Cranbourne girl Emma Coles suffers from a severe aversion to food. Her family is calling on the community to assist them to help overcome her illness. 72570 Picture: Stewart Chambers
By Bridget Cook
A CRANBOURNE family has one wish for their “beautiful little girl” – to get her the help she needs so she can eat her next birthday cake.
Five-year-old Emma Coles suffers from a severe aversion to food and has not eaten anything solid for the past four years.
After exhausting all measures of help here in Australia, the Coles family has indentified a specialised program for children such as Emma in Graz, Austria.
However the program will cost the family almost $30,000 – something they simply cannot afford – and are now calling on the Casey community for support to give Emma the chance to do something many take for granted.
Having been born prematurely in 2006, weighing just 510 grams, she was initially tube-fed at hospital.
She later developed further medical issues, including chronic lung disease, requiring more tube feeding, which delayed any progress she had onto solid foods.
These issues left her with a severe aversion to food.
During her lifetime, Emma has been seen by specialists at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Monash Medical Centre and has participated in specialised joint feeding programs – all of which have been unsuccessful to date.
She attends therapy every week, whether it is with a psychologist, dietician or occupational therapist.
The closest they have got to getting her to eat is licking rice crackers – the smallest crumb in her mouth causes an extreme amount of distress.
For the past four years, Emma has obtained her nutrition through specialised formulas.
Her mother Roslyn Coles said Emma’s problem had taken a massive toll on their family.
“We have a child that doesn’t eat at all – it’s very upsetting and very lonely,” she said.
“We haven’t met anyone else with the severity of Emma’s problem.
“We’ve met parents whose children have other eating disorders, but their children eat to some degree.
“It’s hard, especially when we go out and people see us all sitting around and eating and Emma’s not.”
Ms Coles said Emma was set to start school next year and the family was concerned as to how she would fit in with her peers.
Emma’s weight is on a continuous downhill slide and she is tiny for her age, not registering on the chart in either growth or height.
The family’s pediatrician has recommended that Emma ideally undergo the intense program in Austria, which has an incredible success rate, prior to starting school next year.
The cost of the program is about $25,000 and associated airfares would be about $5000.
The situation has been made more difficult as Emma is not tube-fed, she does not qualify for government benefits or a carer’s allowance, and the costs involved with her treatment have been huge.
The Coles family have now teamed up with ‘I Give A Buck Foundation of Australia’ and launched an appeal to help raise the money needed for Emma to take part in the life-changing course.
The charity assists children from disadvantaged families who suffer from a life-threatening illness or condition.
The foundation is calling on the local community for a $1 donation, with the belief that a little from a lot of people can change Emma’s life.
Ms Coles said it would mean the world to their family for the community to get behind Emma’s cause.
“Just to have a bit of normality to hers and our lives would be amazing,” she said.
To donate to Emma’s appeal visit www.igiveabuck.org.au and look for ‘Emma’s Feeding Program Appeal’ under the ‘Appeals’ tab or call (07) 5442 7414 to make a telephone donation.
