35 Years of Living with Celiac Disease

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I last blogged here. I have been (slowly) redesigning things behind the scene and really trying to figure out what is next for my website. I have always loved connecting with celiac readers through Gluten-Free Fun, but these days I mostly keep in touch via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  But I hit a HUGE milestone this week and I couldn't let it go unmentioned.

This month, I am living with diagnosed celiac disease for THIRTY-FIVE YEARS!!

My doctor records from 1981, the first time they thought celiac disease.

Whoa, let that sink in for a minute. First of all, my brain still thinks I am in my 20s so I am not quite sure how I've had celiac for longer than I feel in years. Second of all, that is a damn long time to have celiac. Three and a half decades of living gluten-free with celiac disease. I literally have a lifetime of experience with celiac disease, as I was diagnosed as a toddler. I recently met a few more "lifers" (those of us who don't remember life before gluten) and I am always impressed that we have survived and thrived so long in a gluten-filled world.

I am a celiac pioneer. I was eating gluten-free before it was cool. It wasn't until I was a teenager in the 1990s that I even met another person with celiac disease. This year, I attended a food expo with more than 70,000 people talking about healthy living and gluten-free food. I went to an international conference full of people with celiac disease. Just last week, I went to a summer camp with a week dedicated gluten-free for kids with celiac disease. This blows my mind. I am in awe of the kids of today who have so many gluten-free options across the globe that never existed when I was a kid.

35 years of living gluten-free!

So today, I leave you with this... You are not alone in this crazy celiac and gluten-free adventure. There are tens of thousands of us living in the US that know exactly what you are dealing with on a daily basis. There are ups and downs, especially when first diagnosed with celiac disease. There is a learning curve to adjusting to the gluten-free diet. But you are not alone and we can all relate. Reach out if you need help, I am happy to be there for you. Email me any time! gfreefun@gmail.com

Nine Years of Gluten-Free Fun

Nine years ago yesterday, I launched Gluten-Free Fun. In the midst of packing for a cross-country move, I forgot! But I couldn't ignore this major milestone. I never could have imagined that growing up as a celiac and rarely talking about being gluten-free would turn into a blog that is almost a decade old where I share my life with strangers.

I definitely could never have pictured meeting all of my wonderful readers, social media followers, and gluten-free friends when I started this blog. As a kid, I never knew more than a handful of people that knew what being gluten-free actually means. Now, I know thousands! I always imagined only my family and a few close friends would read Gluten-Free Fun. Today, there are more than 10,000 of you that stop by each and every month. This blog has turned into more than anything I could have ever imagined.

Nine years is basically fifty years in blogging years. Recently my blogging has slowed down as life has gotten in the way. (damn you job, moving, second blogs, etc.) But I have BIG plans for Gluten-Free Fun in 2016. A MUCH needed redesign is slowly coming along. I am also more active than ever on social media and hope you will continue reading this website, tweeting with me, and posting to Facebook.

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and readership over the past nine years. You have know idea how much you all mean to me! 

Happy 7th Anniversary Gluten-Free Fun

WOW. Seven years of Gluten-Free Fun!! Where has the time gone?? 

Gluten-Free Fun 7th Anniversary
(gluten-free cupcake, of course!)

Today, Gluten-Free Fun turns seven years old. Seven years is practically ancient in the blogging world. When I started this blog seven years ago, I never could have imagined that it would still be around today. This blog has become a direct lifeline to an amazing gluten-free and Celiac community. Through the blog, I have met some really amazing people and tried some delicious gluten-free food. I've continued to travel the world since launching this blog and have NEVER let living with Celiac Disease get in my way. I'm still excited about writing this blog, reaching out to the gluten-free community, and sharing my three decades of Celiac experience with the world.

Here are some fun Gluten-Free Fun facts as I celebrate 7 years of writing this blog!

• 7: years writing Gluten-Free Fun
• 32.5: years living with Celiac Disease
• 972: the number of blog posts published on Gluten-Free Fun
• 456,806: page views since the launch of Gluten-Free Fun
• 2,734: fans on Gluten-Free Fun Facebook page
• 4,582: followers on Gluten-Free Fun Twitter page
• 1,326: number of comments left on the blog since launching in 2007
• 48,2354: the whopping number of miles I traveled in 2013 (read about my travels at Gluten-Free Globetrotter, my other gluten-free blog!) 

Happy Gluten-Free Fun Anniversary to me!!

Happy Anniversary National Foundation for Celiac Awareness

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness is celebrating their 10th anniversary today. Over the past 10 years, NFCA president Alice Bast and her amazing staff have done a tremendous job bringing celiac awareness, education, and fun to the gluten-free and celiac communities. I have participated in many of their events over the past 10 years and I look forward to many more years and events to come. Thank you NFCA for your tireless efforts within the Celiac community and congratulations on this milestone anniversary!

Happy Gluten-Free Anniversary, KD

Two years back, I was "introduced" to a family member's extended family member via phone and email. We had met many years ago at a family wedding, but she was newly diagnosed with Celiac Disease and our mutual family member suggested that we speak with each other. That first phone call was over one hour long and now, two years later, we continue to email on a regular basis. This reader & friend has always given me wonderful praise and words of encouragement for my blog and my gluten-free lifestyle. She dove into her gluten-free lifestyle with gusto and has really learned a tremendous amount of information over the past two years. I am always impressed with how much she knows about gluten-free products and Celiac Disease. It took me over 25 years to learn all I know and here is a newbie teaching me. :-)

Today, I got a lovely email from "KD" in honor of her two year anniversary of being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I am honored to be able to share this email (with her permission, of course) with my readers. I am also honored to wish KD a big:

HAPPY GLUTEN-FREE ANNIVERSARY, KD!

From KD:

"You do such a great job as ambassador with attitude for GF. You have made it habit to be GF ... and it can be easy but one has to be mindful, watchful.

You made such a nice difference, significantly, when I started out on my GF [Gluten-Free] adventurous lifestyle. With your positive input and my determination, I have never looked back. I wanted to be healthy again. So I am! This past week, [A.] and I celebrated my 2nd anniversary, Happy Birthday Gluten-Free Celiac diagnosis.

I think attitude for any positive adjustment one wants to be successful in starts with a positive attitude, a can-do one which should include a want-to approach. One must see the benefit of new choice as a discipline outweighing all else which must change. I see only what I can, never what I can't. I am empowered by watching vigilantly with what I fill my environment and my senses ... touch, inhale, taste, ingest, even my eyes. I can't think of much with gluten to put into my ears, except possibly a banana, but you get the idea.

I see how GF strengthens me. I don't ever think, "I miss ___ " because I know too well what ___ did to me. I choose not to have a repeat of that performance, if I can help it. We traveled this summer and met several Celiacs who said, "I only eat plain bread ... only a few pieces a day ... I can't ... I don't know who to ask ... it's too much trouble to ..." etc. I understand full well that there is no denial involved. I wouldn't care if 80% of the world eats gluten, I know it is not for me. I not only "can't" have it, I "won't" I choose not to ask my body to kill itself. After all, that's me I'd be choosing to kill. I love Life and intend to be here a long time and make the best of the time I have. Picture, if you will, a fine instrument of any kind ... car, turbine, ink pen, a fire. Now choose the proper fuel or ingredients to make it run well, efficiently. That's how I see these GF choices we constantly make.

It's a bit like deciding to quit smoking or any other habit. "Something" needs changing. It is my choice. It is up to me to change "it" not "it" to change me ... for the better, now. I see what is gained by being GF, not what I might have been used to. When change is due ... and nothing brings that on like a gluten intolerance diet ... you gotta go whole hog, full steam ahead! There is nothing to be missed when you change for the better. You don't keep poisoning yourself [with gluten, smoking] [just a little bit won't hurt, huh?] when you know [gluten, smoking] is unhealthy for you ... if you care about yourself and those relying on you. Who aims for 75% health or to only hit 75% of any target? 75% toward the bull's eye doesn't win anything. I am rewarded with my health with each positive decision I make, daily, constantly.

It is essential to see the change one makes is one's choice for improvement, change, and not a matter of giving up anything. There's nothing to give up. There is much to embrace! It consists of "going to" a goal and is not an "avoidance tactic." If one doesn't see the benefit, there's no use trying to explain health beyond that point. Let's see, I choose ... Life, not killing myself slowly. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

GF, I get to indulge in all sorts of products and grains, healthy for anyone, which most people haven't heard of, much less sampled. I am luckier than most. GF people's diet is much more varied than the "average individual" because it includes more healthy choices. It is rich, colorful many times, fresh, organic, flavorful, full of texture, contains exactly what I need to run well, to use a few descriptive words.

Too bad the "rest" of the world is so slow on the uptake.

Yup, I am Gluten-Free and dang proud of it!"

~KD