Livana had been eating almost nothing but nuggets since the age of two
A schoolgirl who only ate McDonald’s chicken nuggets for seven years has finally enjoyed a proper meal – thanks to hypnosis. Nine-year-old Livana wolfed down a McNuggets Happy Meal every day and even ate one on Christmas Day while her family tucked into a roast dinner.
Mum Kelly was left stumped when Livana stopped trying new foods at around 18 months old. The mere thought of eating any fruit or veg would make her sick or feel nauseous. The fussy youngster would skip breakfast and eat a cheese toastie with tomato ketchup for lunch but insist on McDonald’s for dinner.
In desperation, Kelly turned to cognitive behavioural hypnotherapist David Kilmurry for help. David diagnosed Livana with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) which makes eating food difficult – with fears over the touch, taste, smell and looks.
After undergoing a two-hour hypnotherapy session, Livana has enjoyed her first ever fruit alongside around 20 other foods. Support worker Kelly, 35, said: “For all of her life she only ate a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget Happy Meal for tea.
“Every single day was the same, it was the only thing I could get down her. She would wake up in the morning and have milk for her breakfast, toastie for her lunch and then chicken nuggets for dinner. I was spending around £110-a-month on Happy Meals.
“It got so extreme that we even bought a meal one Christmas Eve which we let go cold and re-heated for her Christmas dinner the next day. Livana was born on Christmas Day so we made sure she had what she wanted for her birthday but it was just the same as every other meal.
“She has put other chicken nuggets in her mouth but she prefers to eat McDonald’s.”
Kelly, from Coventry, says Livana’s food phobia started just as she was weaned onto solids. She added: “She would refuse food and refuse to eat. I tried to introduce other foods like fruit and vegetables but Liv would go long periods without eating.
“£verything she tried she wouldn’t swallow, she would spit it into a tissue.”
Kelly decided to seek medical help in July when Livana wasn’t even able to stomach her regular Happy Meal. She said: “We were sat in McDonald’s and she ate a bit of chicken nugget and she couldn’t swallow it. The next day the doctor checked her and said that her vitals were fine.
“She got really poorly one day and the hospital said they might have to tube feed her. My partner and I were having conversations about alternative therapies and we stumbled across David who treated food phobias. The session was two hours long and within 45 minutes of sitting down and her feeling comfortable she swallowed a grape.
“She hadn’t eaten a piece of fruit in her life, I couldn’t believe it. She tried 18 fruits that day. That day she came home and ate noodles with a stir fry sauce. I couldn’t believe it, this was after the hypnosis. We’ve had two sessions with David now. We carried on with the fruit and now she’s had her first jacket potato which she ate.
“She now eats cereal for breakfast, pizza or toastie for lunch and vegetables in her dinner. Liv still likes McDonald’s nuggets but it’s maybe once a week. It’s such a relief.
Mr Kilmurry, who specialises in curing food phobias, said: “Liv came in with a fabulous attitude and it’s been heartwarming to see her build her ability to eat normal foods.”