When she was younger, my sister suffered from an Eating Disorder. Most people are familiar with the term, fewer people are aware of the realities that surround it.

They ruin your metabolism, your kidneys and weaken your heart. They alter your brain chemistry, and chip away at your feelings of self-worth and your will to live.

Eating Disorder are devastating.

They are devastating for the people stuck inside them. They are devastating for the people stuck outside, trying to look in.

My mom, like any good mom, only wanted to make her youngest daughter whole again. She wanted to be able to wave a magic wand and make her better.

She couldn't.

Mell's journey had to come from herself and my mother could only watch.

Every Thursday, my mom drove her out to West Gate Mall for therapy and group. Every Thursday, I went with them. Mell went to Therapy upstairs, and Mom and I made our own therapy at Rockin Johny's Dinner over a plate of Onion rings and Zucchini sticks.

We talked. I don't remember what we talked about, just that we did. We could have not gone. I could have stayed home or gone out with friends. Instead, we were each other's strength when we needed it. We stuck together, we held on.

Mell, after years of effort, struggle and one good rock bottom, found something inside her to carry her out. If we couldn't pull her out ourselves, I like to think we were the extended arms there, ready for her to grab onto.

Today, she practices a healthy lifestyle and mindset, knowing her own daughter's eyes are watching.

My mother's magic wand sits quietly in a corner.