Single Parenthood and More

Well, two days down, only two more to go. All I can say is that I am ever so grateful for Darrel and all he does. Several times in the past 48 hours I have thought, "I wish Darrel was here!" Namely when Jack threw up after dinner last night and I was trying to clean it up before Eric crawled in it, and Jack was crying his poor little head off. Oi! Jack rebounded today and there were no repeat incidents of that at least, but I still miss my sweetie. It's almost like I don't know what to do with myself, what to do during the day, who to talk to, what to do when the kids are finally in bed. It's a little weird. I guess if everyone were feeling well we'd be out and about more but with them sick we've been cooped up at home and I feel like a hermit.

I have been reading a lot on Celiac disease. People with Celiac disease cannot tolerate any gluten, so no wheat, rye, barley etc. Also oats are suspect as they are usually processed around wheat. More than just a simple allergy, celiac disease is an auto-immune disease, the small intestine is destroyed by gluten consumption, thus robbing the individual of the nutrients in their food. (They can eat extremely healthy and still be malnourished.) I've been doing research as I've noticed that Eric is still having allergy like symptoms to wheat but I have eliminated wheat itself from his diet. Apparently though spelt (a substitute for wheat that I've been using) still has gluten and therefore is still problematic for Celiacs. Symptoms vary widely depending on the individual but can include headaches, depression, sinus problems, skin rashes and lesions, upset stomachs and digestive systems, and on and on. There is a genetic component to the disease and approximately 10 -15% of children of Celiac parents inherit the disease. Which strikes me as extremely interesting. Darrel has basically felt like crap for the last five years and despite numerous doctors visits and removing known allergens from his diet still experiences extreme fatigue, headaches, digestion problems, depression and many other things. Could this be the cause? Apparently Celiac disease is much more common than previous thought, current research puts the incidence rate at 1/250 persons in North America. More common than Alzheimers or MS. In the past in order to be diagnose a scope of the small intestine would have to be performed to determine if there was damage to it and thus probably the individual was a Celiac. But now researchers have found that by doing 3 different tests on a blood sample they can accurately determine who is and is not affected by the disease. So, I'm off to the doctor with Eric this week to ask for the blood work to be done. I hope I don't come off as a crazy woman, doing her own medical research and coming up with my own diagnosis. :) All I know is that Eric's system really does not like it when I give him anything with wheat or wheat substitute and I have a husband who despite "nothing being wrong" has been in bad health for a long time. So if need be I will be quite firm and insist that they do the test, just to rule it out. While it will make our lives a little more complicated if they do have Celiac disease, (good bye to eating out except maybe sushi and even then you have to watch the soy sauce,) I'm almost excited by the prospect that we will have an answer and be able to actually do something about it.