Not long after my diagnosis, I had a deep yearning to know which parent may have passed this genetic autoimmune disorder down to me. One day I was convinced that my father had it, the next day, my mother. I would go back and forth as to who exactly was the likely culprit. They each have short statures, like me, so at one time I thought maybe they both harbored the DQ2 gene.
I really wanted to know if I could trace the disease down my family tree. Surely I couldn’t be the only celiac.
My parents insisted they didn’t have it and their test results confirmed this (unless of course, their tests were false negative).
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. I felt like I needed some answers…why me? (the cliché question).
I have one living grandmother, 94, so it’s just impossible to ever know who else in our family has celiac. And even if my other grandparents were alive, they would most likely not have such a diagnosis.
Do I come from a family of undiagnosed celiacs or am I truly just an anomaly?
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