APRIL 2026

Spring is here! It feels good to have some warmer temps. We had a record winter season in sales! As nice as that sounds, I barely made it through. So I wanted to share my story, maybe some care, maybe some are like me and this could be helpful in some way.

I am currently on the mend from a surgery procedure. Luckily, I can still print and fill orders, I just can't go building a rock wall at the moment. This procedure was a journey in itself. I don't have much trust in today's healthcare. At least, where I reside. A few years ago, I had a cough, bad cough. I went to urgent care ( I called to make an appt. with my primary and they said I have been dropped because I haven't been in a few years. ) Now, I had that same primary for 15 years and my visits were the same for all those years. Why different now?

2020 Covid hit. I live in an area that tourist visit. I live in one of those areas that everyone loves to visit but isn't good enough to live year round. There's no money. Minimal jobs. It's a place to retire. A place I liked, peace & quiet. Well, Covid hits and now this area is good enough to live. All real estate on the market was bought, a lot without even being seen. Houses were being sold at ridiculous prices, which enticed locals to put their house for sale for stupid prices, they sold too. Every city person, that I try to keep clear from, are now all around us. Driving around, all you saw was construction, if not building a house, they were being renovated. Prices on everything went up and now I can't get into my Dr. A lot of Dr.s retired during that time. We now have a medical staff shortage everywhere.

So that was mistrust #1. So I go to urgent care and they do some tests and say I have a mass on my lung. They send me to a disease control specialist. Only to have the specialist very quickly discover it was acid reflux, waking up in the middle of the night choking, getting in my lung. She gives me an antibiotic. So during these cough episodes, I belted out a cough and got a sharp pain in my belly. After taking the antibiotic, I was no better. I saw the specialist again and gave me a different antibiotic. I explained about the pain in my belly, they shrugged it off. I started shopping for a primary with no luck. I am at a point of frustration and just deal with my problems every day.

2 years pass to this past fall. I'm exhausted, not feeling great and just overall warn down. I struggled every day to maintain orders and work my part time job. My mind was always in a fog, it took everything to concentrate. Until one day I am doubled over in pain, it doesn't go away. I go to the ER and I have an ubilical hernia and it needs to be fixed. From having that for 2 years and I'm not a person to sit still, I was doing major physical work while having this, well that caused other problems within my body, it was reaking havoc on my digestive system.

I got it fixed and it just blows me away of how much better I feel. I regret not doing it sooner. Mentally, it affected me, then by not getting it checked, you start wondering if it's bad, you go through a whole bunch of emotions. DON'T DO WHAT I DID, haha.

Why am I writing this? These past few years have been a struggle through my health and my mind was only focused on making this business survive. I got so tunnel visioned that I risked my health to not fail, which is a fail in itself. Somehow, I powered through but I would not do that again. I conquered my fear and now am VERY excited to see what I can do after I'm fully healed. My mind is already ahead of me and can't wait for the near future! Stay in school kids, don't do drugs and eat your vegetables! Skillswitch out!