Jacqui Brooker has spent months hiking mountains in and around Canberra to get ready to trek Kokoda, but that feat is nothing compared to her 12-year struggle with anorexia.
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Now aged 30, Ms Brooker was just a teenager when she dropped half of her body weight while studying at university. She saw a GP who suggested she move back to Canberra to be closer to family, and to seek help.
In Canberra, a different GP told her to eat "a couple of buckets of chips and have a couple of beers" to put on weight.
"That was the last time I ever tried to seek help," Ms Brooker said.
She said without the support of her mother, brother and a few good friends, she wouldn't be where she was today.
Ms Brooker began her Kokoda trek last Monday, having raised about $13,000.
The money is going towards education and training for interested health professionals in the ACT to help support people with eating disorders.
She also hopes raising awareness of the prevalence of eating disorders will help reduce the stigma.
In the six months since Ms Brooker has been speaking out about her lived experience with anorexia and training for the Kokoda Track, she has been approached by many women sharing their own stories.
"I didn't anticipate that," Ms Brooker said.
"There has been about 30 people come to me with their stories. I think if that happened a few years ago, it might have had the potential to trigger me, but I'm in a good place now."
Ms Brooker has turned the stories into a resource to be launched on her return from the Kokoda Track, to speak to the seriousness of eating disorders and the impact that treatment can have.
"It is an incredibly powerful tool which I hope might provide our health professionals with more insight into what life is like for a person and their loved ones, and what was most beneficial during treatment," she said.
An ACT Health spokesman said there were no plans to establish in-patient treatment or direct more funding to eating disorder programs.
The spokesman said GPs could refer patients to treatment options including an eating disorder program and broader mental health services.
To support Ms Brooker's campaign or keep up to date with her trek visit this website.
For help with eating disorders contact the Butterfly Foundation 1800 33 4673 (1800 ED HOPE), support@thebutterflyfoundation.org.au
For crisis support call Lifeline 13 11 14
