Well, we finally discovered why Lucy has not been eating. And why she's been clingy. And the reason for the irritabilitiness. (Phew--that was a tough one). And the hay fever. Seems our little one has Celiac Disease. Now while we're happy to discover the cause of all those symptoms, we can't help but feel depressed over what Celiac is. Thankfully, it is not a life-threatening disease, but rather something that will effect her day-to-day way of life.
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Celica Disease in simpliest terms, is a genetic disorder (hereditary on Kerry's side--her cousin has it) that actually affects 1 in 133 people, although most go undiagnosed. From celiac.com:
Those affected suffer damage to the villi (shortening and villous flattening) in the lamina propria and crypt regions of their intestines when they eat specific food-grain antigens (toxic amino acid sequences) that are found in wheat, rye, and barley
The good news is Lucy can live a healthy, happy life. She goes to Duke (no, not for lacrosse practice--had to thrown that one in there) either tomorrow or next week for a stomach/intestine biopsy to positively identify her with the disease. After that we will meet with a nutritionist to begin to identify what she can eat. I definitely see a large change in our diets as well. You can't really eat a huge brownie in front of a kid who it will make sick. So say a few prayers for us, to have the strength needed to make it through. We'll keep you posted!
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