“I got a really high fever. I was rushed to the doctor, who said it was caused by a virus. After that, I started running a low temperature almost every month.“

“As much as I sometimes feel like having a pity party for myself, there are some real positive things that have come from my diagnosis.“

“She often had painful episodes when her pediatrician’s office was closed, so we ended up in after hours care or urgent care several times. They all prescribed Miralax and sent us on our way.”

“They don’t take me seriously because of my race. […] Yes I am black, and yes I have to live a gluten-free life for my health.“

“The doctor was saying, ‘She’s a kid, she’ll grow out of it. Tummy aches are normal.’ I pushed back and said, ‘That’s not enough.’”

“I thought I had cancer. I thought I was dying. I felt that sick and lost that much weight so quickly.“

“Not only did I have to think about my current day-to-day life, but also how I was going to be able to live gluten-free abroad.”

“I think my most challenging time was before being diagnosed, because I had a lot of mental imbalances and I wasn’t growing for a period of time.”

“You don’t realize how much the world revolves around food until you can’t eat whatever you want.”

“Sometimes you have to eat something someone else makes, and the stress and worry around that is just unfathomable. […] Nothing that can relieve that, except for a cure.“

“Sometimes people don’t understand the emotional toll of having a child with an autoimmune disorder and all that goes into keeping her safe.”

“I do think it’s taboo for men [to eat gluten-free]. It’s toxic masculinity. But I think that it’s super important to say, ‘Here’s how I handle it. Try it yourself.'”