This South Dakota family's battle with celiac disease

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month, but those who don't understand celiac disease may think it's simply a gluten intolerance.

The Oberman family lived a normal life until five years ago, when their eldest daughter Jordyn began to feel unwell after eating certain foods.

“She had been having terrible stomach pains, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Looking back, we can clearly see different food indicators — she was eating pizza and boneless chicken wings — those are some of her favorite foods. And she told us every time she ate them, she felt sick afterwards,” Jessica Oberman told us.

Doctors tested her and found she had celiac disease. As a precaution, the entire family was also tested and it was discovered that Jordyn's sister Jayla had silent celiac disease.

“But at that point in her life, the gluten wasn't affecting her mood. But when they did a biopsy and an endoscopy on her, they found that there was some damage to her small intestine. “It became clear that even though she wasn't sick, she still had damage to her small intestine,” Jessica said.

Change my daughters' lives forever.

“I cried, it was definitely a change. It was really shocking because I didn't even know what celiac disease was or how it would ultimately affect my life,” Jordyn Oberman said. said.

A shock that affects the whole family. Three out of five people can still eat gluten products, so steps had to be taken to prevent cross-contamination.

“So, we have two toasters, one for gluten-free and one for gluten products. We had to get all the plastic products new. We have two toasters in the kitchen, one for gluten-free and one for gluten products. I had to replace anything that was made of plastic that had come in contact with gluten,” Jessica said.

While it's possible to prevent cross-contamination at home, going out to a restaurant can be difficult.

“So I think training is really important for all of our kitchen staff and just understanding what it is. Like I said, when you hear about celiac disease, you can't eat gluten. “We may know that some people don't have it, but we don't really know how serious it is and how sick people can get from it,” Jessica said.

“I don't think I've had gluten in the last five years. There's been some cross-contamination. So I've been feeling really sick, throwing up, getting headaches, or I don't know, feeling sick and just tired. It's just that,” Jordyn said.

For people with celiac disease like Jordyn and Jayla, restaurants like Roundhouse Brew Pub are a safer option to prevent cross-contamination, and restaurants make special efforts to accommodate them. Masu.

“And my cousin said a lot of restaurants don't have their own flyers. So, having a daughter or someone I knew who was an investor, I thought I'd do something a little different,” said Roundhouse Investments. Kay Hoogeveen of the home said.

We offer a special fryer for gluten-free foods and a gluten-free menu.

“It's important to us to do that. That means people with celiac disease have more options. So, like us, we have gluten-free bread, gluten-free pizza dough, gluten-free We have a fryer, so we have more options,” said head chef Derrick Fish.

“I think more and more people are being diagnosed with special dietary needs. And I think it's really important to be able to involve these people in order to go out to eat. And that one person gets isolated and they can't eat here. So I think it's important to get everyone involved,” Hoogeveen said.

click here Learn more about Roundhouse Brew Pub here.

click here Learn more about celiac disease here.