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A woman who dropped to a skeletal four stone battling the eating disorder anorexia has made an amazing recovery after getting a job at McDonald's.Jo Thompson, now 21, beat the life-threatening disorder after falling in love with the manager of the fast food branch when she was 17.
And today, despite being told she would almost certainly be infertile for life after inflicting so much damage on her body, the couple live together with their two healthy children Zaki and Amelia.
Jo Thompson, 21, battled a deadly eating disorder by getting a job at McDonald's
Finding love with partner Zoheb helped Jo overcome her illness and the couple now have two children Zaki (L) and Amelia (R)
Jo, from Solihull, West Midlands, developed the mental illness aged just 11 when she began suffering from extreme anxiety and panic attacks.
Within six months she had been hospitalised and at her lowest point, weighing just four stone, doctors gave her just 48-hours to live.
For the next six years, Jo was so gripped by anorexia she allowed herself just water and peas to survive - and did excessive numbers of star jumps to lose more weight.
But, aged 17, Jo realised that the only way she would ever recover would be to get used to seeing people eating around her - and, deciding to jump in at the deep end, applied for a job at McDonalds.
Jo ended up falling for the fast food chain’s manager Zoheb Khan, 25, and together they worked at beating the disorder
Jo said: 'The turning point for me was when I was 17. After meeting up with my friends I realised I didn’t want to spent my whole life in and out of hospital.
'I got a job in McDonald’s because I wanted to show everyone that I could beat anorexia. People were shocked but I had to prove that I could beat my demons.
Jo, pictured in 2004 at 12 years old, became ill when she was only 11 and battled the disease for 6 years
'It was there that I met the love of my life Zoheb - we’d sit and have lunch together and he’d say ‘I’m not eating mine until you’ve eaten yours’.
'He helped me battle my eating disorder and I began to feel happy again.'
Jo and Zoheb worked together to overcome anorexia and now have two children together - one-year-old Amelia and Zaki, aged two.
She said: 'I would allow myself one glass of water before bed and lived off a couple of peas during my time in hospital.
'I would be constantly exercising often not sitting down until 11pm with the constant need to burn calories.
'Nurses would hold me down to try and prevent me from star jumping and losing any more weight
'I was at school one day when I started to feel dizzy and people screamed ‘you’re going blue’.
'I was terrified of dying in my sleep and I would tell my mum ‘I’m going to eat and drink tomorrow I promise’ - but I was so gripped by the illness I knew deep down that I wouldn’t be able to.'
However love manged to penetrate the disease and from the moment Jo met Zoheb they were inseparable.
After just seven months they decided to move in together.
Jo had been told by doctors that she might not be able to have children due to the damage caused by anorexia.
Jo overcame her fear of food while working at McDonald's and was amazed when she first became pregnant, having been told her years of anorexia meant she would be unable to conceive
She said: 'I’d only had one period since I left hospital but one day at a football match I felt a flutter in my stomach and I just knew I was pregnant.
'I loved being pregnant as it was the first time in my life I felt it was acceptable to put weight on as I wanted to be healthy for my baby.
'Anorexia is not in control of me anymore - I have my two beautiful children to look after now so I will never let myself become ill again.
'I want my story to show people that anyone can become anorexic - it isn’t a choice girls make, it’s an illness that controls every aspect of your life.
'Zoheb still works at McDonald’s as a manager and I have started a college course. My story shows there is a happy ending after anorexia.'
Jo says she loved being pregnant because she felt it was acceptable to put weight on as she wanted to be healthy for her babies Zaki (l) and Amelia
A spokesman for the eating disorder charity Beat said: 'Eating disorders are treatable, and recovery is possible. One very persistent myth is that no one ever really ‘gets over it’.
'We hear positive recovery stories every day here at Beat and we know that this myth simply isn’t true. People can and do make a full recovery, their health and wellbeing restored and their lives no longer dominated by fear of food.'
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