Hello Everyone

Our shop experienced something totally unprecedented in our three year history last week.  We shut our doors for nine consecutive days—a hard decision I want to address.  My goal is to keep regular store hours in addition to offering appointments on weekends or evenings, and I plan store closings around convenient times for my customers.  Rarely do I take vacations, which typically results in the store only closing for a couple days at most, and I try to check and respond to email often.  As a result, to totally shut down for a prolonged period of time is quite drastic and more than a little scary.

Despite the gorgeous weather Sunday, I found myself stuck on the couch because I felt the tell-tale signs of a stomach flu approaching. Having plenty of experience with these problematic but typically quick little bugs, I did the usual things:  plenty of rest, fluids, and over-the-counter medication.  Imagine my surprise when Monday was significantly worse.  By Tuesday morning, I knew there was no way I could meet my personal standards in customer service, and more importantly, I did not want to give my flu to any customers.  Off went business partner/dad Jason to leave a new message and post signs for me!  Feeling guilty about closing on Tuesday, I made an attempt to work on Wednesday, but by noon, I felt myself weakening from the strain of moving and hanging inventory.  Thursday witnessed a repeat of Wednesday, and my dad advised me to go the ER because no food or drink stayed in my system long and my body was dehydrating quickly.  I compromised with a doctor’s appointment because I hate taking up valuable ER time with a problem they really can’t fix.  My doctor said they could run blood tests, but it was probably just the flu and prescribed some prescription strength medicine.

Suffice it to say, the medication did not work.  By 4a.m. Friday morning, I was in such misery I couldn’t sleep.  I was so dehydrated my muscles were seizing, and my body was shutting down.  We left a message for my doctor, and when he returned it at 8:30a.m., he advised we go directly to the hospital (Yes, my dad, a former RN, is kicking himself for not forcing me to the ER on Thursday like he wanted). To say I looked like hell—braless, wearing only a Harley Davidson t-shirt and some yoga pants, lacking all color in my skin, and barely able to open my eyes—is a bit of an understatement.  Before the doctor’s order even hit the computer system, they were already setting up an IV for fluids.  Since I have teeny tiny veins that love to roll for the extra challenge, starting an IV under normal circumstances is not simple.  When I am dehydrated, you better have a butterfly needle and a lot of training.  On the first arm, the nurse could not hit the vein, and when she retracted the needle I did not even bleed from how much fluid my body had lost.  They finally got it started though, but an allergy to tape adhesive has left me with a rather painful arm. 

After a battery of blood tests, more fluids, and a torso X-Ray, the doctors ultimately discovered I was severely dehydrated and had contracted a viral infection which targeted my abdomen and spleen.  Since the infection is viral rather than bacterial, the best they could offer was a steroid shot to reduce inflammation.  When I first heard the diagnosis I wasn’t pleased, but the two bags of saline plus anti-nausea medication and a sedative had me feeling somewhat better.  However, when I asked the doctor about recovery time, he responded:  “Oh, it’s going to take weeks.”  I swallowed hard.  “Weeks?” I asked wincing.  “It takes the average person anywhere from 4-8 weeks to recover depending on how much they rest and maintain fluids.  Oh, and because your organs are swollen more, you can’t do any contact sports or events where you could get hurt for at least four weeks but six is better because something could rupture.”

My displeasure turned to outright devastation.  Throughout the week, I had various instances in which I wanted to breakdown and cry whether from depression from not being able to open the store or from incredible pain and discomfort, but I was unable to do so because I was so dehydrated my body no longer produced tears.  Now, in the hospital, I finally had the fluids to cry, and cry I did.  My dad had stepped out prior to the diagnosis to handle store business for me, and he came back into me silently sobbing on my hospital bed.  When I had to articulate why I was upset, the tears unloaded, and I had no control.

For me, the news that I would have to change the way I handled the store was difficult to hear because the nature of retail is so variable.  Some days, we may have hours on end when the store is empty and quiet only to later be slammed fitting room to fitting room with customers.  My energy levels are low, and I can’t do the things I usually do like run around grabbing bras or jumping from room to room to offer advice.  “We already had to close for a week,” I balled, “how are we going to survive this?”  Like the good dad he is, he helped soothe my worries, and he showed me the Facebook posts he had been making all week.  “Let me show what your customers think of you.”  He pulled up the entries on his phone, and the outpouring of support helped to heal my broken spirit.  It let me know that we do have loyal customers who would understand if we had to make changes to accommodate my health, and I knew then that we could survive.

My thoughts quickly turned to a long-planned and much-anticipated mountain hiking and climbing trip, and the disappointment crested again when I realized I would need to wait until spring.  Once again, Optimistic Dad came to the rescue and soothed my worries, saying it would be better in March because my brother would be home from deployment and could go too.

While I am still upset about having to “take it easy” for a couple of weeks, particularly since this is not the kind of person I am, I understand the risks and am prepared to comply.  Fortunately, my dogs, bless their little terrorist hearts, have never strayed from my side during the entire week.  As of now, I am on strict bed rest until at least Tuesday of next week, and I cannot tell you how tired I am of sitting in bed or on the couch watching TV.  Thank goodness for Netflix and “The Blacklist,” but seriously, I am DONE!  So, I have lined up some small mini-projects I can do comfortably while seated, and now that I am feeling well enough, I can also read. My bookshelves are loaded up with great deals from the library book sales just begging to have their pages turned.

On the store-related front, my doctor has cleared me to be able to go back to work (and not be contagious) by Tuesday, but only if I feel I can manage.  I am going to give myself the weekend to recover more before making a decision. On the positive side, the initial symptoms often subside within a week to two weeks of infection, but the long-lasting problems are fatigue, muscle aches, and the risk of recurrence.  A relapse would be the most dangerous for me as I cannot risk shutting down the store for more time than necessary, nor do I wish to repeat last week.  Ever.  So, what does this diagnosis mean for the shop?  For starters, I am not going to be able to perform up to my usual standard.  My job, while not the most physically demanding in the world, is still quite active, and my doctor is concerned I will not give myself adequate time to rest and recover during the day.  As a result, I simply will not be able to handle situations where I’ll have multiple people in the fitting rooms with more waiting for an open appointment, and I will need to take breaks occasionally.

Ultimately, my family and I decided the best way to handle the situation is to move toward a “By Appointment Only” format for the next two to three weeks.  When I feel ready to return to normal, I will post a follow-up.  The only people not requiring an appointment are special order pick-ups that are only interested in looking at the bra they ordered.  These customers usually only take around ten minutes to test and either purchase or not purchase, so I can fit them in easily.  Everyone else needs to call or email to set up an appointment.  If you want to email me to set up an appointment, here is what I need to know:

• Name
• Contact Number
• Nature of the Appointment (e.g., first time bra fitting, looking for a certain item only, revisiting items from the file, etc.)
• Times/Days Preferred

Also, if you are coming with family or friends, please let me know how many of you are hoping to get fitted.  If there are more than two people, please understand the appointment will take longer than usual because of my health constraints.  My aunt will be assisting me everyday from now on, so I am hopeful this will cut down the time.  However, there are still a lot of aspects only I can handle, and I will need to sit and rest periodically.

Finally, please tell any friends or family you have referred here who may not be on our newsletter list, follow our Facebook, or read the blog about the change in policy for the next couple of weeks. I have not decided how we are going to handle walk-in fittings from people unfamiliar with the shop, especially when we have prior appointments, and I would like to minimize this potential as much as possible.  It was scary enough to close the shop for an entire week because I worried about a negative review, and I would hate for a health impairment to damage our reputation.  It has always been my goal to provide the best possible service to our customers.

A warm thank you to everyone for all of the much-needed well-wishes you have left for me as well as for your ongoing patience and support as I work through this.  Sincerely,

Erica

P.S.  I also want to thank the staff at Alamance Regional Hospital for being so kind, compassionate, and encouraging during my stay there.