Well I loved to eat everything, until one day, I was at school and I had a sort of funny turn. I felt really scared when I blacked out on the floor and had flashing lights in front of my eyes It wasn’t a nice feeling. I had to go home and mummy took me to the doctor to try and figure out what was wrong. At first they said it was just a chest infection and that I had probably looked into the lights. So they gave me antibiotics. Then it happened again, but not quite as bad as I didn’t black out. I went back to Grandma’s house where we were staying and mummy called the doctor as soon as we got back home.
When we were home we went back to the doctors. Because mummy has Coeliac disease (and my Grandad had too), she mentioned it to the doctor. The doctor was very nice said to mummy I had to go to the hospital for some blood tests. I was scared as I didn’t want to have the blood tests. When we were there it was HORRIBLE. I do not like blood tests because of the needles. I cried, but actually it wasn't so bad in the end, i think thinking about it was worse..
A few days later I found out that the tests had come back showing that I probably did have Coeliac disease and I had to go back for MORE blood tests to make sure. Mummy said I was lucky because she had had to have a biopsy, where they put her to sleep and I didn’t as the doctors had worked hard to make the tests easier, especially for children like me. I saw another doctor who looks just after tummies for their job, and he said that the results from my first tests showed that I had a really high count of what I called the Soldiers (antibodies) who were fighting to try and keep me healthy, and that was why they had had to take more blood to check and do something called DNA test. This test is where they look really closely at all the tiny bits of what it makes you who you are. It’s complicated all the things they were checking and I don’t know how they do it, but was glad it didn't involve and operation. This time the blood test wasn’t so bad as and actually I got a small Lego man afterwards from the nurse.
Anyway, mummy got a phone call from the hospital doctor a few weeks later saying that I do have Coeliac disease. She explained that I really needed the long fingers in my tummy (villi) to help me get all the good things from food to keep me strong and grow. And so I had to stop eating all my favourite treat things like Penguins biscuits, and cake and crusty bread. But mummy said my feet would probably grow a bit bigger now. That made me laugh.
I will write more soon.
Love Ava x
(These are all my own thoughts.)
I still love to eat everything!