Amber Foster is alive and well, with colour in her face and a bit of meat on her bones.
The 30-year-old Comox woman sports a healthy 110 pounds on her 5'3" frame — a far cry from the 76 pounds to which she had plummeted a few months ago.
"Nobody recognizes me, it's crazy," said Foster, who received treatment in Alberta for anorexia nervosa.
After struggling with the disease since her teen years, Foster suffered heart attacks, transient ischemic attacks (mini-strokes), seizures, re-feeding syndrome and internal bleeding.
She had a difficult time receiving medical stabilization and psychological assistance in her home province. She tried unsuccessfully to access government funding for treatment beyond B.C. borders. After numerous phone calls, however, the money came through and she attended the University of Alberta Hospital's eating disorder program, which she otherwise could not have afforded.
She credits the program for saving her life.
"It's such an amazing program," said Foster, who needed blood transfusions and had most of her colon removed. "I just about died. It was really bad."
Fearing she might not make it through the procedure, the surgeon handed Foster his cellphone in case she wanted to make a call. She spoke briefly with her mother, Laura Mitchell, before heading into the operating room.
"It was quite the ordeal. For the first four or five days they weren't sure if I was going to make it."
But she's eating again and working her way to a target weight of 115 pounds. Her lowest had been 67 pounds.
"I have no fears of food anymore," said Foster, who sees a doctor and dieticians once a week.
"It (surgery) really knocked my head straight on. It kind of made my life flash before my eyes."
She plans to take a year off and re-connect with her mother, her 12-year-old son Wade, her sister Brandi Foster and nephew Jaxon, who is not even two months old.
"When you're in your disease I think you tend to be selfish," said Foster, who will tell her story Tuesday to CBC News - The National.
Next month, she is scheduled to meet with provincial Health Minister Mike de Jong to discuss concerns about eating disorders, which represent the highest mortality rate among psychological disorders.
Foster said eating disorder patients are not restricted by time in Alberta. In Vancouver, however, they are allotted one to three weeks, which she said is equivalent to an emergency program.
"It's a medical stabilization program, where Edmonton it's a rehabilitation program," Foster said.