Lenten Sacrifices/ Sacrifici Quaresimali

       I sit here giggling and smiling because I am still here. It is the Lenten season in Toscana and I am sitting on a terrace overlooking a Medieval garden. It has been quite a while since I last tuned in and what I am saying sounds much like words used when visiting your priest for confession: "bless me father for I have sinned...." I think my Roman Catholicism is showing! But, what I am about to tell you may be the cruelest joke of all jokes, the ultimate of sacrifices in the breadbasket of the world. While I was away from the writer's chair, It seems life and circumstances caught up with me. I, Lynore Soffer, the biggest proponent of not being a "cry baby" or complainer, has developed a gluten allergy. Insert frown face emoticon here. It seems I overdid it!
     It was late January and I discovered that my limbs started to hurt. Yes, all four. but not a sore limb thing from exercising or lifting heavy objects from moving house, no, no. The kind of pain that became progressively worse as time went on. It eventually lead to sleepless nights, worrisome days and a lot of time laying in bed as I felt best when I could rest. I finally could not take it anymore and with the aid of my supportive husband, we walked down to the hospital Emergency room. After a 30 minute wait, (socialized medicine at it's best) we were brought in for me to have my vitals taken: normal blood pressure, normal heart rate, coagulation tests passing, so what was going on? My legs were like lead rocks being dragged along. The emergency room and local medical examiner referred me for more blood test in Pisa (90 minutes away). In the meantime, I began research of my own, speaking to friends about their illness experiences to see if I was on the trail of something scary. I thought I was dying!
    My sweet friend, Anna Gutkina, a breast cancer survivor, suggested I try WEB MD for a symptom review...everything pointed to a vitamin D deficiency - muscular aches and strong pains etc. Then, another friend, Jude Gladstone Cade ( ironically another cancer survivor), sent a general message on facebook the 5 hidden symptoms of a gluten allergy. I discovered, I had 4 of the five...the 4th being a rash of raised bumps on my hands, arms and legs. So, even before my blood tests in Pisa,  I stopped all gluten ingestion, I did a quick internet look up of naturally occurring gluten in many foods and straight up eliminated them. Within 3 days my pain and rashes were gone!!! I also paid a visit to the local pharmacy and loaded up on other minerals,vitamins and supplements which I knew I needed: A multivitamin, an adrenaline modifier, Magnesium and Iron.  The day prior to my blood tests, We visited Viareggio, the beach side town here in Tuscany known for it's Carnevale celebrations. We all as a family, danced and sang in the streets. I ironically had  a new destiny of a pasta and bread-filled diet to relinguish on the eve of the Catholic season of  sacrifice. A diet change, a lifestyle change. All for the will to live pain free and more healthy. I was grateful for the new lease on life and the chance to keep myself whole for my family. It helped me to recognize what is important for living: being present in each day's unfolding wonders and listening to the messages my body and the world around me are there to communicate. A huge gift! And now, to continue my writing, a love of mine lost in the shuffle of regaining health and balance. Felice Primavera!