This section is dedicated to the Memory of my husband, Herbert Adrian Gottschall, who held me up when I could no longer stand. Our daughter's words, written on Father's Day, 1993, thirty years after we "knew" she was cured inspired me to add this section to the book.

Dear Dad,

I remember you running along School Lane, hanging on to the back of my two-wheeler, never letting go as I extracted promises by the second that you won't and, finally I do it! I remember driving me to horseback riding lessons every Sunday, your stopping at the gas station so I could throw up from fright, but your still urging me to go on and just adoring those lessons. I remember your calm strength through terrible times when Mom could not muster one more ounce of courage through my illness but you had me convinced that I would get better. And I did! I remember a lot more too because you were a wonderful Dad. You taught me how to cherish my kids because you did us.

Forty-five years ago my own child was diagnosed as having an incurable disease, ulcerative colitis. This book is a testament of our family's journey from hopelessness, helplessness, and isolation to a return of not only health for my child but a desire to prevent needless suffering of other families. Will the feeling of, "I must talk to someone who understands," ever leave me? During the years of her illness, each time I heard of someone else with inflammatory bowel problems, the strong urge to communicate overpowered me. I would call strangers anywhere in the world just to talk and seek some measure of understanding and consolation.

It has become apparent to me that, as important as scientific information has been to bring about recovery in our children, the support of spouses, friends, and others is not only beneficial but also essential. Those who have battled the storm of bowel disease with their own loved ones can give confidence and a large measure of reassurance to those just entering the fray.

Part II of this book is a record of some of the inspiring and compassionate support offered by parents to others as they embark on the Specific Carbohydrate commitment. Most of this help was given via the listserve* on the Internet. These parents have allowed me to include their words in this supplement to Breaking the Vicious Cycle.

*A group of over 600 people supporting each other on the Internet. Information pertinent to the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) is shared. The listserve was started by Rachel Turet after her recovery from ulcerative colitis.

From Cindy

Hi! Three months ago my 7-year-old started having stomach pains from bad gas and bloating (his stomach gets really hard and distended). We started with a GI specialist who put him through a ton of tests that have shown nothing so far. A month into this, he also started moving his head from side to side and bending at the waist. He didn't do this all the time but eating and exercise started the movements. The gas seems to be a trigger for everything going wacky. He had a hard time holding his head up after eating a bagel and was put in the hospital for three days undergoing a ton of neurological tests that all came back negative. I read about Breaking the Vicious Cycle at Amazon.com and ordered it. At this time we are all devastated here as we are dealing with something that no one has even diagnosed as of yet. I really think this started with gastrointestinal problems and everything is related. When I read this book I started crying uncontrollably because I know I have to do it and it seems so daunting. But I know I have to if the diet can take away the unbelievable gas and bloating and, maybe, some of the neurological symptoms. I want to know if there is anyone else out there is has experienced bending and tilting of the head (my son tells me this makes his stomach feel better) and also if there are any yummy recipes a 7-year old would like. This is going to be tough for him and all of us. My husband and I are doing it too for the support we can give him. I know we have to do this but it is so scary to a Mom who isn't a good cook and never aspired to be. Any words of encouragement will be so much appreciated.
Thanks,
Cindy.

The following emails followed within minutes of Cindy's request.

From Lisa D.

Reading your letter brought back all the feelings we went through when our son became ill. It was such a horrible time and we just didn't know what to do. It was like every black cloud ever created was hovering over us. During the worst of our son's illness, I don't believe I ever slept. I spent countless hours sitting in my living room praying, crying, wondering, and feeling overwhelmed and defeated. I wondered how much longer my son could endure the ravages of this disease and what it was doing to his body (at this time he had not as yet been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis). When he was finally diagnosed, there was a feeling of elation for us for, at least, we knew what he had. It had a name! There was something we could do about it. However, no doctor, at this time, told us that drugs were a short time answer. After seven years of going through a series of drugs each time a drug failed to work, we found this diet. . It was as if God opened up the Heavens! We now know that if my son stays with the diet sufficiently long, he will be well. I wondered at the time if I could manage it and now, after a year, I can tell you things become easier. All I can say is give the diet a try, give yourself time, and don't beat yourself up over mistakes because you will make them. We all have. In the end it will give your child a wonderful gift and you will have given yourself a whole new sense of purpose. Please know that we will try to be as helpful as we can and do not be afraid to ask questions and voice your fears.
Lisa D.

From Brenda:

Cindy, I know you can do it. I have Crohn's and an ileostomy now. I've had Crohn's for 16 years and an ileostomy for 3 years. My son was showing signs of bowel problems so he was colonoscoped and subjected to other tests, which showed nothing. I put him on SCD (I'm on it too) and everything cleared up. He had a lot of gas pains in his stomach and his chest wall. He also had trouble keeping his feet still. In his own words at 10 years old, after putting him on the diet for about 2 weeks, he told me his feet didn't want to move anymore. That winter he excelled at school and also in indoor soccer as he was much more focused. After a while, his friends, our family and the teacher became very accustomed to his eating habits and it wasn't a big deal at all. In fact the neighborhood kids sure like those peanut butter cookies. As a Mom I can see that you will be surprised to find what you can do when your own kids are involved. I'm a single parent and my son is now 13. I do not want to see anybody go through that emergency surgery I went through to have my ileostomy.
Hope this helps.
Brenda

From Keri Klein:

Cindy, you can do it! I didn't experience head bending, but gas and distension were symptoms of mine before I started on this diet. The gas is gone. The distension is much improved. People on the listserve will respond and here are some ideas to try after you follow the introductory diet in Breaking the Vicious Cycle. Remember, try one new food at a time at the beginning. Smoothies made from homemade yoghurt Ripe banana, honey, strawberries, peanut butter and honey spread on peeled apples. Cheese chips: grate cheddar cheese. Melt small piles in skillet until crispy and flip and cook the other side, then cool until hard. There are so many great recipes for cakes and desserts in Breaking the Vicious Cycle and Lucy's cookbook. And don't forget you can make him frozen yogurt treats by pouring smoothies into popsicle molds and freezing.
Good luck,
Keri

From Katie:

Hi, Cindy. A lot of people believe that intestinal problems cause a lot of other weird problems. I am sure that this diet is worth a try. I never thought I could follow it, as I was a total pizza and junk food addict. I was also deathly ill from Crohn's and have three little kids, five years old and under so I had to do it. Now six months later, I am miraculously in remission and feeling wonderful for the first time in 25 years (I am now 35). I love this diet. I wouldn't have believed that before. There are so many wonderful substitutes for most foods. The nut flour baking is wonderful and is extremely healthy. The most important thing is to never let your son get hungry. You know how hard it is to resist temptation when you are hungry. Always keep plenty of snacks available, and here are some, which we find especially good: Peanut butter cake, monster cookies, cinnamon cookies from Lucy's cookbook, coconut cookies, macaroons, frozen yogurt, cashew peanut butter, the muffins from BTVC, frozen juice pops. I am sure some of the moms will write you with their favorites. Oh, one more: cheese fries made out of fried Monterey jack cheese sticks. It does seem hard at first, but it really seems easy after a while. It just becomes a habit.
Good luck.
Katie

And another email of encouragement from Pam Williams

Your anxiety and love for your son came through loud and clear in your posting on the SCD list. The diet looks daunting, we know, especially for someone who doesn't love cooking. As another uninspired cook, let me share how SCD can change the way you think about food. The hardest part is getting started. Many SCD'ers said to themselves, "I'll try it for a month and see how it goes." If your son is like hundreds of people on this list, he'll start to feel better within that month. You'll start to appreciate that what goes in his mouth contributes to his well being and health, and that diet is a natural, ancient way to nurture the people you love and positively affect their well being. Before SCD, I would go completely blank in a supermarket when faced with all the options and absolutely no inspiration to cook them. On the SCD, I went from eating whatever was easy and handy to feeling all proud and nurturing when my yogurt came out soft and snugly. Food changes from a chore to a healthy, natural tool to get back some control in a situation that seems out of control and out of your hands.
With love,
Pam.

And from Donna Bauchner, Brett's Mom

Just to reintroduce myself. I'm the Mother of a fifteen-year-old, Brett, who has been on the SCD for about ten months. Brett has Crohn's, but thanks to SCD has been living life like any other teenager: school, going out with friends, playing baseball, lifting weights, marching in the school band, and, generally, having a wonderful life. Brett decided to share his success on the SCD with others and has posted information about SCD on various websites for inflammatory bowel disease sufferers. The response that he has received has been wonderful. So far, he has directed several people to the listserve. Of course Brett did hear from one sceptic who attacked Brett's endorsement of SCD with a vengeance! Brett didn't let the doubter get to him and yesterday felt so good when he was able to talk about diet and Crohn's with two distraught parents whose teenagers are very ill. They sounded as crazed as I was when Brett was first diagnosed, and they seemed eager to investigate the SCD further. I am so proud of my son and just wanted to let you know how important it is to try the diet for your son.
Donna

And from Martha

I'm Jonathan's mom. I've been swamped with activity lately and haven't been able to write but I want you to know that I am thinking of you. Jonathan is 10 and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease two years ago. We started the diet about then on our naturopathic doctor's advice. I know that the beginning may seem rough but, now, one year later, my SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) family of five is all thriving and I am cooking with ease. The cup can be viewed as half full; think of the frontier women without supermarkets, electricity and appliances (that sounds like my Grandmas's life with a lot more children to cook for). Several people on the list wrote to me with suggestions on how to get through the first few parties. You can bring substitute food for your son such as homemade pizza, legal cake, etc. At this point, however, my son simply accepts that he will not be eating all that other stuff without any expressed negative emotion. You will get there too once you witness how the diet makes everyone feel better. Good luck, you are on the right path.
Martha

From Lisa Ercolano:

Your post about how much Danny is suffering brought tears to my eyes! My daughter, Olivia is 11 (and has Crohn's disease) and she, too, had lost weight due to the disease and its symptoms. But good news, though. She has gained 4-1/2 pounds in the three-plus weeks that she has been eating the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. There is no question that it may seem difficult at first. We had not yet realised how easy it is to get the few substituted ingredients. However, within a week we had stocked our fridge with all kinds of fruits and vegetables; I bought legal canned fruits and made "cocktails" of the different kinds, and finally got going with the homemade yogurt. I know your son is not as old as my daughter so it is probably a little more difficult to explain to him the fact that eating only healthy foods will help him get well. But if you do the hard thing - to get rid of anything in your cupboards that is not SCD, he will eat the goodies you make, he really will. He will also quickly learn that he feels better when he eats these things so he will want to eat more. I have found that eating this diet with Olivia helps her to accept it. It is how the rest of us show support for her and belief in the diet. I know from first hand experience how painful it is to see one's child wasting away. But all I can do is reassure you that this way of eating WORKS. Hang in there. Eat SCD yourself. Let Danny bake and cook with you if he feels up to it. Your boy will be bouncing back in no time is my guess. It wouldn't hurt to do something nice for yourself like a hot bubble bath and good book when he is in bed. You are under a lot of stress.

From Patty

I just had to chime in here. My daughter, Tabitha, just turned 7, has Crohns' disease. She has been suffering from this monstrous thing since she was at least 4 years old. She would tell you the diet is definitely worth it. In fact, she was just telling me earlier, "my tummy doesn't hurt any more since I have been on the diet." Before we found the diet, my precious baby only weighed 32 pounds. That is very small for, at that time, she was 6 years old. She had a mean fistula in her rectum. I watched with horror as my sweet Tabitha bled into the toilet time after time. Just thinking about the torture of it all gives me a very queasy feeling. My heart ached for her, as she was unable to play and at times too weak to even get out of bed. I started her on the diet about a month ago, and she is very glad that I did. I have complete control over what she eats because I homeschool her. I keep a food and weight diary and record her symptoms daily. After all that we have been through, I want to give the diet an honest chance and keep a careful record to eliminate all doubts. A week or two before we started the diet, Tabitha's SED rate (test for inflammation) was 78. Two weeks after starting the diet, it was 5. She is symptom free, weighs 44 pounds and is bursting at the seams with energy. She plays every day now. A simple thing such as playing is a big thing to me and to her. I hope my email helps in some way to keep you focused. You may hit some rough patches from time to time, but I think you can stay on the road

And from Krysia to the author

Dear Mrs. Gottschall, My name is Krysia Morin and I am eleven years old. I am writing to tell you that without your helpful book I would not be the healthy girl that I am today. I started having bad stomach-aches when I was six and as the years went by the pain worsened until I could not sleep at night. We used a scale from one to ten to gauge the pain with ten being the worst. Sometimes the pain reached eight on the scale. My Mom took me to the doctor several times but all they did was take more tests. One doctor even said, "Wait until she is stunted before doing anything." Mom kept going to the library and finally found your book and we decided to try it out. Within a week the pain went down to three and sometimes one. Within six months, the pain had totally stopped. I have been on the diet for three years and only when I eat forbidden foods will I get a stomach-ache . I want to thank you again for all the work and research that you put into your book and I will never forget what you have done for me.
Yours truly,
Krysia Morin

Some emails ask why something is considered an illegal food on the diet. Although the scientific ground rules are given for practically every food eliminated, often individuals want more elaborate reasons. To answer every one of these questions would be impossible. The inclusion or elimination of certain foods is based on the clinical findings of Dr. Sidney Valentine Haas's work as reported to the author in the 1970's as well as many years of research on the chemical structures of certain molecules work done by the author.