Amy Eliezer
CNY Celiacs Support Group Founder, President 1995-2004
The original founder of the C.N.Y. Celiac support group was Amy Eliezer, M.S..R.D. She was diagnosed 50 years ago, after the birth of her first child, while living in Scarsdale, N. Y. Sickly, pale, losing weight and unable to nurse her baby she went from doctor to doctor only to be told that her problems were psychological. A young internist opened a new practice down the street. Along with a colleague doing medical research, he suggested something new – a gluten free diet. The results were very dramatic. Today the diagnosis is more definitive but there is no cure.
Amy retired to Syracuse to take care of her aging mother but there was no support group in this area. She knew the learning curve was steep and holds unexpected trouble. Some medicines, food stabilizers, preservatives and bonding agents contain gluten.
She attended national conferences and decided to start a support group. In July 1995, she conducted the second meeting at Upstate Hospital with whatever information she had gathered on Celiac research.
We owe Amy sincere thanks for forming our group and now she has created the Sarasota Manatee Celiac Support Group in Florida. She said they get three or four newly diagnosed people every month. Her diet has become second nature and she hardly thinks about it at home because there are so many gluten free foods, fresh and canned available now. She still is very cautious about eating out at restaurants and calls ahead because it is always a risk. She now lives a very busy life and does not feel deprived at all but feels very fortunate to be healthy.
(Adapted from: “Gulf Coast Healthy Living” – 2008 by Sally Seeley)