Thursday, September 11, 2008

It's official... --- updated

Well, not quite official. They will send the sample to pathology. But the doctor who did Bobcat's scope this morning says that she's never seen such an obvious case of celiac with her naked eye. There are a lot of thoughts and emotions as we learn to deal with this and how it will affect our entire lifestyle. We will have to have Bubba and Snookie tested.


We take comfort in the fact that it was discovered early. It wasn't left untreated and allowed to develop into something more serious. And, it could have been far worse. (We both admitted that we didn't want to say it out loud and worry each other, but we would not have been surprised if they went in and discovered something far worse requiring surgery or something... I had visions of feeding tubes...)


So, as always, praise God! This is manageable. It's "just" a dietary change. He is expected to gain weight and grow normally within a few months. I have utmost confidence in my dear wife to manage our new diet well. The Lord sent these children to us because He knew that she would love them and care for them and see them through this challenge. She is a highly acclaimed "good cooker" (according to Bubba, and believe me, that's the highest compliment he could ever pay), so I'm sure she will make even healthy stuff taste good. Somehow.


Basically, we will be going gluten free, and I guess sooner rather than later. Did you know that gluten is in almost everything? I decided to make an attempt at humor by taking inventory of our pantry to see what is safe and what must go. Here's the "bad" pile. Remember, this is only the pantry, we haven't even looked in the fridge yet...



And here's the "good" pile.



Isn't that pitiful? At least, we think this much is safe. We pulled out everything that listed wheat or "glut-something" as an ingredient. I'm sure the nutritionist will explain to us some ingredients that we didn't recognize before. And we've probably cross-contaminated everything anyway.


I don't know why this seems funny to me. It's a very serious situation. Major implications for their social lives, and major inconvenience for all of us as we obsess over food. And it will be the same diet for all of us. But what the heck, let's add gluten-obsessed celiacs to the list of things that make us weird - adopted, biracial, homeschooling, religious fanatics. Might as well be those weird food people too.

It's going to cost a lot. I'm thinking the Coupon Queen's weekly challenge just got a whole lot more difficult.

And yet, it's almost comical how unprepared we are. Two frickin' cans of tuna... So very like us. You gotta either laugh or cry.

Thanks for your prayers. Stay tuned for lots of new adventures...

===
Update: MommaLlama informs me that we can't even eat that tuna for dinner tonight because the mayo is likely contaminated with bread crumbs from making sandwiches... son of a biscuit...

5 comments:

Charlotte (WaltzingM) said...

I have no doubt that you two will put your heads together and figure this out. Hang in there and let yourself have at least one day to "mourn" the loss of food as you knew it.

nicole said...

I'm sure MommaLlama is aware, but y'all have lots of friends/acquaintances who can help you out on this road. I know you can get lots of gluten-free snacks at Sprouts. Good luck!

Just out of curiousity-what will you do about the Eucharist? I remember reading a couple of years ago about a woman who was insisting an entire Diocese go gluten-free b/c her child had celiac. It didn't happen.

I'll be looking forward to reading about your continuing adventures in this new world.

Bob's Blog said...

Sorry about this. Y'all have such wonderful attitudes, though, that I am sure you will overcome this problem. He is so lucky to have you as his parents. I had never even heard of this disease.

Elizabeth said...

It's going to be overwhelming at first, but I promise you will get to the point where it will become second nature and you won't be putting much thought into it. And you're not alone. The good news is, the boys don't seem to care about what you've switched out so far. As far as the Eucharist goes, drink from the wine and see if your priest can offer gluten-free for 1 mass a week. Again, let me assure you this frantic anxiety at a major lifestyle change WILL pass. And you're not alone. I will be praying for your family as you make the adjustments.

Anonymous said...

I am so glad you figured this out! You're going to do great - lots of gluten free options out there and if you are a home cook already, you'll do great.

The finest foods on God's green earth are gluten free: Chocolate and ice cream. Rejoice!