Why Everything Free?

So,

A story.

2014 was the year that changed my life.

I turned 10 years old over the summer, and that summer was completely normal. I went to the public pool every day during the week and did synchro swimming. I went to movies and plays and did normal kid stuff. However, as soon as I went back to school in the fall (online school- I was "homeschooled"), something not very normal started to happen.

I guess I started noticing that my stools were getting looser in August. It lasted through September, into October. I had never had problems with that before. My mom had me try various random things, but nothing worked. Midway through October we started to realize something was probably wrong, so my mom took me in to see my pediatrician on October 30th. He said there was probably some sort of blockage, that in a sense I was simply "constipated" (which was the exact opposite of my problem) and suggested the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast). He explained that if that didn't work, I would need to get blood work done, which, as a previously completely healthy ten year old, terrified me.

By November 6th things weren't going very well. I started seeing blood in my stools. My days consisted of waking up at 4:30 every morning, as if on cue by my stomach, having to abruptly wake up and run to the bathroom to avoid catastrophe. Then I would go back to bed and about 10-20 minutes later, nature would call a second time and alas, I would be ever so grateful that the bathroom was just across the hall. By then I would be awake for the day, watch TV until 7 or so in the morning, and start doing school online. Often there were a couple times a day that I would have to get up from doing school and run to the bathroom, literally run. My lower stomach would abruptly start to rumble, bubble, and then I knew I only had a matter of seconds to hurry to the dear bathroom that I was beginning to loathe. Those were the times that I was so glad I had been homeschooled my whole life. I would be okay throughout the mid afternoon, but soon by nightfall, the foreboding bubbling would return and I would have to face my doomed reality again before going to bed. 
That was my life for a solid 4 months. It was torture, and no way for a ten year old to live. I had no idea what was happening to me, I didn't know why, and I didn't know when it would end, IF it would end. The only part of my life that I ever got relief was when I was asleep, and I would literally look forward to going to bed at night... except I knew that when I woke up I would immediately have to face the enemy.

The diet didn't work.

So, I went in to get a blood draw, my first one, and it was NOT fun. Looking back, I have to laugh at what happened. It was a big event for me. I went to the lab, both of my parents came, and got my blood drawn. Afterwards, I was nauseous, had to sit there for a few minutes before the dizziness wore off, then I got up and we left. I was a few feet out the door, and suddenly, bubble bubble, I was in trouble. I could feel my stomach churn, the digested food pounding at the back door, demanding to be let out. On top of that, I was still nauseous- and I needed to sit down. So, my dad sat down on a pipe watering system thing protruding out of the ground, and I sat on his knee, trying not to throw up, and trying not to, well, you know, go. What happened next was horrible at the time, hilarious to me now. My breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever it was, came out- both ends. Horrible. And deeply amusing- my sad reality was something out of a tragic comedy. Needless to say, I took a shower as soon as I got home, and tried to forget about it, but how can you forget such a memorable event? 

As much as I try and make light of the situation, it wasn't fun. It was a nightmare. The blood work came back, and my doctor said I needed to go to a gastroenterologist, basically a fancy word for a poop doctor. So we went- my parents and I. The doctor said that I needed to get a colonoscopy and endoscopy (fancy term for shoving a camera on a stick down your throat and up your, you know, other end, while you're asleep.) Of course I heard the word anesthesia and burst out in tears wailing, "I don't want surgery!" After explaining and much coaxing and convincing, I went in on November 20th for my first ever medical procedure- how exciting! After having the previous day completed a wonderful MiraLax -only diet and binge watching Netflix, I went under for the first time. I remember waking up, muttering, "Oh, I thought it was all a dream," to the nurse. She just laughed sadly, saying something like, "Nope, it's not a dream." 

Five days later the results were in: Ulcerative Colitis. My doctor explained that I would have to live with it the rest of my life. But never fear! The only thing I had to do was take a pill! (Mesalamine, also known as Lialda). Just one, every day, and my life would be back to normal. How simple. My direct words from my journal entry on November 28th, 2014 were, "Well, a lot has happened in the past month! It turns out I have alsertive collitus. I only have to take a pill every day, but it is really big! Right now I am takeing this prednizone stuff and that is making me hungry all the time! It is horrible!" (original spelling included).

To sum up the next month, the "magic pill" did not work. Thanksgiving came and went, prescription enemas came and went, and by mid-December my abominable nightmare was back in full-action after close to zero relief. The bathroom became the bane of my existence once again. My mom was tired of it. She was tired of seeing me suffering, and tired of all of these things that doctors were prescribing that weren't working. She drowned herself in research, spent countless hours reading, searching, trying to find something, anything, that would help me. Honestly, I really don't know how much time she put into her research, but I know it was a lot. More than I ever could have asked. She decided she didn't want me to be on all of the drugs and meds with devastating side-effects. She had me try another diet, the SCD diet (Specific Carbohydrate Diet). My mom's days consisted of making extremely bland and sour yogurt with a new yogurt maker, and my meals consisted of eating it. I ate plain (not even vanilla!) yogurt, microwaved eggs, and some weird chicken stock stuff. I was missing my tacos and quesadillas before long. And the diet wasn't working. There was no mercy from those microwaved eggs.

Right before Christmas, my mom found a naturopathic doctor who had an opening and could see me. We told her everything, the whole story, and she looked at me and said, "You don't like those eggs and yogurt? You don't have to keep eating them. We're going to get you better." 

That day was a turning point, December 22nd 2014. That was the day my life changed. I didn't know it at the time, but I was going to get better. It was going to be a long journey, but I would get better. 

At the naturopath that day, she did a few things. First, she pricked my finger for blood to send in for a food sensitivity test. Note I said sensitivity rather than allergy. 

When you think of food allergies, what do you think of? The first thing that probably comes to mind is a person who has just eaten peanuts and whose face is now swelling, they have hives all over, and their throat closes up painfully blocking their airway, causing them to suffocate and turn blue and purple and all other colors of the rainbow. Okay, perfectly valid description. The way people are often tested for these life-threatening allergies are by sending in blood to a lab and are called IgE tests. Okay, great. But, one problem, my throat wasn't swelling (okay, maybe that's not really a problem, that was actually a good sign). I had even sat on a bee that summer, yes, sat on a bee, not a pleasant experience, and hadn't had any allergic reaction. Fast forward a few months later, and I actually had a scratch test which looked for any allergies I might have. The only thing that came up? Dog. I am NOT allergic to dogs (cats are a different story).

So obviously I didn't have any allergies.

Or did I?

She sent my blood in for a different type of food allergy test, an IgG test. Actually, it wasn't really a food "allergy" test, per say. It was technically a food sensitivity test. Allergies cause an allergic reaction. Sensitivities cause other problems. Like stomach problems. She suspected I had food sensitivities. 

Next, she gave me something (technically she didn't just give it to me, we had to buy it). This powder, called GI Fortify. It was kind of like a protein powder, except it wasn't. It was more of a gut-healing powder packed full of good, natural stuff from the earth, not stuff grown in a lab. Beautiful. She said to mix it in a smoothie every day. One heaping scoop plus smoothie equals happy, healthy gut. She also had us buy some probiotics.

Finally, she told me that until we got the food sensitivity test back, to avoid dairy, eggs, and gluten. No more microwaved eggs. No more sour yogurt. 

I didn't need to be told twice.

My diet now consisted of delicious honey chicken that my mom made for me, small red, yellow, and purple potatoes all cut up and microwaved to perfection, and vegetables, green beans I think. 

The next day, the blood was gone. The day after that, I think I might have only gone to the bathroom once. And the day after that, Christmas Day, my stools were, dare I say it? Normal. Almost, completely normal. If anything, more solid and formed. That was the only Christmas present that I needed. I still remember Christmas morning, my mom asked if I wanted some pancakes, and I happily replied, "Nope! Honey chicken and potatoes!" For breakfast! If that was the secret, I would eat chicken and potatoes for every meal for the rest of my life. 

My journal entry from January 1st, 2015: "Happy New Year! Boy do I hope that this one is better than last year!"

On January 19th, we went back to the naturopath doctor. She had the results of my food sensitivity test. I could not eat any more of the following foods:

• All dairy
• Eggs
• Soy
• Peanuts
• Garlic
• Citrus fruits including oranges, lemons, grapes, and grapefruits
• Chilli Powder
• Goat milk
• Beef
• Flax Seed
• Gluten

Wow.

That was a hard one to explain to my friends. "What do you eat?" They would ask.

My cheerful reply? "Potatoes!"

My mom managed, somehow, to find substitutes to everyday foods I normally ate. She found dairy and soy free cheese, butter, and bread which were all plant-based. My new normal at the grocery store began picking up food packages and going straight to the ingredients list, scanning the tiny text for any red flags. Some things were obvious, like items that had milk, egg, gluten, etc. Some things were ridiculous. A person would never realize just how many foods have garlic in them. Seriously! I would safely say that fifty percent of the foods that I could have eaten had I only been "allergic" to all of the others on the list, had garlic in them, eliminating them from my already short list of safe foods. Ketchup, for example. Marinara sauce, certain chips and crackers, turkey and chicken hot dogs, all of which were out of the picture because of garlic alone. 

Food has an extreme influence in our everyday lives. We never normally think about it when we go out to eat, or to birthday parties, the movies, weddings, church events, samples handed out at grocery stores. We are literally surrounded in a society that is surrounded by food. I had never thought about it before. But suddenly I had to start thinking about it when I went to my friends birthday parties and I couldn't eat pizza or cake or ice cream. I had to bring my own special version of it which never looked (or tasted) like the real thing, then watch everyone else pig out on tastes and flavors that I so desperately longed for. I had to answer questions, like, "Why did you bring your own food?" "What's that?" "What happens if you eat regular food?" and the best question of all, "What are you allergic to?"

"Everything." 

I was "allergic" to everything.

A little while later we went back to my GI doctor to check back in. My mom explained that I was staying away from these foods, and that I was doing much, much better. The doctor shook her head. "It may be working now, but it's just because it's shocking your body. Food has nothing to do with Ulcerative Colitis. It's an autoimmune disease that can only be controlled by taking medication. Your food thing will wear off soon, and you'll have to start taking medicine again. I've seen it before, people try eliminating foods and it works at first, but after a little bit you start having problems again. Your only hope is the medication."

"Okay," my mom said to her. "I guess so."

We left the doctor's office, and as soon as we got back out to the car, my mom shook her head. "She's wrong! Food has everything to do with it. We're going to prove her wrong."

Today, five and a half years later, I can proudly, happily, and ever so confidently say that we did, indeed, prove her wrong. It was not an easy road. The path has been bumpy, discouraging, and brought many tears. There were a couple times that my stomach problems flared back up, and I had to go on Prednisone for them to calm down. However, I have not been on Prednisone since the beginning of 2017, that's over three years! We have also been led to believe that parasites have had a role in my stomach problems- but more on that later! Over the past few years, I have had two more food sensitivity tests, and each time I have had to eliminate some more foods, but have also been able to add some more in! I can have oranges now! We have three beautiful orange trees in my backyard that for a few years I had to watch my parents eat without me. Ironically, neither of them can have oranges anymore, and now I am left to eat them all! I can have beef now, which honestly I don't really like anyway. As for garlic, alas, the enemy still stands. However, staying off from those foods has truly changed my life. The difference between how I felt five and a half years ago to today is night and day. I was depressed, sick, pale, and relatively hopeless. The day of my colonoscopy I weighed 60 pounds. I was ten years old. The summer 5 months prior I was about 72 pounds, and my mom says that she noticed that even during the summer I was awfully skinny.

But now? I'm alive, energized, and feel amazing! I truly love my life, every second of it. I'm proud to say I am not a skeleton with skin on top, I actually have some meat on me! Oh, and I go to a real, live charter school, a fantasy that I never could have dreamed of doing during those days where mere seconds made the difference when racing to the bathroom. I'm a straight-A student. My stomach is doing amazing. I am on no prescription meds. And my GI doctor who had no faith in us? We ditched her. I have a new GI doctor who is much more supportive of our more natural approach. And I must say, he has a pretty wicked sense of humor, too.

I can tell you right now, this very day, that food has everything to do with it. As humans, as living breathing organisms, we need food to survive. It's our fuel. It's what powers us. We're all different, each one of us, on the inside and what food does to us. Think about it- on the outside we are all different. You can tell people apart by what they look like on the outside. Don't you think that's how we are on the inside, too? I may be able to eat any seafood I could ever dream up, but Joe Bob on the other side of the street may eat seafood all day long and wonder why his wife can't stand to use the same bathroom as him. 

I don't write this to tell a sob story, or to brag about how amazing I am right now. All I hope is that by me sharing what I have learned these past few years, I can help someone else figure out what's wrong with them, to answer those questions that I had.

What's happening to me? Why? When will this end? Will it ever end?

Food is the answer. 







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