On this day I am 5 months from turning 30. My husband and I talked of wanting to start a family this year, and January is the first month in this new year. Then the bombshell of a celiac diagnosis and my mind-set shifted entirely from baby-making to gluten-free bread making.
On this morning, as he has done every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since, my husband got up and made me a gluten free breakfast of homemade hashbrowns and eggs. I teach early classes those mornings and if I don't eat breakfast I feel very sick and very weak. I used to grab something to eat in the car on the 20 minute ride, but most of those items are gluten-filled. I can't believe he wants to get out of bed before he has to make me breakfast. I love having that time, however brief it is, together in the mornings.
Today is bigger than me however, for today, I tackle the grocery store. I feel confident in saying I spent less time in the store where I picked and bought my wedding dress than I did the grocery store on this particular day. I spent hours reading ingredient labels, trying to understand words I had never seen before and usually couldn't pronounce. At this point I have still not been back to the doctor and the Internet sites seem conflicted about whether MSG is bad or harmful for celiac's, so I decide best to avoid it. That small decision cut out another huge portion of things I couldn't eat. I tear up several times, and just decide to avoid the cereal and cookie aisle at all cost.
I spent a good 20 minutes in the salad dressing aisle trying to find a ranch dressing or mix without MSG. I gave up, defeated, and continued on my quest to finding the "gluten free" land. Well, when I got there, I realized it wasn't so much a land, as three shelves on a short aisle of organic, vegan, or allergen-friendly foods. I saw mostly an array of flours I had never heard of in varieties I never knew existed. Who knew tapioca had a flour? And who chews Xanthan gum? I settle on some gluten free pre-made cookies, some rice mac & cheese, and some Quinoa pasta (Quinoa-another word I was unfamiliar with). When the cashier hit the "total" button on the register, I realized a new and before absent side effect of celiac's--it has a sneaky ability to rid you of your hard-earned money before you can crunch into a gluten-free wafer bar. To this day the sticker-shock has not worn off and I am still amazed at how expensive gluten-free foods are. I realize I may have to be willing to buy less shoes and have less-amazing looking footwear in order to have a more-amazing looking intestine. I have often made sacrifices in the name of fashion, but I can no longer afford to be making sacrifices in the name of health.
WAY late update: Two weeks after my celiac diagnosis I found out I was pregnant with our first child. Mothers with undiagnosed celiac disease can experience low birth weight babies, babies born with neural tube defects and an increased risk of preterm labor. Thank God for my timely diagnosis--He works in miraculous ways.
Cameron Rhodes Scott was born on November 3, 2011 (2 weeks late!) at a healthy 8 lbs, 2 oz.
WAY late update: Two weeks after my celiac diagnosis I found out I was pregnant with our first child. Mothers with undiagnosed celiac disease can experience low birth weight babies, babies born with neural tube defects and an increased risk of preterm labor. Thank God for my timely diagnosis--He works in miraculous ways.
Cameron Rhodes Scott was born on November 3, 2011 (2 weeks late!) at a healthy 8 lbs, 2 oz.
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