02/25/2025
Hello everyone. It's Pirjo here. I thought I would give a little update on what is going on in my life right now. So as of a couple of weeks ago, I got sick, I thought it was a bad ear infection and went to a walk in clinic. The doctor didn't see anything in my ear but prescribed antibiotics anyway. Over the next 3 days I got a fever and pain got worse and I noticed my mouth was crooked and my eye was bulging, so went to ER. Turns out I have a rare condition (5 in 100,000) called Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. This is caused by the shingles virus, rather than getting shingles on the skin, I got it inside the nerves in my ear. I went to Shoppers in November to get my flu, covid and shingles shots but the pharmacist didn't recommend all 3 at once and said he needed a prescription for the shinrix. So then with Christmas and my doctor never being available, I totally forgot to get the vaccine. If I had gotten the vaccine, I would not have this thing now. The left side of my face is now paralyzed, I cannot close my eye and eating, drinking and just about everything is difficult. I am not able to do much of anything without my head feeling like it's a painful swollen balloon about to pop.. The best chances of getting over this is lots of rest and little stress. But I really have no idea what the future holds for me right now.
So I have decided, this year I will not be working on any new items for markets. We have quite a few pouches and other items and even the tumbler packs, still in stock. If anyone is interested in anything, please reach out. Also, if they will have us, we will sign up for the Japanese Festival and Thunder Con this year, to try sell what we have on hand. Thank you for supporting us throughout the past 2 years and for being patient with me as I go through this. ❤️
