Alex is Back from the Brink

I love Costco for many reasons, not the least of which is the social aspect.  A couple days ago I met an amazing man at the Vitamix display.

I have a Vitamix blender (powerful thing! you can read about it here) and am already a big fan, so every time the company rep is there whipping up some healthy goodness, I try to make it a point to stop over and "oooh" and "aaah" over how much I love my machine, in hopes it will help sway somebody to buy one.

So the other day there was another customer standing, talking with the Vitamix rep.  Evidently this guy was doing the same thing I do, because when I approached, as he nodded to the Vitamix, he looked at me and proclaimed, "This thing changed my life."

Intriguing, right?  Of course I took the bait and asked him about it.

Alex is his name.  It turns out, a few years back Alex was incredibly exhausted All. The. Time. and didn't know what was the matter.  After several doctor visits and scares about cancer and Hodgkin's Disease, finally the diagnosis came back:  sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease.   He also developed a host of other maladies, such as:  sleep apnea, thyroid disease, type 2 diabetes, and cirrhosis of the liver.

The doctors put him on Prednisone and gave him two years to live.

Medication and lifestyle caught up with him, and he found himself at 405 pounds and very, very discouraged.

Thank God for the internet (I hope you do), Alex was able to do a ton of research on his own, and he found his way to a website that really resonated with him:  www.rawfamily.com, whose tag line is "Green Smoothie Headquarters."  And so began Alex's deep dive into health.

He got a Vitamix and started consuming green smoothies every single day.

By the way, here are a couple of his favorites:

 1.  Blend together:

• 8 leaves Romaine lettuce
• 2 cups red grapes
• juice of one lemon
• 2 bananas
• one orange (peeled)
• 2 cups water 

2.  Blend together:

• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 2 cups water
• half a lime (with rind)
• juice of one lemon
• 2 bananas
• 4 green apples

He didn't cook any of his produce.  He stopped consuming all animal products.  Basically, as Chris Wark of ChrisBeatCancer.com says, he "overdosed his body with nutrition."  Previously, Alex's diet consisted of loads of refined junk and sodas.  But as he flooded his body with real, living foods, he began to feel better in a short time.  He added in exercise (at the very least, he did a daily walk of 20 minutes, WITHOUT FAIL (weather be damned))and started thinking positively and imagining what life could look like for him as a healthy person.

His transformation is amazing.  He now weighs 255 pounds (he's 6'2") and feels great.  He's positive, has direction, a sense of humor, a great story to tell, a thankful heart and an enjoyment of life.  He's a green smoothie evangelist.  I'd listen to what he's preaching, any day.

I was so struck by him and his story and the profound yet simple way he changed his life.  He did not see himself as a victim.  He did not resign himself to a death sentence in two years.  He did not passively do what his doctors said.

Alex grabbed the horns of hope and rode that thing with gusto and determination.

And now he quietly but unabashedly shares his story with, I suspect, anyone who will listen.  Especially at the Vitamix display in Costco.