Resilience in the Routine

Maya Gleser is a third-year student at the Heschel School in New York City, where she was born and raised. She is 16 years old and loves working out and trying new foods. As needed for her health and no long-term damage, Maya requires a strict elimination of all gluten and dairy. Maya spoke about this experience, which you can read below.

BTL: Do you consider your allergy a disability? Do you feel people give your allergy the attention it deserves?

M: My allergy should be taken seriously but I don’t think it’s comparable to a disability, nor do I expect to be treated like someone with a disability. For example, someone with autism has different daily challenges than I do. This challenge of mine is not visible, like other peoples’ challenges that are more apparent from an outside perspective, so that’s fair they’re categorized as two different kinds of disabilities.

BTL: You mentioned daily challenges–can you expand upon that? How has having this limitation affected your day to day life?

M: It makes my nutritional habits much stronger than they were before. I pay very close attention to what I put in my body. In 9th grade, I was told by my doctor that I could no longer eat gluten or dairy. At first I was really upset, especially because this diagnosis was coming at a relatively old age compared to some people who live their whole lives with certain restrictions. It was hard to imagine changing these habits because I’d know what I was missing out on. Ultimately now though, after some time, I feel a lot better implementing these changes because I’m aware of what I’m eating and how it impacts how I feel. 

BTL: Do you ever envy other people around you who eat food you cannot have? How do you feel when someone does that? 

M: Oh yeah, definitely, I envy people all the time. The worst is when they bring out a bread basket at a restaurant and I can’t eat it. I just have to sit there and wait for my food while everyone else enjoys the bread. I get frustrated and annoyed, especially if I’m already hungry. I know what that bread tastes like so it makes it even worse because I know how good certain food was and I can’t participate anymore.  

BTL: Do people ever react in a negative way toward your intolerance? 

M: I mean, sometimes people act negatively but in an indirect way. Often when people see what I’m eating or see whatever the gluten free option is, they’ll comment, “Oh my god, how are you gluten free? I could never do that.” It doesn’t really bother me, I just don’t really know how to respond.

BTL: Does your allergy cause significant anxiety for you? Do the accommodations you make for your diet feel routine or do you feel on edge or at risk? 

M: Yes, tons of anxiety. I’m really scared of vomiting, and so the fear of eating something that could potentially upset my stomach is always present. But, this is normal at this point. In order to avoid any kind of discomfort, not just vomiting, it’s become really routine to check all my food.