A little bit about my story

Hello all you wonderful people!

I just really wanted to share my life story to maybe encourage any other women out there who are struggling with chronic illnesses.

My entire life I’ve always been extremely sick and up until two years ago no one could tell me why. Sleepovers were a nightmare for me because I feared throwing up at a friends house or being stuck in the bathroom the majority of the time. Traveling was even worse because I felt like I held my family and friends back because of my constant sickness. I’m talking not only throwing up but extremely painful bowel movements too (sorry tmi). I began struggling with anxiety at a young age due to my deteriorating health. At 11 years old I had a doctor tell me that I just needed to stop “stressing” and I wouldn’t be sick anymore.

Well fast forward to two years ago when a god sent doctor finally nailed down my diagnosis, celiac disease. And my celiac disease also caused my antibodies to start attacking my thyroid so I developed hypothyroidism.

Turns out I have severe sensitivity to gluten to the point where I literally can’t even eat out at restaurants. The two years following my diagnosis were full of trial and error and the strictest I have ever eaten in my life. But the more I stayed away from gluten, if I had an encounter, I was in such severe abdominal pain that I was hospitalized a couple of times. I started to be afraid of food, so I began losing weight. And I also began losing hair. My hair became brittle and very thin when it used to be very thick and long.

My husband and I began discussing starting a family. It made me extremely nervous at first because 1) I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to conceive because of the long term damage my intestines and therefore immune system suffered, and 2) I was afraid of if I did fall pregnant a run in with gluten could be life threatening to baby.

But I decided to buckle down on my diet in a way I never ever have before, and put the rest in gods hands.

Well here I am today, seven weeks pregnant, a healthier weight, and my hair is resuming its healthy thickness. I know these photos are quite revealing but I just had such an overwhelming joy tonight straightening my now healthy hair and seeing my tiny baby bloat. God is so incredibly good and faithful. Thank you all who read my story 💕