<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

After reading the long and interesting summary about "Banana Babies",
I've begun to think more about the other end of life for people with
celiac disease. What will happen to celiacs when they are really old
and need some sort of group care?  At present, there seems to be no
solution except to stay at home and do one's own cooking forever.  In
many cases that is not practical or even possible.  It is unlikely
that most existing retirement homes can develop gluten-free foods for
small numbers of people in their dining rooms.  In my own case, I
have found the cost of long term care insurance is higher for me than
for my non-celiac husband, because of my celiac diagnosis.
Furthermore, the insurance company will not cover me for as long a
period of time.

It seems to me that one of the jobs for local celiac organizations is
to start looking into the possibility of celiac retirement homes.
Perhaps that can be an off-shoot of the present celiac travel that is
organized in Baltimore. The wonderful people who organized that can
give us some help in finding a way to make this happen

Or perhaps the answer is frozen TV dinners for celiacs that can be
used at home, when one is old - or could be purchased and used in
nursing homes and hospitals and retirement homes (where getting
gluten-free food is also a major problem in most areas).

At 70, I'm too busy living, and enjoying every minute, to try to
start a new career, but the need is there and someone might be
interested in finding a way to do this.  Just as Miss Roben and many
others have supplied us with gluten-free foods that were not
available 25 years ago (I'm not sure when she got started), there is
a further market that has not yet been tapped.

No one is talking or writing about this problem, but it is in the
wings, and needs to be addressed. Come on, folks. I figure I have at
least another five years in my own kitchen, but then...  HELP!

Gayle Kennedy