My Personal Journey

In 2002, I was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma and was told that, if I survived, I might not be able to have children. That became my biggest life challenge. Even though the doctors said I wasn’t going to make it, I refused to give up.  I went through over 6 months of inpatient chemotherapy and then a year of outpatient chemotherapy along with radiation. When I finally finished my treatments in 2004, I was determined to have the family I always dreamed I would.

In 2007, I met my husband, and we got married in 2009. In 2010 we welcomed our first son into the world. At that time, I had been a nanny with the same family for 7 years, but the kids were all heading off to school. What was I going to do? No one would want a nanny with a newborn–and did I really want to go back to working in a daycare center? No, not really. That’s when I decided to open my own home daycare. A year later, my husband and I welcomed our second son to our family.

Doctor’s Orders

When my son was around 22 months old, he became a fussy eater. Throughout the years, I had discovered that, in the eyes of children, everything seems to taste better when served on a toothpick! So, when my son started refusing to eat, I immediately went into the kitchen and started rolling up his sandwich meats and serving them on toothpicks. Problem immediately solved!

One day, my son developed an ear infection and I had to take him to the pediatrician. He asked if my son was eating and I answered, “Yes, as long as I put his food on a toothpick.” I explained the situation to the pediatrician and he responded “You might be on to something!” When I got home I jumped online to start searching.

I came across hundreds of parents also using toothpicks to get their fussy eaters to eat. Though many confirmed that toothpicks worked, they did not feel comfortable giving them to their children. Even though toothpicks work like magic, they are not kid-friendly. This is when I decided to create Pick-Ease.

Inventing Pick-Ease

In April 2012, when I first had the idea for Pick-Ease, many people told me I should pursue it. After further investigation, I found that there really was not another product like it available to parents. Okay, now I’m an inventor? I knew nothing about inventing, but I realized it was my chance to be able to give my boys everything they could ever want and more. I started doing tons of research. There is so much more to it than just having a great idea.

I decided: I’m going to do this. I’m going to make it happen. I made countless phone calls, met with many people, spent a lot of money and, now, after a few bumps in the road, I have my product in my hand! How exciting! I made it happen.

My goal is to eliminate the stress parents and caregivers feel when young children refuse to eat. I want to make meal times an enjoyable experience for picky eaters and their parents. Pick-Ease brings fun to the table as a new, unparalleled feeding utensil.

Thank you for supporting my dream and my family.

Sincerely,
Melissa Desrochers