Dale's Story

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Welcome to my family’s journey of healing autoimmune disease through proper diet and nutrition. I am NOT a certified nutritionist, but I am certain that with discipline, determination and drive, people can heal themselves with food. This is our story.

 

Three months apart, in 2012 and 2013, two of my three children were diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. First, my then seventeen-year-old daughter complained of stomachaches. She was a junior in high school, so I brushed it off as nerves from school and getting ready to apply to college. One day she told me she was really not feeling well after the bathroom, so we made an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist. After an exam and a colonoscopy, we were told that she had Crohn's disease. The diagnosis sent us all into a tailspin. We had no idea what Crohn’s was—none of our friends or family had the disease—but the doctor prescribed medicine to control the symptoms.

 

The pills were enormous and very hard to swallow. My daughter took them for a month or so and told me she still wasn’t feeling any better. We spoke to the doctor to see if there was an alternative to just taking medicine; to my surprise she said medicine was the only way to help my daughter. With that, this mother on a mission had to dig further into what this chronic illness truly was all about. What I learned was that this disease can affect a person from their esophagus to their rectum, so each patient is different.

 

Three months later, a day after my son’s fifteenth birthday, he woke with a pain in his side. We thought it was his appendix and rushed him to the emergency room. The doctors examined him and told us that he had appendicitis and that it would be a quick and routine operation. We kissed our son on his way into the operating room, got a cup of coffee and waited.  Fifteen minutes into the surgery, the doctor came out to talk to us. What did we know? We figured it had been quick, like he had said, and all was okay. The doctor had a look of concern on his face, and he told us that our son had Crohn's disease also, so the operation was going to take longer and they would need to remove and resection three inches of his intestines. Obviously my husband and I were in shock. How could our kids be diagnosed with the same illness so close together? What were we going to do?

 

We needed to have a plan to get our children well; we needed to understand what this disease was all about. We went into flight or fight mode. Our son was in the hospital for less than a week, in terrible pain from the surgery and scared. The pediatric gastroenterologist really offered little to no help in our researching the disease. We were given pamphlets from various organizations, which really meant nothing to us. We needed to find a nutritionist that could help us control this chronic illness through a healthy diet. Ultimately, we eliminated yeast, diary, gluten and sugar for four months as a family. It was very hard work, but I created over 200 recipes to fit our new healthy diet. My kids were diligent and kept their eating very “clean.” Slowly, over time, they were able to add things back into their diet and now, eight years later, my kids—who are now adults—have been able to keep their health in remission with healthy, “clean” eating.

 

It is with this attitude that Box of Farm approaches bringing farm fresh, healthy produce to our customers. Not all diseases may be cured with food, but clean, healthy eating plays a huge role in keeping our bodies fit to let additional treatments be more effective. And for those who don’t live with chronic disease, healthy eating goes a long way in preventing so many illnesses. Box of Farm exists to service a healthful diet affordably and in a way that gives back to local farmers and communities. We are so happy to be able to share with you our story and to be a part of your healthy eating experience.