This story is about Ellie
Hi, my name is Randi. My 9-year-old daughter Ellie was diagnosed with celiac about 4 months ago after many upset tummy and bowel issues after eating almost every meal. To say this has been rough is an understatement. I know so many people who have gone gluten-free for health benefits, not because of being intolerant, and I just assumed that it would be an easy task to remove gluten from her diet. I was very uneducated on gluten intolerance.
Unfortunately, there have been lots of tears from both of us. Seeing my sweet girl have to say no to doughnuts that a classmate brought in for their birthday, being unable to simply stop and grab a happy meal with some girlfriends, taking our own tortillas chips to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Then there’s the grocery shopping…we’ve actually found that some of our favorite things are already gluten-free, which has been wonderful!! But finding NEW things has been so hard. It took me almost 2 hours to do our regular grocery shopping last week because I was reading labels and checking the sticker on the shelves for that little GF stamp. I sometimes go to 3 or 4 different stores to get all her favorite gluten-free snacks that Sprouts has, but Kroger doesn’t, or Whole Foods has, but Aldi doesn’t. Not to mention finding GF items that actually taste good!
She has been such a good sport about all of it. All the lab work she’s had to get done, the endoscopy, finding new things to eat. We are both working so hard, and I know that as we continue, it will get easier, her taste buds will change, and she will want to try and experiment with more new foods. This is just a bump in the road to a long journey ahead, and we are both learning so much.
We appreciate your page and the help and support it offers! We get excited to see and try new things and new meals.