Support

I can't believe it's already Thursday.  Thursday!  How is it that Spring Break is just flying by when most weeks take at least a month to end?!

Anyway.

After my initial meeting with new bff Linda on Tuesday, I was so excited to find that there are plenty of foods out there that I can be eating, but haven't been.  That's probably not surprising since most foods don't fall into the (miniscule, narrow, tiny!) categories of meat, dairy, white rice, and plain oatmeal.  I had to utilize my highest level of self-restraint to not drive to the nearest HEB and buy one of EVERYTHING that I am allowed to have.  Although, I did buy a cauliflower.  And then I ate it.  And as sad as this may sound, I found it to be extremely enjoyable.

But let's get to the point, shall we?  When I met with Linda, she mentioned that she has a support group for people with FructMal*, and it meets about three times a year.  When is the next meeting, you ask?  Why, it happened to be yesterday evening!  It was pretty great timing, if I do say so myself (although I can't take any credit for the impeccable timing).

So yesterday evening, Matt and I headed over to the support group to see what new and helpful information we might happen upon.  My first impression upon walking into the room?  It was like an AA meeting for old ladies.  Seriously - I was the youngest person in that room by at least 20 years.  And those ladies are funny.  There was one woman who kept talking about french fries: "I loooove french fries.  I've never eaten so many in my whole life.  I eat them all the time because we can have them...they are just so delicious!"  If you read that with an incredibly thick Spanish accent, you were spot on.

Most of them had been dealing with the condition for years - seasoned veterans, if you will.  There was one other woman there who had been diagnosed around the same time as me, and we were like eager nerdy students on the first day of school.

It was very much like a discussion group - a time to ask questions and talk about the woes of flavorless foods.  I didn't realize how therapeutic it would be just to sit in a room full of people who just know what happens to my body when I eat certain things and who really understand how difficult it is to avoid everything considered dangerous.  I hardly had to say one word.  I realize I've only known about my condition for a few weeks (almost a month!), but one thing I really felt during those several weeks was that no one really gets it.  They can sympathize, but no one can really empathize.  Again, I really don't mind having the issue - I just know that not a lot of people can truly understand what it means for me.

I think Matt and I will attempt to eat out tonight - that is the biggest challenge of all, I think.  To find a restaurant that not only has a gluten-free menu but also does not use added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, or any of the various other things that make me ill will be quite an adventure.

Don't worry - I won't always post about FructMal.  In fact, once school starts back up, I doubt I'll be posting much of anything at all! ;)

*typing out the whole thing is hard.  I stumble around on my keyboard every time.  So...abbreviation!

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