Answers

I knew I wasn't crazy! Or paranoid. Or overreactive. Is that a word? This has been a while coming. Let me explain a little. It's been at least a couple of years, maybe more like three. We began to notice that one of my kids was slowing way down on her growth. She started out at a solid average height, some even said slightly above average. Then we noticed the shorter kids were catching up with her. Then they were passing her. Did I need to worry? Some said, well kids grow at different rates, she'll grow when her body is ready. No, it just didn't feel right. I know my being 5'9" and Brent being 6' tall is no guarantee of tall children. I don't need tall children. Although the pediatrician did do that prediction thing when she was 2 1/2 and predicted 5'8". But I also know you can't believe everything a doctor says. Especially when she has more than a dozen years to be proven wrong. But come on, I come from tall people. We don't do short. Brent's got mostly tall people in his family too. But maybe she takes after her grandma? Well sure, nothing wrong with that. But it just didn't feel right. So we waited for the growth spurt some said would happen. There was an inch here and there but it didn't seem right. So I took her to the doctor. This was Spring of '09. She was a little concerned. She ordered blood tests and x-rays. Everything was pretty okay. The x-rays showed her bone age was on the young side. That meant she would probably finish growing later than average. A late bloomer. So we moved forward. She grew almost two inches that years! But it looked like everyone else grew four.

I kept saying, well everything must be okay. She's just taking her time. Then why is she still throwing up? Did I not mention the recurring vomiting? But the doctor didn't seem overly concerned and her health seemed fine in general, besides the throwing up, so I tried a wait and see approach. This summer I took her back to the doctor for some immunizations. The doctor was now concerned about her weight. More blood tests were administered. Symptoms were beginning to be added on to this mystery: anemia, vitamin D deficiency. She wasn't absorbing nutrients properly. That would explain why she wasn't growing. I looked for answers on the internet. The doctor prescribed vitamins and ordered more blood tests. Finally, she contacted a pediatric G.I. specialist. So this past Tuesday we went into the hospital and she had an endoscopy. Celiac Disease. You know, the no gluten disease. We finally had an answer. My daughter is happy to have answers. Yes, she has to give up all gluten containing foods (anything with wheat, barley or rye). Forever. We may all try this new diet too. It runs in families and maybe in general it will get us eating more healthy. Get us off so much processed foods. But the best thing is we know what the problem is. We know what we need to do. It's going to be a big change. But it's nothing super scary. We are grateful for that. I love this girl, I'm so happy to know how to help her now. We finally have our answers.