Celiac Disease Scholarship Essay

A few months after my healthy birth, my mom and dad, as well as my daycare provider, noticed I just was not thriving like a toddler should be. I could only walk for a short time using furniture or holding a hand. My body functions also had changed and my body did not digest anything, but my appetite had accelerated. For example, for supper I would eat three hotdogs, macaroni and cheese and beans. Even though I was eating all that food, I was becoming very skinny. When I was 15 months old, I still was not thriving. When they weighted me at the clinic, I weighed about 20 pounds, however, after the urgent care doctor came into see me, he was immediately concerned that I did not have any fat on my body. He decided they needed to do a chest and

We found out I had Celiac Disease and they were sending us to Mayo Clinic in Rochester to see a Pediatric Gastroenterologist. The pediatric gastroenterologist was very knowledgeable about Celiac Disease and helped my mom a ton. The pediatric gastroenterologist told us that Celiac Disease was discovered during World War II because many people were sick before the war, but during the war there was a shortage in wheat flour so people were not sick anymore. He also told us that in 1999, one in every 3,000 people have Celiac Disease and he believes that many people have it and do not have any symptoms yet. After the history lesson, he scheduled an endoscopy for the next day because the true diagnosis of Celiac Disease is a biopsy of the small intestines. When they did the endoscopy, they took three biopsies and they were all positive for Celiac Disease. The only treatment for Celiac Disease is a gluten-free diet. The gluten-free diet has become very popular for not only people with Celiac Disease, but people with other disabilities. Everyone can benefit from a gluten-free diet because it could help the functions of the brain, prevent certain diseases, and alleviate symptoms of