We are a thrift store who specializes in awareness items. We are trying to make money for different conditions, diseases, situations, ect...
Welcome!! All About Us!!
Welcome to our store!!
I want to tell you all about us. Who we are, what we are trying to do and why we want to do it! I hope at the very least that you learn something from our site that you can take away and think of in your life. Even if this site makes you think twice about what you have in your own life and be thankful for what you have, then I have done my job!! ;)
Our family consists of my husband, our son, 2 dogs, some fish & me. We live in MN. Where my husband and I were born.
I am 30 and a wife and mother. I have spent most of my life in excruciating pain. It has gotten to the point where when I see people walking, and playing with their kids, I truly can not imagine what it is like to be them, to be able to move! I have been diagnosed with several conditions, diseases, disorders and malformations. I have Chiari Malformation type 1, PTSD, Interstitial Cystitis, Degenerative Arthritis, and SO much more. I fought a LONG and awful battle with Endometriosis, Adnomiosis, and 3 types of cysts, which ended at 28 with me having a full hysterectomy. If it wasn't for my family I never would have made it this far.
Due to the Endometriosis & adnomiosis I could get pregnant VERY easily but I was unable to carry a child to full term. I had 6 miscarriages. When I was pregnant with my son I almost lost him numerous times. went into labor 3 months early and stayed that way until I gave birthto him at 34 weeks. On Easter Sunday in fact. He was a beautiful baby boy who weighed 7lbs 1.5 oz!! He was perfect. After we got him home we realized he wasn't like the other kids his age. He was always way ahead or way behind. Then he just started to fade from our world into his own. He had great skill climbing the furniture and jumping off. Unfortunately he has never learned how to land. We spent many a day in the ER with lumps on his head. When he was 3 he started preschool, which is where our lives came to a screeching halt! I was a preschool teach when I was much younger and I knew something was wrong. I was even pretty sure I knew what it was but I just could bring myself to go there. Then the school informed us that our son needed to be evaluated and was it ok if they skipped the normal screening and went straight to Autism! When the eval came back we had a meeting and they told us our son had moderate Autism. Dr.s told us he would never have any friends, he would never be able to hold down a job, he was likely to have other conditions such as ADHD, ADD, epilepsy, ect... We would have to care for him his entire life or be in a group home. WE WERE DEVISTATED!!! Our hopes and dreams crumbled. My husband and I sat and cried for a few days, then we took to the internet. There is SO much information and it all contradicted itself. We weren't sure where to go, what to believe. Finally we were told about Frasier Center. They did a second more comprehensive evaluation and told us that yes he had Autism and yes it was moderate. But then we FINALLY heard the one thing that brought us back to the now and made us both cry. There was hope!! They could help!! We were with them for a few years, until our insurance stopped paying. By this time he was in an Autism class 5 days a week and PT, OT and Speech at a place much closer to home. As time went on it was like this little spark in him grew and developed and changed. He just turned 7 and he is in mainstream 1st grade! He is a social butterfly and is the most amazing person! He is SO full of life and FINALLY so present in the now and with whoever he can get to pay attention! He is currently down graded to Pervasive Development Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) (which is still an Autism Spectrum Disorder but not as bad as Autism) and ADHD. We are coming up on re-evaluation time. They hope to down grade him to just ADHD. Unfortunately, it turns out that the Chiari malformation that I have is genetic. He was just diagnosed with the same thing. My son and I must now decide if we want the surgery or try to manage without. Watching him grow and develop makes me appreciate life SO much more. His courage and strength gives me the drive to fight for life each day!!! He is my hero! I got a miracle that Easter morning!!!
My husband is everything to my son and I. He is the backbone of our family! He shoulders all our pain and stress and does anything he can to make our lives easier. He is our rock! Thankfully, he is in great health (someone had to be). He works a lot of long shifts and tries to make ends meet, but I'm sure you can understand how impossible that is. There is always another medical bill to pay off. He never complains, and is always there to help however he can. He is a saint!! I would have given up on me a long time ago, but it's been 11 years and he is still here!
So all this brings me to our store. I started it for 2 reasons. 1. I wanted to help contribute in any way I can, but with my health problems I can't work. So, I opened my store. I can stay in bed on bad days and work hard on ok days. 2. I can raise money to help people like me or with other conditions. If you look at an awareness chart we are all affected in some way by at least one thing. Wheather it's directly or indirrectly. Most of us know at least one person who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). All of my awareness items are here to raise money for at least one cause!! I give a percent of the proceeds to a charity that that color represents. Lets see what a difference we can make when we come together and lets see how many of these illnesses we can eradicate!!
If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them! Feel free to ask. And let's find something to make us smile each day!!
