08/27/2023
The dreaded post, surgery day is scheduled. I’m in so much pain on a daily basis, my back, feet and legs are in so much pain. The longer I stand the worse I get. That being said I will be having surgery at Mayo end of October. My last day before surgery will be October 18th and I will be off work until at least December 4th, if I’m able to work I can groom dogs under 15 lbs December 4th-13th. December 14th I can resume my daily schedule with little to no weight restrictions. So many have asked how they can help me now. Pray, pray for healing and that the laminectomy and disectomy is all I need to get past this. On the left you can see how bad my herniated disc is into my sciatica, which is why my legs and feet hurt so bad. What you can’t see is the spinal stenosis/arthritis and how narrow the canal is so hopefully this surgery will also give me relief by trimming out some of the bone and cleaning it up. Here are other ways to help me.
Please give me some grace on time, it would be ideal that everyone is a call or message when done because sometimes I just have to rest and I struggle daily, but I have bills and have to work through the pain. Please don’t constantly text and message asking when they are done, I’m working full time on a very bad back and I don’t rush to get through your dogs, I do it right. Every time I stop to answer or respond slows me down. If you haven’t heard from me by 5 pm then message as I may have forgotten to send my message or lost the right contact for information. I understand you all have busy schedules so if you have commitments please let me know before drop off as I have other requests at drop off and it gets stressful trying to rush. Rushing stresses me and the dogs out and that’s when accidents can happen. I will do my best to have them done when you need them. Please remember your appointments because allowing you to still come later has me standing on my feet longer. I have to because I need the income. If I won $12,000 I wouldn’t need to work until I’m healed but I have to pay bills so please, if you know it’s coming soon just check in and confirm as Facebook can mess up and not send reminders. Please don’t show up unannounced, the dogs get worked up and take a long time to settle down when you leave and will bark a lot. If you are late your dog will be last to be finished. To help you understand why I bathe and dry everyone first is because it’s the worst part of my job. Many dogs hate it and don’t like the noise and neither do I. I have to hold them still while drying and much of the time it jerks my body around and if they don’t cooperate they go in the dryer cage to finish which also makes them mad and bark a lot. The dogs making the most noise get done first normally because it stresses the other dogs out. Our son, when he helps doesn’t like drying either and he gets it now why I do it first. If I showed you videos you would understand. So in order to keep the stress levels down I will continue to operate this way. All bills are due the day of the grooming. I don’t like to constantly remind and life gets busy and people forget and I totally get that, same day payment will eliminate that stress for me. Self check in is any appointment before 8:15 am, why because I stay off my feet until I have a few here so I can continuously work. Please understand I’m not lecturing anyone, I have put this off so not to offend anyone but it happens weekly so I just need to put it out there. Prices will go up approximately $5 or less per dog, small dogs under 25 lbs are $55 so if your already there then your price won’t go up. If your still way under that it will be no more than $5. Again this is not a raise for me the economy is horrible right now and everything costs so much more. If this increase doesn’t work for you, I won’t be offended if you find a place that works better for you financially. I look fine and act fine when you see me because who wants to be around negativity all the time, not me. Just know I’m in a lot of pain and thank you for hanging in with me through all of this. (6 years is enough) This summer has been tough in pain constantly and taking care of kids/dogs at home and still working full time. I appreciate your grace and how wonderful all of you have been to me. I promise there is light at the end of the tunnel and soon I will able to work more efficiently and effortlessly with little to no pain. Thanks for your continued support!! Once I’m better I plan on working an extra half day to take care of all these medical bills so my availability will get better also. I just wanted you to all know where I’m coming from as I’m not ok right now, not physically, not emotionally, not mentally(because of the pain I feel like I have failed as a mom and wife) and financially . This is just a season and next year is going to be my year, I’m sure of it!! The devil has tried so hard to break me and I’ve come so close but he won’t win! Thank you for being wonderful, I love you all and your pups. If you have read all of this thank you! Just to refresh I will be closed October 19th-November 30th for sure as my weight limit is no more than 10 lbs and I can’t bend or twist. I hope to come back to work on December 4th but for dogs 15ish lbs or less. December 14th normal scheduling will resume.
