By now, many are wondering why there is more silence than information provided on the website and almost no interaction on social media. The truth is, there is only one me and sometimes I have to step back and handle the things that are most important for my own health and sanity. I am a one person operation.
Right now, for me, as the owner of Stacey Sansom Designs, that is focusing on providing the alteration and repair services everyone has come to expect.
This might get a little personal, but it is me “being real” with my audience – my customers.
Hyper-focusing on the most important things
Since last fall, I have been struggling with health issues. This is not anything big, but I have always had a weakened immune system and this means that I am often more susceptible to illnesses that go around. I am prone to secondary infections. It also takes me a bit longer than the average person to get rid of them. My body just hangs onto things.
I have asthma. With the care from my primary care physician and my pulmonologist, we had managed to get it under control and I was doing reasonably well. Then I caught COVID again September 2023. It flared up my asthma – bad. Unfortunately, there are times when it is a lot easier to get back under control than others. The past year has been a struggle to keep everything in check.
Unfortunately, I do not live in a bubble and I am prone to catch the illnesses as they go around. I plead with people to be mindful of their own choices when going out in the world sick. Your 3-4 days of inconvenience could mean 4-6 weeks of struggling for others. I beg people to not be selfish and remember that they coexist in a world of people who are not as fortunate to have strong and cast-iron immune systems.
Last fall (2024), I fell ill. I caught the random respiratory bug that was going around. I ended up with a sinus infection. Then I caught the cough that was going around and that hung on forever. I ended up with an upper respiratory infection and the sinus infection would not clear up. Then I caught Flu A. Again, it resulted in another sinus infection. Unfortunately, I reacted to one of the antibiotics I was given and made everything worse. This further flared up my asthma.
January rolled around and I was battling the endless migraine because of all the illnesses. It would not break. Anyone who suffers from migraines understands how debilitating this can be. It is not unusual for me to get the several week long migraine, but this kept dragging on and on. Alas, I was feeling better, I just could not function with the migraine in place. Seasonal weather changes do not help the situation as I am sensitive to the barometric pressure changes.
Right now, I am recovering from COVID – again! I have no idea where I caught it from. I have been avoiding large crowds like the plague. Alas, here I am. I had what was a sinus infection – again. I get them frequently enough that I know when to get myself into the doctor for treatment. I am all for natural remedies and waiting it out but sometimes that is not enough. Two weekends ago, with an extended hard freeze ahead, I did not want to put it off and not be able to get treatment if it got any worse. It was not going to get any better on its own. Due to the high rate of Covid and Flu in our area, the doctor’s office tested me for Covid, Flu A and Flu B to make sure this was not the root of my issues. Since it was my “normal” symptoms they were doing it out policy and did not feel that I was sick with any of them. SURPRISE! I was positive for Covid. I did have a sinus infection as well. Why be miserable when you can be double miserable?!. I felt fine outside of the sinus issues. Unfortunately, I was running a fever a few hours later and every day since. Today is the first day I have been fever free since I tested positive.
In all of this, I have managed to do the handful of alterations I had remaining on my schedule. Unfortunately, I will not be taking new customers for another week.
Down time is not wasting time
I want to remind people that down time is not wasting time. Sometimes we need the time to recover and recharge. Sometimes we need the time to regroup and re-strategize.
I was working during this period of reduced visibility. I was doing it all quietly. Alterations were still completed. Patches were still sewn on. It was at a slower pace with fewer customers at a time, but it was still happening. As a one person operation, sometimes we cannot do it all even if the image we have created for ourselves indicates that we can (and frequently do).
I like to think the past few months have allowed me to fully form a new strategy to take the business to a new level, but I would be lying. I have ideas. I have brain stormed some. Unfortunately, I am not 100% certain where things will go from here. I do not know what business offerings will look like in 6 or even 12 months time.
I do know that I will be accepting certain alterations going forward but there will be some that will be turned down more frequently because they are time consuming and do not spark joy for this designer and seamstress. If you are turned down in the future, it is not personal, it is merely a change in my “terms of service.”
