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Our youngest daughter, Lois, was diagnosed with Coeliac disease at the age of 1. She had become quite ill, her arms and legs were thin, and the effects of her Coeliac disease had caused her tummy to become very bloated, her body was unable to absorb any nutrients from the food she was eating and it's only now, looking back at pictures of her that it's clear how sick she was. Lois' granddad and cousin also both have Coeliac disease so we were aware of the disease and the effects it caused. After a blood test it was confirmed that Lois had Coeliac disease, she had several visits to hospital to be monitored by a consultant paediatrician and all gluten was removed from her diet. Everything that most people take for granted, bread, pasta, biscuits, cereals, even the coating on Smarties contains gluten! We now have to check everything she eats, her paediatrician described gluten as a poison to her, even in tiny amounts.

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Lois is now a happy and healthy 2 and a half year old (she'll be 3 a few days after the marathon!) but there is currently no cure for Coeliac disease, it's not simply something you grow out of it's likely that she will need to avoid gluten for her whole life, all that we can do is help her to understand the condition as she grows up, and also hopefully raise a few pounds for Coeliac UK by running the London marathon!

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If you would like to know more about Coeliac disease please follow the below link to the coeliac UK web site.

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http://www.coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-disease/what-is-coeliac-disease

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Thanks for your support

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Kevin

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