There comes a moment in every child’s life when they begin to discover that, although their parents may seem to have all the answers, adults in general do not really have everything figured out. Some kids learn that lesson much sooner than others. For 11-year old Jax Bari, that moment unfortunately arrived far too soon in his life.
Jax suffers from Celiac Disease, a life-threatening and life-debilitating food allergy and auto-immune disease that affects 3.3 million Americans. Celiac is triggered by eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and most oats.
When people with Celiac ingest gluten – even just a crumb – it can make them very sick and interfere with basic life activities: eating, sleeping, thinking, learning and working. Celiac makes it difficult for them to safely eat out at most restaurants and participate in social activities involving food because of the high risk of accidental gluten ingestion with cross-contamination. Celiac also can prevent them from making certain career choices and serving in the military.
In the long-term, gluten ingestion for Celiacs can increase the risk of anemia, cancer, heart disease, immunological scarring, intestinal damage, malnutrition and developing other auto-immune diseases. Unlike other food allergies, there is no ‘rescue’ medication available in the event of accidental ingestion. Until there is any type of treatment other than a strict gluten-free diet, Jax will be dealing with this for the rest of his lif.
