Crossed Grain

SUPPORTER NEWS | 3 CHARLOTTE’S STORY Charlotte, 17, bravely spoke at our Volunteers’ Conference in Birmingham. Her story helped us better understand what life is like for teenagers with coeliac disease: “I’ll always remember the day I was diagnosed. I’d gone for a routine check up for my diabetes and when the specialist said I had coeliac disease as well, I cried buckets. I’d been getting stomach cramps and feeling really tired but I just put it down to my age and the fact that I was dancing so much at my Performing Arts School. “First, I actually thought I’d done something wrong to my body, that I was to blame for getting coeliac disease. Then I looked online, did loads of research and found out more about it and the diet. At home, it was fairly easy to get on with the diet with the help of my family. Neither of my parents actually want to go food shopping with me now because if I see any new gluten free products, I raid the shelves and cost them a fortune! “But what I didn’t expect was the backlash at school. I was accused of attention seeking by students and teachers. When the canteen finally took it seriously, I was served first to avoid any cross contamination. That just led to accusations of queue jumping and preferential treatment. I was already allowed to eat sweets in class if I needed to raise my blood sugar levels because of my diabetes. So the bullying just got worse and worse until both my Mum and I asked if we could do a talk on coeliac disease to explain it wasn’t a fad or something I’d made up. But the school refused. “In the end, the bullying got so vicious, especially on social media, that I had to change schools. I’m really happy at my new school, Momentum Performing Arts Academy. My crew look out for me and are so understanding. I’m also lucky that my best friend Kimani helped me through all the lows, she’s been a rock. But I feel really sorry for kids that don’t have that support, don’t have anyone to turn to in school or outside. I joined the charity to get to know more people like me. Attending the Volunteers’ Conference was great, I got to meet so many new people. I’d love to volunteer for Coeliac UK and help teachers and students understand what it’s really like for teenagers living with chronic health conditions so no one else has to go through what I did.” If you’re inspired by Charlotte’s story, then why not get involved? Visit coeliac.org.uk/volunteering or email volunteering@coeliac.org.uk . *Over 18s only, Terms & Conditions Apply. Concerns about gambling too much? Visit begambleaware.org Winning for everyone who needs to live without gluten When you sign up to play Coeliac UK’s Gluten Free Lottery*, everyone who needs to live gluten free wins. On average there are 48 prize winners every week! But more than that, so far the Lottery has raised over £265,000 since it started, funds which go straight to our work supporting the gluten free community. All prizes are paid out of a separate pot and don’t impact on the funds raised for Coeliac UK. Funds are used to ensure that our Helpline and online information is available to all, it supports our lobbying of government and industry, and enables vital research. With so many opportunities to win great prizes, it’s no surprise that the Gluten Free Lottery is one of the most popular ways to support our work. Find out more and sign up at: lottery.coeliac.org.uk . 1 winner has won £10,000 18 winners have won at least £1,000 1,922 winners in total