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For many years Maddy was sick. Some weeks she missed 3 days of school, or had to come home early due to illness. She wasn't gaining weight, had excruciating leg and foot pain, gastro issues, rashes, brain fog and anxiety (to name a few!). After going through a variety of tests, she tested positive for Celiac Disease. However, a Biopsy is required to verify, and you have to continue eating gluten until the biopsy. Those months feeding her food we knew made her sick were awful. 

The biopsy confirmed the blood tests, and February 14th, 2021 we knew Maddy had Celiac Disease. The Gastroenterologist said the whole family needs to get tested, since it can be genetic. Surprisingly we discovered Mom has it too! All of a sudden everything in Shawna's life made sense. She had so many random health issues that she never connected together (brain fog, leg pain, depression/anxiety, weight gain, skin flare-ups, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux...). 

The first 3 months were the hardest. The whole family cut out gluten. Ryan and Charlotte were champions and tested all the gluten-free food with Maddy and Shawna. Realizing all of the foods they could no longer have was emotional. No more McNuggets, Donuts, fresh bread... It was easy to focus on what we had to cut out. Over time it got easier. Family and friends did their research and helped. We also discovered Mom could bake homemade timbits! 

Now the household is Gluten and Non-Gluten. Separate toasters, condiments and being careful of cross-contamination. It's a constant awareness we all have to have.