The Power of the Personal Story

 It gives me great pleasure to start this month’s Beyond Rice Cakes column by announcing that CNN Newsroom Anchor Heidi Collins has signed on as the official spokesperson for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. As I’m sure most of you have already seen on television, Heidi aired three stories on celiac disease during the month of November, bringing more than 200,000 people to the NFCA website and prompting more than 1,000 individuals to complete a celiac disease symptoms checklist to show their doctors. 

To give you some background on what Heidi does, you can see her every weekday anchoring CNN Newsroom from 9am-Noon EST. Previously, she has provided in-depth reports for Anderson Cooper 360°, Paula Zahn Now, and The Situation Room, as well as served as a news anchor for CNN’s American Morning. Heidi has received three Edward R. Murrow awards as well as an Associated Press Award in the best documentary category.

Not only is Heidi a world-renowned journalist, but she is alsowhat I would like to playfully call the Celiac Queen. Heidi is a woman, a wife, a mother and friend, and she manages to do it all with celiac disease—an accomplishment that is inspirational to all of us at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

I was lucky enough to meet Heidi at the International Celiac Disease Symposium last month in New York City and was thrilled when she immediately knew all about Beyond Rice Cakes! Her first words to me were, “Oh my gosh, your book is on my kitchen counter!!” She LOVES the baked Brie and jelly recipe, and because of her glowing endorsement, it is featured as one of the December Recipes of the Month.

Over the last month, I’ve come to learn a great deal about Heidi, but the one thing that struck me the most is her incredible passion for helping people, especially those with celiac. When I first met her, I knew Heidi as a famous journalist that I saw on television every morning speaking to millions of people about world issues. But after spending hours talking to her about everything from gluten-free food and celiac to boys and beer, I learned that Heidi is exactly like all of us. She is a celiac and a friend with a powerful personal story.

Alice Bast, Vanessa Maltin, Heidi Collins

Heidi’s journey with celiac disease began shortly after she finished graduate school and began her first television job as an anchor at a station in Wichita Falls, Texas. About one year after she started this job, she learned she was pregnant, news that thrilled both Heidi and her husband Matt. The couple kept the secret for quite some time, but finally six months into the pregnancy, Heidi announced on air that she would be having a baby.  Sadly, just a few weeks after announcing her pregnancy, Heidi lost the baby. She received very little explanation from her doctors about why the tragic loss had occurred other than from fetal demise.

During Heidi’s next television job in Colorado Springs, she developed a near fatal blood clot in her leg. After four months in the hospital and arterial bypass surgery, a vascular surgeon told Heidi she would never be able to have children. The doctor explained that her blood vessels would not be able to handle the strain of a pregnancy. Heidi and Matt were devastated.

Heidi’s next television job brought the couple to Denver, where after a lengthy search, they found a high-risk obstetrician who felt that having a child would not be impossible after all. Nine months later, two injections a day of blood-thinner and constant observation by a team of physicians, Heidi gave birth to her son Riley. She says it was the happiest day of her life.

However, Heidi continued to deal with stomach pains, severe headaches and anemia. The constant health issues grew nearly intolerable as she moved to CNN’s New York office. She continued visiting doctors until finally after 15 years of one health problem after another, her general practitioner diagnosed her with celiac disease. With one simple blood test, Heidi had found a diagnosis that would allow her to work toward a cure for her chronic medical conditions and an answer as to why her pregnancy had failed.

By becoming the official spokesperson for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, Heidi—just like many of you are doing already—will use her personal story to encourage millions of Americans to get tested for celiac.

Three days in November, Heidi stepped up to the plate and shared her story with millions of people on national television. My challenge to you is to do the same…maybe not on national television, but within your own community. Over the next month, tell your family and friends, your neighbors and coworkers, and even someone you meet on the elevator or bus about celiac disease. You never know…Taking the first step to discuss celiac disease could change someone else’s life.

For those of you who missed the segments she aired on CNN, please visit our website to view the clips. http://www.celiaccentral.org/News/CNN_Celiac_Stories/304/.

To share your celiac story with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, please visit www.celiaccentral.org and click on the Share Your Story box.

Lastly, to submit questions to be answered in next month’s Beyond Rice Cakes column, please email Editor@celiaccentral.org.

Sincerely,

Vanessa Maltin