It’s Practically Over…

Summer is passing quickly for us.  We have traveled, spent time with friends, played and rested.  To go one step further, we’ve had a roof over our heads and food on the table, so complaining would be a sin.  Forgive me because I’m about to sin.

School actually begins on August 3rd!!!  Clearly the people down here in Georgia are craving year round school.  The concept is nice during the year, but to go back while it’s still summer – well, that’s just a crime in my book.

We have now corralled Jessie and brought her back home for the two weeks of summer remaining.  She’s had fun, running mostly on adrenaline, I think.  Now she’s tired and grouchy. Yes, that’s what mom is given on a silver platter after traipsing all over the east coast this summer.  Ah, the rewards of parenthood.

Jessie is eating as much gluten as she can possibly get her grubby little hands on.  Her endoscopy is scheduled for next Thursday morning.  I really think it will be positive for Celiac Disease.  I’m wondering if, by that time, Jes will have consumed so much bread that she really won’t want any more.  It’s looking as if that may be her goal.

Goodbye until next time.  Enjoy yourself!  Life’s too brief NOT to.

Celiac Update

Sweet Summertime

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer.  It does seem to be flying by for us!  I wrote a check today and wrote June instead of July.  At least I got the year right! 😉

Brief update:

Jes has had a great summer.  She’s been able to relax and enjoy life for the past month.  In fact, the entire family has had a great summer so far.

We went to the gastroenterologist and had a little pow-wow about the new labs which were positive for Celiac.  As many of you know, we were shocked.  I later read that many celiacs show no signs of the illness, which makes no sense to me.  But that’s a topic for another day.

The doctor advised that, since Jessie is showing no symptoms, she should continue eating gluten (she’s thrilled) through the end of July, thereby giving her three full months.  We will then have another endoscopy to get a biopsy of her intestine to see if it is damaged.

I can’t remember the actual numbers and how they work, but while her antibody numbers in the labs were positive for celiac, they were not very high.  I think on one, the normal range was 0-3 and Jessie’s was a nine.  The doctor had a patient earlier that day who’s number was 175.  So, with that, the whole diagnosis remains in question.  Does she have celiac, but a mild case?  Can she eat gluten with little damage to her intestine?  The endoscopy will answer that question and give us a final answer.

So, that’s it.  It seems that the longer we deal with chronic illnesses, the more we learn that nothing is rational or normal, even the abnormal!

With that said, I bid you all a fond farewell until our next update.  Have an absolutely splendid July!