My son, Christopher, was born with Duchennes muscular dystrophy, a disease that affects all muscles and major organs in the body and turns them into fat tissue. With this disease comes a lot of other issues, and the one Christopher struggled with from a very young age was swallowing.

Christopher got to the point where he could no longer swallow solids. To say that this was devastating to our family would be a gross understatement. To slowly lose the ability to walk, to stand, to be able to move your legs, to roll over in bed, or lift your arms in the air is enough for any young boy to handle. But on top of that, losing the ability to eat was incredibly painful.

In our culture, eating is a social event. We connect with one another by breaking bread together. When you are not able to take part in a meal, it is like you are outside looking in-you just don’t fit in.

We attend the CNE in Toronto, and I found Vitamix there. As I sat watching the demonstration for 90 minutes, I was amazed at what this machine could do. I loved the tast but was most impressed with the consistencies of some of the samples. My mind started racing as I thought, “I wonder if this machine could make foods, real foods, for Christopher?” Convinced that it could, I ordered our Vitamix.

As soon as it arrived, I experimented with different things for Christopher to try. I made spaghetti for myself, made a few minor adjustments, put it in the Vitamix and shared it with Christopher. I was astounded that he could eat it! It was light, smooth and fluffy. the texture was perfect, the taste was phenomenal, and most importantly, Christopher loved it!

With the Vitamix, every time we had a big dinner, Christopher was once again a part of it. He was able to eat right along with everyone else. Whether it was turkey dinner or roast beef, hot dogs or lasagna, Christopher enjoyed it with us.

Unfortunately, as Christopher’s disease progressed through the years, he has recently lost the ability to even drink liquids or swallow his own saliva. Yet even though he can no longer participate in eating, our Vitamix gave Christopher the ability to enjoy family dinners together for many years.

Today, Christopher still enjoys helping me prepare drinks, sauces, or soup in the Vitamix. We have found that although he can’t eat anymore, he can still be a big part of any mealtime especially by helping me in the kitchen. Our common link is still our Vitamix machine.

Vitamix enriched my son’s life for so many years, while also improving the health of our whole family. Thank you, Vitamix, for such an invaluable gift!