A Life of Limitation: Celiac Disease
My brother is my best friend and our bond is irreplaceable. Between our parents’ divorce and the many cancers our family faced, we always seemed to fight our battles together. This year is not an average year for my brother, as he is finally entering into adulthood and turning twenty-one in just a few months. The excitement is almost too much for him to anticipate, that is before he remembers. He cannot drink any type of beer or wine cooler anymore. He remembers that he can’t even take a bite from his own birthday cake without being bent over in profuse stomach pain for hours. He remembers the doctor appointment that changed his life forever. At just nineteen years old, my brother was diagnosed with celiac disease; an autoimmune disorder where the ingestion of gluten causes normal stomach villi, the fibers that help us digest food, to break down, consequently resulting in severe damage to the small intestine (“What is Celiac Disease”). Gluten is a combination of proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. It is used to help foods maintain their shape, rise while baking, and provide a chewy texture. Its thick texture makes those with celiac disease have a more difficult time digesting it. This is the reality for 1 in 100 people worldwide with two and a half million undiagnosed in America alone (“Celiac Disease”). This was one battle my brother would have to face alone. Celiac disease causes its victims to live a life of misery with severe symptoms, an array of diagnosis and very little treatments.