CHICAGO (CBS) — Lady Gaga called her an inspiration – a woman who grew up in Wilmette and posted a poem about her struggle with eating disorders on YouTube.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, the woman, Caroline Rothstein, has seen her viewers grow by tens of thousands as a result.

For nine months, Rothstein’s video of her reading her poem, “Fat,” sat on YouTube largely unviewed. This was despite the anguished and forceful words she spoke about bulimia and anorexia.

“I’ve walked barefoot through tiled deserts of bathrooms to find the mirage of my distorted body image staring up at me from the tainted waters in the toilet. I used to daydream about freedom. I used to daydream about appreciating the food around me. I used to daydream without eating dinner without wanting to kill myself,” she says.

Then along came Lady Gaga, who tweeted a link to the video on Wednesday. She called it, “A poem by a very inspiring woman.”

Rothtsein, 29, who attended New Trier High School and now lives in New York, struggled for years with eating disorders, and now she is trying to help others. To those viewing or performing the poem, she says thank you.

As of Friday morning, “Fat” had nearly 25,000 views.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports