Hi, my name is Eleanor or I prefer Ellie, I am 16 years old and I have celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune and hereditary disease (it gets passed down) that really hurts my immune system and my digestive system, essentially not allowing me to get the nutrients I need. The only cure for it however is going on a gluten-free diet.....
When I was younger my relationship with food was great because I didn't have to care what it was or what was in it, I just popped it in my mouth and went about my life like many people do. Okay, sometimes I cared what it was, especially if it did not look physically appealing or smell good. For anyone who deals with a gag reflex, you know what I am talking about. Regardless I ate whatever I wanted or whatever was in my house at the time. Bagels, waffles, pancakes, pasta, vegetables (at times), fruit, cookies, rice, beans, etc. There were certain foods that I just could not seem to get my head around like fish and sushi. I didn't like tomatoes or peas for a time either. But that is beside the point, I was free to eat without worry.
When I was in elementary school, things got a little bit more difficult. Food that I once really enjoyed was making me really sick, like doubling over and clutching my stomach kind of sick. I was uncomfortable pretty much all the time, and not able to sit still in my chair. My grannie used to say had I ants in my pants because I wriggled and moved around so much, which is a pretty good description. Additionally, other aspects of my health were being hurt. Trying to go to sleep at night was a pain, rolling from side to side trying to alleviate cramps. I used to get ill frequently and have high fevers as an added bonus. Overall my health was suffering immensely. My parents had no clue what was going on, and I could not even begin to fathom either because I was only about seven or eight at the time.
In third grade, it got to the point where I had to get an endoscopy to see what was going on. An endoscopy is a special procedure, where a camera gets lowered into your small intestines. Fun, right? Well, I was asleep so it didn't matter. But, it was really scary for me nonetheless. We did the procedure early because my dad is an early morning appointment type of guy and I couldn't eat any breakfast, which was kind of annoying. In order for the doctors to get a clear picture of what was going on internally, food was a big no-no. I do remember putting on a white gown, with little ducks on it, sitting in a hospital bed, which had the bars attached to the sides. I remember sitting there with my parents listening to the anesthesiologist talk about the procedure and what to expect when I went under. I did not really understand what was going on at the time, I just tried to go with it. Later, I was wheeled into a really bright room and with doctors standing around. To be frank, the whole ordeal was pretty nerve-racking, but, it was really alright in the end. It took a little while for the results of the endoscopy to come back, but the general verdict was that I had celiac disease. Imagine learning that you had some strange disease and not really knowing what it was. Well, I was absolutely clueless, although, I did get a good kick out of showing the pictures from the endoscopy to my third-grade teacher, who made a super weird face at me. I tried to be positive about the whole experience at the time, but really I was just scared. The fact is that celiac disease did change my life and the first major step was saying goodbye to some of the food that I loved.