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Kate interviews her friend Lorna about her recovery from anorexia.

She also talks to Lorna's friend and her family about the effects the illness has had, and still has, on them.

Lorna has agreed to be interviewed about her condition, the consequences and how she鈥檚 coping.

Lorna -how do you feel now you鈥檝e been out of the clinic a year?
I sometimes feel scared, as it was safe in there. I miss the routine of everyday life, but I have got so far it will be a shame to lose it all again.

Has your eating improved?
My eating has increased a little each week with the support of the hospital and people around me.

What has changed to make you want to eat again?
I don鈥檛 want to get that bad again. I have my good days and bad days. I sometimes have problems eating but I鈥檓 lucky as I have people around me who keep an eye on me.

What have people done to help you over the past year? People have been there for me; I still have a lot of input from the doctors and nurses at the hospital every week. My friends and family have been a great support and since rejoining my local sea rangers the leaders and other people have been very supportive which helps me take my mind off everything.

You鈥檝e developed epilepsy, is that because of your anorexia? I did develop epilepsy while I was in hospital and at first some people thought it was because I was so far under weight. The doctors are not sure because I would often stare into space while I was in primary school.

How do you feel now you鈥檝e developed epilepsy? My life is much harder now as my medication hasn鈥檛 been sorted out properly yet. I have to have someone go everywhere with me and I have a special needs teacher with me now. I still can鈥檛 believe it, just when I thought I was getting better something else happens.

How have people been helping you since you have been back at school? My friends are very supportive with everything and help me keep up with the work when I have hospital appointments. Also my head of year lets me have dinner in her office and she talks to me to take my mind off things, which helps.

Have people been understanding?
Since being in sixth form I have met a lot of people, most of them understand but some don鈥檛 understand why I don鈥檛 eat. My friends and family now understand why I don鈥檛 eat and help me if I鈥檓 not eating enough.

Did your education suffer when you were in the clinic? I still had to go to school while I was there and I still did exams like my friends. I was sent work from school and although I missed nine months of year 10 I was still able to get 4 GCSE鈥檚.

How are you coping with A levels whilst recovering from anorexia and having epilepsy? It is very hard to cope with everything and my A levels. My Dad is very helpful and will do a lot of typing for me. I have to work until about ten o clock at night to get everything in on time but the teachers are very understanding. My illness does sometimes get in the way of my work but the school does understand which helps.

What advice would you give others in your condition? It is difficult to get past the walls that you are faced with but the harder you push them out of the way the easier it is to see the light. Let people help you as it will be hard on your own, let people know how you feel with everything going on. You can make it.

Jenny has seen Lorna all through her condition and saw Lorna while she was receiving medical help. Since returning to school Jenny has helped Lorna immensely, being there for her while she was upset and being by her side while she was having a seizure.

Jenny has once again agreed to be interviewed about Lorna鈥檚 condition.

How do you think Lorna is getting on now? She has improved a great deal. She is going back to her old self again and it is wonderful that she is doing that. Her confidence is improving gradually and her school work is improving immensely.

Has Lorna鈥檚 eating improved?
Yes definitely. Before, she found it very hard to eat in the school hall but she now has the confidence to eat infront of others.

How have you coped with her epilepsy?
It is hard to see her going through the fits and although I want to support her it is hard to watch.

How have you tried to help her?
I try to give her confidence and when she looks nice I tell her. I鈥檓 not going to lie to her and tell her something looks good when it doesn鈥檛 but I try to be positive. When she found it hard to eat in the hall I would find a quiet place where we could eat and talk about things.

How has it affected you having to cope with your friend having an eating disorder and epilepsy?
It has been hard but we have coped. There were times when I had had enough and wanted to give up but I knew for her sake I had to go on.

What advice would you give other people whose friends have eating disorders and illnesses?
Just stay positve and help them the best you can. Even though you feel you are not getting very far you are helping them progress, the worst you can do is give up on them as this will put them back to square one and all of your effort will have been wasted. When things start to get on top of you take a step back and take a break before you go back.

Lorna鈥檚 parents have seen first hand the effects of her condition. They have supported her throughout her eating disorder and now her epilepsy.

How do you feel now Lorna has been out of the clinic a year?
Much happier although it was hard at the beginning.

What changes have you made have you made at home to encourage Lorna to get better?
Mostly keeping an eye on her so she did not drift back to losing weight. Also giving her food she liked and would eat and then introduce more food later.

How has Lorna鈥檚 condition had an impact on your lives?
We were upset that we did not notice her condition and we worry when she goes through a bad patch.

How have you coped with Lorna鈥檚 epilepsy? We were worried that there was something else she had to put up with. We had to be ready at a moment鈥檚 notice to take to the hospital if she needed it.

Do you think the epilepsy is linked to the anorexia?
The doctors are not sure but after speaking to her primary school teacher we think she might have had it before.

Has Lorna鈥檚 anorexia caused any other problems other than the ones we know about?
Lorna鈥檚 went very withdrawn and found it difficult making friends but now she鈥檚 starting to mix better.

What advice would you offer other people whose children have an eating disorder or illness?
Do not despair, although it is difficult at the time, with the right help they will get through it. Just think that everyday is one towards recovery and although they seem to have bad days there will come a time when they have a good day, then two until eventually the good days will out number the bad.

Epilepsy affects 1 in 133 people, which is around 450,000 people in the UK. This means it is likely you know someone with epilepsy, therefore it is important that you understand how serious this condition is and what to do if they have a fit while you are with them.

Epilepsy is the condition where a person has frequent seizures or fits. These seizures cause the person to have a loss of consciousness for a few minutes.

These seizures start in the brain where nerve cells (neurons) pass electrical messages between them. These messages usually travel at a regular speed but sometimes they get faster which causes a seizure.

Seizures can be caused by a lot of things. If you are under a lot of stress at home or school, for example if you are doing exams you might have frequent seizures. Sometimes watching the television or sitting infront of a computer for too long can cause a fit.

Not enough sleep or illness can be a trigger and the most common trigger for teenagers is hormones. During puberty our bodies change and the amount of hormones in our body increases, this can cause a seizure.

Some women find their epilepsy is connected to their menstrual cycle which means girls in their teens tend to have more seizures until their hormones stabilise. Another trigger of epileptic fits can be our diet. Missing meals and eating an unhealthy diet can cause a seizure, which is one reason Lorna鈥檚 epilepsy got worse while she was not eating properly.

Epilepsy can be treated by many different types of medication depending on the person鈥檚 needs but this does not stop seizures completely, therefore it is important that you know what to do if you know someone who is epileptic -

There is usually no need to call an ambulance but if the person is injured or has a number of seizures one after another they will need urgent medical help to stop the seizures.

If you know someone who has epilepsy try to learn as much as you can about their condition as the more you know about the condition the better.

Try to be supportive and stay calm, keep all hard or sharp objects away from them. If you are in school, get a teacher to help, but if you are outside you need to be able to help. Make sure you cushion their landing and try to keep people away, as they really don鈥檛 need to wake up to a crowd.