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Interesting that my mother does not
belong to this list but was at the
bookstore yesterday and picked up
a copy of "Talk to the Hand".  In disgust she read the same thing we
all are talking about and took it
upon herself to write this letter.
Word is out folks, not just in the celiac
community but to the public as a
"whole".  Let's keep it up!


Dear Ms Rose,

At the bookstore, I read Lynne Truss' reaction to the people who are gluten
intolerant.  Her comments are most interesting and especially revealing of
the brutality of her sense of humor. I won't be buying her book, "Talk to
the Hand".

She must just hate the asthmatics, especially the young ones  Rheumatoid
arthritics  probably really frost her. It must gall her to see MS victims in
their wheelchairs. People who have lupus and fibromyalgia often don't even
look sick and that's probably more than she can take. I bet she's fed up
with diabetics, too and sick of all that insulin crap.

All the above mentioned diseases, are immune disorders, There are hundreds
more of them that for some unexplained reason are on the rise. They include
seasonal allergies, Myasthenia gravis, pernicious anemia, psoriasis,
Chrone's disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' Disease,
immune-mediated -infertility, Addison's disease, alopecia, neutropenia and
the one that is her pet peeve, gluten-sensitive enteropathy  or Celiac.

These diseases are, in varying degrees, costly, painful, disabling,  a
heartbreak, a career stealer, a marriage wrecker, and a death sentence.  The
immune disorders are  not life style diseases. Nobody chooses to get them to
bug others nor do they discard them once they discover they aren't charming.

I know about Celiac because my daughter has it. She also has type I
diabetes. Celiac is determined by a blood test and confirmed by a biopsy.
Untreated,  it is excruciatingly painful and leads to malnourishment and
death. Mercifully, it is one of the easier immune disorders to treat because
it means all one has to do is avoid gluten, not an easy task, but do-able.

Would Lyn Truss envy her?  No processed foods, few allowable condiments, no
buns, no sandwiches, no burritos, no pasta, no pizza, no bread stuffing at
Thanksgiving, no creamed soups, no gravy? Pass on to her my news that fast
food and restaurant dining is a daunting task and more than a minor peeve.

If Ms Truss lives long enough, she has a good chance of getting one of these
disorders. Wouldn't it be a hoot if  people thought she was ill just to get
attention? Maybe if she's lucky, someone will laugh at her behind her back.

But that's another book.


Ann Ruddy
Fort Collins, CO

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