WOMAN THROWS FUNERAL FOR GLUTEN AFTER CELIAC DIAGNOSIS
WITH VID AND PIX
BY SHANNON PICKETT
This woman has revealed how she waved goodbye to her favourite gluten filled foods in style by throwing them a funeral after finding out she had celiac disease.
Sara Lesneski, 26, from Philadelphia, USA, was heartbroken to find out in her 20s that she was no longer able to eat her favourite foods.
She told how a case of mono led to her allergy to gluten developing after some long-term symptoms just never went away.
She said: “I made formal party invitations, asked everyone to wear black, and even presented a satirical eulogy.
“I don’t miss one particular food, but I really miss the convenience. Parties, weddings, work events, they’ll never be the same again. There’s a grieving process, for sure.”
Sara told how the party came complete with black streamers, red roses, and a tombstone for bread. “In lieu of flowers,” she joked on the invite, “please bring a gluten-free item.”
She explained that she had lived a healthy life in Philadelphia for nearly a decade, until a nasty case of mono in September 2024 turned her world upside down.
Her symptoms didn’t fit the “classic” stomach troubles associated with celiac. Instead, she experienced joint pain, weakness, flu-like exhaustion, skin reactions, and even terrifying vertigo.
Knowing something wasn't right, Sara pushed for a celiac panel, and when the results came back along with a follow-up endoscopy, it confirmed the diagnosis in March 2025.
Unlike many celiac patients who wait years for answers, Lesneski considers herself “lucky” to have a relatively fast diagnosis. Still, the news was life changing.
That grief gave birth to the viral Gluten Funeral. The idea started when she learned she had to keep eating gluten until her medical testing was done.
She said: “I never quite recovered. I had chronic symptoms for about three months before I decided something was really wrong.
“Kind of sinister in a way, I was joking with friends that I needed to throw a big gluten goodbye party.
"One friend even joked we should burn a piece of bread in a ceremony, which we didn’t do, fire hazard, haha.
“I’ve already made so many new friends, connections, and received food recommendations, tips, all through the celiac community online.
“The gluten funeral video led me to that community and I’m so grateful I posted it to bring some light-hearted energy to an otherwise heavy disease.”
ENDS
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