back, we believe that as Eve reached a normal weight range, rather than having her appointments with the eating disorder clinic reduced to once a month, she should have continued to be seen and given the opportunity for counselling without a parent present. Medication should also have been considered to help Eve’s mind cope with the changes, as we were told the brain is the last to recover.
“What is going wrong in our society that makes children and young adults feel they aren't good enough? They are. We wish Eve knew how wonderful she was. She was loved so much, by so many.
"We believe that Eve didn't tell us how she was feeling as she didn't want to worry or upset us. In her right frame of mind, she would never, ever have done anything to hurt any of us. We wish things could be different. We wish that we could have saved her.”
Young Minds, a mental health support service for young people, has published a guide to anorexia. Beat, the UK's eating disorder charity, offers a one-to-one webchat service for anyone who would like to talk about any issues relating to eating disorders.
