“I never imagined that after receiving a diagnosis of a chronic disease as well as a number of food allergies and intolerances, I would be able to enjoy my favorite hobbies and meals once more. After receiving my diagnosis, everything I had taken for granted about my way of life, my body, and my diet was turned on its head. What might the future of life be like? What did it all mean, anyway? I didn’t know how I was going to give up ice cream, pizza, and pasta. When so many facets of my former selves seem to no longer exist, how am I supposed to come to terms with who I am and how to be happy? These were the questions that kept me up at night and raced through my mind 24/7 after I was told “you have Crohn’s disease.”
And these were the questions she eventually sought out to answer, in order to not only find acceptance and the answers for herself, but to also help YOU discover those answers and navigate life with chronic illness and food intolerances. The sophomore year of High School, in 2013, was when she knew she wasn’t herself anymore. It felt as if she had a never-ending stomach flu and because of that her stomach, and her body, constantly hurt. She stopped going to lacrosse practices and started getting vials of blood drawn. She began spending a lot more time in medical offices than in classrooms. She was placed on homebound instruction because she was unable to leave her bed, much less travel to school, due to her illness. No one was aware of her condition for more than two years. She was admitted to the hospital for two weeks after being carried there one night when the anguish was at its worst. She wasn’t finally scheduled for a colonoscopy until after that protracted and stressful stay. After the procedure, when she awoke, she heard the doctor repeat,
There isn’t a problem. It wasn’t even close to being defeated since she was desperate to figure out what was wrong because she KNEW something wasn’t right. A phone call she received a few days later caused everything to alter. Her new physician indicated that a second biopsy of the colonoscopy confirmed her first suspicions to be accurate; there was more. He identified it as Crohn’s disease and provided a detailed description that matched all of her symptoms.
Since then, she went on a hunt for a gluten free quest and decided to stick with it. Now you can read her gluten free meal journey and get some really good tips!
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