Copyright birminghammail
A little girl has eaten her first cooked meal at the age of eight after undergoing hypnosis. Ella Fowler had only ever eaten cereal before this, and even tucked into a bowl each year as her family enjoyed their Christmas dinners. The youngster was diagnosed with ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) after refusing to eat anything other than Cornflakes, Weetabix or Frosties READ MORE: Homeless thug leaves pensioner, 70, with life-changing facial injuries after she showed him kindness She never touched a home-cooked meal and even took cereal to birthday parties to eat while other children enjoyed a spread of sandwiches and cake. Her mum, Natalie and dad 44-year-old dad, Jamie, took her to their GP and Ella was put on an NHS waiting list to see a food specialist. Desperate, they turned to eating disorder expert David Kilmurry – and the results were almost immediate. Ella's ARFID condition means that the smell, taste and texture of certain foods are unbearable. But after just two two-hour hypnotherapy sessions with David, Ella has tried more than 20 new foods - including fruit, veg, nuts and pizza. She even munched a raw Brussels sprout and has vowed to eat all her vegetables from now on. Natalie, a store manager, said: "She’s never eaten anything cooked on a hob. At home it was cereal for breakfast, lunch and tea. “She’s never had a Christmas dinner. “She went to her best friend's birthday party and there was a lovely spread of sandwiches, sausage rolls and crisps but she had a bowl of cereal. “She goes round her friend’s house and she has cereal and crackers.” Ella started rejecting almost all foods when she was a two-year-old - leading Natalie to resort to giving her breakfast for dinner. The mum ended up buying dozens of boxes of Cornflakes, Weetabix and Frosties each week to keep up with Ella's demands. The 40-year-old continued: “When we started weaning Ella she would try anything. "When she got to two things changed. “I took her to the GP when she was about five, they said she’d grow out of it but she never did. “When she was eight, I thought that something was still not right so took her to the GP again and she was put on a waiting list. “I didn’t know how long we’d be waiting for her to see a specialist so we started looking online about kids with similar conditions. “We came across David and were amazed by the results he had. "People think it’s just fussy eating but it’s not. It’s fear. "I’m so glad I didn’t wait for the NHS. David was brilliant. “I don’t know how he did it." David, who has practices in Coventry and Harley Street, London, said: "ARFID isn’t taken seriously enough. "It doesn’t just go away. "Food is medicine and Ella is already making amazing progress."
