Mum's love of the paranormal is helping her through final months of her life

12 December 2023 , 16:48

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Karen Milner, 46, was horrified to learn that she would die of heart failure due to her anorexia within a year (Image: FOCUS FEATURES)

A brave mum of three has revealed her love of the paranormal is helping her through the final months of her life.

Karen Milner, 46, has had anorexia since was in her teens. But in February this year, she was given the devastating news that she had as little as one year left to live. The former nurse says her love of ghost hunting has kept her going through her trauma and believes the spirit world offers an escape from her own worldly problems.

Karen, from the Wirral, is speaking out to try to warn others of the long-term effects of anorexia. She said: “I was shell-shocked to be told that the disease is killing me. I feel angry at anorexia, angry at myself, but I cannot now turn back the clock. I can only use my voice to warn other young girls and boys. Ghost-hunting is my lifeline, it’s a chance for me to forget my problems, and everyone in my ghost family is so supportive.”

Karen eventually sought help when her daughter begged her to go to hospital (FOCUS FEATURES)

Karen’s eating disorder first began aged 15, following trauma as a little girl. She says: “I wanted control over my life, and so I stopped eating. I had a bit of puppy fat, and I was convinced I was overweight, although I was only 9 stones. I ate very little, and I exercised obsessively; I would run maybe 10 miles a day, exercising for three hours at a time.”

Karen lost weight and aged 18, was admitted to hospital. After she was discharged, she settled down to a normal life. She met her husband, Mark, and they went on to have three daughters, Chloe, Katie and Emily. But after Emily was born, in April 2006, she developed post-natal depression – and the anorexia reared up again.

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Karen has three children with husband Mark (FOCUS FEATURES)

Karen says: “It was like there was another me, another Karen, who took over and controlled my food. It got to the stage where the ‘other Karen’ was completely in control. I didn’t eat or drink, I told everyone I was losing the baby weight, but in reality I was starving myself.”

She says: “I weighed myself 10 or 20 times a day and I got such a buzz when I was weighing less. Mark was worried but I hid it well, I worked as a nurse, I insisted on doing all the housework and coping with the kids; I didn’t let anyone help me. I kept going, all the time with the ‘other Karen’ talking in my ear. I was very obsessive, and I even became suicidal. In the end, my eldest daughter asked me to go into hospital because she could see I desperately needed help.”

Karen was in and out of hospital and her health remained poor. In February 2022, she was diagnosed with heart failure, caused by anorexia. In February this year, after checks, doctors said she had only around a year left to live. Karen says: “It was heartbreaking, for me and my family. It’s especially tough for my daughters. I am trying to stay strong, and carry on as normal, but I am becoming very weak.”

Karen has found comfort in an unlikely source, after joining a group of paranormal investigators. She is a member of Haunted Hunts and also My Haunted Hotel, of Chester. She attended hunts when she was is well enough, and though she is now too weak to stay out overnight, she says the support and understanding from the group has given her the motivation to keep fighting the condition. She is even hoping to plan a charity night, with the ghost hunters, which will raise funds for eating disorder charity Beat, and the British Heart Foundation.

Karen is a member of My Haunted Hotel, of Chester (FOCUS FEATURES)

Karen says: “Ghost hunting brings me excitement, but it is also a comfort. I’ve never felt frightened by the spirit world, in fact, I often feel reassured. My ghost family, Daniel, Harry, Brett, Sarah, Emma and Rose, all help to keep me going against this terrible disease. I just hope my story can serve as a warning, especially to other young women. Anorexia kills, so please get help as soon as you can.”

Ann Cusack