Mum, Chapter One

​Part One: When your child is sick and you don’t know why…

My pregnancy with Paige was pretty easy, no real issues other than the normal morning sickness. I had a craving for green apples, which she always loved! It was at around 8 weeks that things changed. I tried to transition her to formula since I was going back to work. She has a very difficult time and refused to eat - she was reverse feeding and we were both exhausted . She cried all the time. The only thing that would soothe her was when we bounced on a stability ball with her in our arms for hours. She was considered colicky by her pediatrician. Over the next year she got worse. Her belly was distended and she had severe gastrointestinal issues- so her pediatrician put her on a whole wheat diet, she plummeted physically and emotionally, her doctor had no idea what to do.  

At the suggestion of our daycare provider (thank you Gerry) we took her to Childrens Hospital in Boston. It took them less than an hour to diagnose her with Celiac Disease. Of course they did all the necessary tests to confirm but they knew right away by her appearance and symptoms. She was 2 years old and she told us she felt sick“belly hurt” over and over. Her nose ran constantly “nose runnin” and she was hot “soakin hot”. ( our favorite Paigisms). 
The Specialist said it’s good news ! We know what she has and how to treat it - she follows a STRICT Gluten Free diet! No medications,  no surgeries, easy right? 

Not back in 2004 it wasn’t. The food options were sparse and those they had were not good,  I would describe it as eating cardboard. And if that wasn’t enough, the cost of GF foods were outrageous- a $6 loaf of bread, really it costs that much more to make? Or are companies just taking advantage of the GF population. 

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