posted on October 28, 2005 06:22:03 AM
My little girl has been very sick. She started with severe diarrhea and a fever on Tuesday. She was in the ER on Tuesday afternoon and they IV'd her, ran bloodwork and I supplied them with a stool sample. The bloodwork came back normal and they sent us back home. (Her ped is aware of what is going on -- She sent us to the ER.) The diarrhea isn't any better, but the fever is running at about 100 (as opposed to 102).
Here's the problem: She's only on a liquid diet. She only weighed 37 1/2 lbs when it started (she's almost 7). I just weighed her and she's down to 36 lbs. She's going to continue to lose weight while she has the diarrhea. I am keeping her well hydrated, but my concern is the weight loss. The first batch of tests from the stool sample came back normal (with the exception of some red blood cells). I was told not to worry. The rest of the tests that they ran will come back this afternoon; however, my doctor was upset that they didn't run additional tests such as E. coli, rotavirus, samonella, etc. I have to catch another sample and bring it to the doctor's today. Unfortunately, it can be several days for the results of those tests.
I have a feeling, though, that she is going to be admitted to the hospital in the next day or so. (Even if the doctor doesn't suggest it, I'm going to insist. I'm very concerned about her weight and nutrition on the liquid diet.) She, of course, is weak from lack of nutrition and losing everything through the diarrhea.
I have auctions running right now that will close Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I also have about 28 packages that I have to ship. Obviously, I cannot work. I ship Tuesdays and Fridays faithfully.
How can I get the word out about this? I'm so afraid I'm going to lose my Ebay business! (I'm not getting any child support and desparately need the money that I'm making off of ebay.) I need to be able to alert the bidders that shipping may be delayed and why. I also need to notify all of the winning bidders whose items I need to ship regarding what is going on. I'm also concerned that many won't read the e-mails. How can I do a batch set of e-mails to all of the winning bidders explaining the situation with a subject line that won't get caught in a spam filter and will be catchy enough to be read? Also, how can I do a batch notification to all of the bidders on my items right now to let them know?
I'm really in a pickle right now and don't know how to handle all of this. Please help, if you can.
posted on October 28, 2005 06:34:19 AM
I dont know who is your internet service provider but with AOL,every time you receive Paypal payment notification ,just add their email addr to a group say -ebay special email,
then when you have enough of these email addr,just send one email to all saying what you want to say.
Most bidders do not expect you to ship same day,at least mine do not.
Your daughter is losing water,diarhea is a way for body to cleanse itself,did you ask what she has been eating or drinking??
posted on October 28, 2005 06:39:44 AM
Do you have Selling Manager in My Ebay? If so, there's an area for items paid and waiting to ship. You can check all of the items and send one email to all waiting customers.
If you do not have Selling Manager in My Ebay, just sort your Sold Items, Contact the winning bidder - change subject line from Message Regarding Item.... to Shipping Info Regarding Item....
Then type a quick message saying daughter very ill, hospitalized, etc. anticipated shipment date ..... Thanks you for your patience during this time.....
Cut and paste it in each notice to each buyer - it should take about 20 minutes at the most.
Buyers are so very understanding with emergencies like this - you will be surprised at how nice they are during such a difficult time.
I hope your daughter is OK - are you giving her Pedialyte for the dehydration? I'm sure she will be fine and your business will be OK.
So, take a deep breath, get to your emails and just quickly knock them out, then concentrate on your daughter.
Our thoughts are with you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
Take a deep breath. The doctors will tell you that they are more concerned with dehydration than losing weight. Follow the doctor's instructions. I too am a single mom and depend on Ebay as well as my full time job for survival. I know the feeling of worrying about your child and your "job" at the same time. Trying to plan what to do.
Take one day at a time. With most email services nowadays, you can put up a vacation announcement (It's called different things with different email providers) When you receive an email, it will send out your notice that you are away from the computer due to a family emergency but will be checking emails. As your auctions close, have a pretyped notice that you can quickly send to the winners. Most people understand these things. I have had the same problem more times than I'd like to have had and this is how I have handled it. Delayed shipping was understood by my buyers. They have always been patient with I have had a sick child to take care of.
I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter. If you're concerned about her weight and all she can take right now is liquids, ask her doctor about Ensure. They have it out for children now. Ask the doctor first, though. I'm not sure what, if any, effect it will have on diarrhea.
posted on October 28, 2005 07:52:32 AM
Diane - Use your store header to post a message about your concerns about your daughter's health and possibility of delayed shipping.
If you have an automatic WBN, set it up to include information about your crisis and the possibility of late shipping etc in there so when people are invoiced they will know the situation.
As for the ones that are awaiting shipment - you can go to your Vendio account "post sale management" notices and change the payment reminder notice default text(it's the only notice I could find that is sent enmasse - it doesn't HAVE to be a payment reminder notice if you change all the text and make sure you change the subject line) to describe the crisis and possible delay in shipping. Then you can go to "Post Sale" "items awaiting shipping", mark off all the transactions and click "send reminder" - this should send your notice to all of them enmasse.
Setting your AOL with an away notice is a good idea too.
If you are using Vendio, you can send a "Payment received" notice (change this in your account) (tied in to PayPal IPN to Vendio) that can spell it all out for your customers again when the payment is received. Don't worry about the people who pay by mail just yet.
If I can help in anyway, please let me know. I am praying for your daughter's speedy recovery!
posted on October 28, 2005 08:15:33 AM
Sorry to hear about your daughter! Hope she recovers quickly. Kids are incredibly resilient!
Vrane (http://www.vrane.com) has a "power adder" tool where you can add a note to your auctions. You could add a message saying that shipping will be delayed. It's free, last time I checked.
Also, if you have a store, you can put it on "vacation" for awhile.
You can also leave a follow-up to a few of the most recent comments in your feedback, mentioning the shipping delay, if worse comes to worst.
posted on October 28, 2005 08:47:53 AM
what you need to watch out is Paypal policy that you are expected to ship within 7 days,if anyone file complaint with Paypal and you cannot produce the DC,the payment will be reversed.
posted on October 28, 2005 10:54:14 AM
Diane, I would try giving her liquid Jello to drink. The only other thing I know of is raw eggs in orange juice.
**********************************
Two men sit behind bars,one sees mud the other sees stars.
posted on October 28, 2005 11:16:40 AM
Just a suggestion? OP has a pediatrician for a good reason -- talk to him/her about your concern re: weight loss (probably fluids mostly) although I am sure you already have.
Otherwise, well meaning as I know everyone is in their concern about your daughter, absolutely do not give a raw egg yolk! Again, your pediatrician is the best source of info re: nutrition.
I think you have received excellent advice about contacting your buyers -- the best of which is the email list to your winning bidders. You will find everyone very understanding and cooperative I'm sure. If someone absolutely positively HAS to have something immediately, I'm sure you can work that in while your daughter is sleeping or napping for example.
I don't know that I would go the whole way and notify bidders on your items that haven't closed yet. It's really quite possible that your daughter will be fine by next week (fingers crossed!) This is very stressful, I'm sure (was a single parent with no child support for many years long ago), but don't obsess too much if you can help it. Bidders are understanding folks, and using the tips you got here, you should get through this with no ill effects on your sales.
posted on October 28, 2005 12:48:28 PM
Auto-Response Emails. Set it up to automatically respond to any emails you get. That way your customers know what is going on. Hopefully each and every one of them will be understanding and hold to their agreement to buy.
posted on October 28, 2005 02:29:25 PM
I wont even let my dogs have undercooked eggs, much less raw egg yolk - I believe it has salmonella, or another bacteria that would be extremely detrimental, particularly to someone who is already sick with a compromised immune system.
Sounds more like a hangover cure to me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on October 28, 2005 02:59:17 PM
So sorry to hear your daughter is sick Diane, I'll keep her in my prayers for a quick recovery. Nothing is more importing than your daughter right now.Pedialyte is the best stuff I know for keeping her hydrated and it comes in cool flavors like bubble gum and they also have freezer pops now. On your packages you can go to the Postal site and request a pickup and have them come get them for free.Saves you from having to leave the house and you can stay with your daughter. I would also add to your listings that your daughter is ill and there maybe a short delay in shipping to cover you incase she has to go to the hospital. That makes it look real and you shouldn't have anyone think you just made up a story to ship slow. I really hopes she already feeling much better now
posted on October 28, 2005 04:01:21 PM
Hi Diane ... You've not been able to check in here all day long, so I suspect you're at the hospital again already? I am keeping your daughter and you in my thoughts and prayers ...
Yes, If you have an ebay store, neglus's idea of putting that message in your 'vacation' area is a good one. ... you can click on 'vacation mode/leave store "open"' and place a big ol' message there ... as well as the vrane function of placing a message into each one of your listings ... those two things should cover you pretty well ....
Oh and I think you're with AOL; and they have an instant response email set-up too, in case anyone emails you.
posted on October 28, 2005 06:29:26 PM
The thing about VRANE is how to delete the added message when it is no longer applicable (especially for your GTC store listings)?
I thought of a way that might work - but don't feel like you HAVE to use it.
I have started added an image with text in it in all of my listings. My plan is to replace the image with other text as the need arises (ir vacations etc). I will do this by deleting the image from vendio, emptying the recycle bin and replace with another with exactly the same name.
Using this idea you could write up something in a picture editor (I did the sample below in IRFAN and I am not very skilled but did it so you could get the idea)
When you no longer need this notice, you can replace it with something you use in your listings, like this
posted on October 28, 2005 10:49:29 PM
All good advise about the shipping. Listen to your doctor as to what to do. Everything will be alright. Take a deep breath and it will all work out. I am sure your doctor will have some ideas as to what to do with her weight. My thoughts are with you. There is no worse worry than when one of your kids are sick. You feel so helpless because you can't help them. The doctors will take care of her. The auctions will work out, don't stress over them.
Good Luck
___________________________________
If you build it, he will come........
posted on October 29, 2005 05:07:52 AM
Thank you so much for all of the wonderful advice and thoughts. Neglus, that is a FANTASTIC idea. I'm going to get to work on it for future listings.
Here's an update on my little girl: The diarrhea is slowing down, but only because I am feeding her rice and toast in addition to the jello and broth. The doctor still doesn't know what strain of virus or bacteria it is and it will take at least a week for the tests for parasites to come back. (I have a strong feeling that this is a food-borne illness. She ate chicken tenders at an arcade/bowling alley-type place in the mall and she started with diarrhea the next day.)
I don't think she's going to be hospitalized as long as I can keep her drinking enough and keep her eating so that she doesn't lose too much weight. She seems to be getting some of her spunk back (due to finally eating some solids) and isn't as clingy. She's occupying her time and I'm hoping that I'll be able to package up my items. (She wouldn't let me out of her sight and I haven't been able to even get to the computer.) If I can't get to the post office, my dad can run them down for me.
Thanks again so much. I'll keep everyone posted on how she is doing and what the doctor says caused it. I have a feeling, though, that by the time they find out what strain of virus or bacteria it is, she will have finally flushed it from her body.
I'm glad to hear your daughter is improving. Poor thing. I feel her pain (and yours). I have IBS and what she is going through right now, I go through A LOT! So, I understand her misery.
You may be right about it being food borne. Ken and I both got food poisoning from pizza and he had just diarrhea, I had both the diarrhea and the vomitting. However, ours only lasted a couple of days. Edited to add: I don't recall having a fever, though.
Keep us informed and I'll be saying a little prayer for her complete and quick recovery.
Cheryl
[ edited by cblev65252 on Oct 29, 2005 05:19 AM ]
posted on October 29, 2005 06:32:38 AM
I'm glad to hear she's better! WHEW! Could she have come into contact with some nasty water or food gone bad from the hurricane or did it miss your area? She sure is tiny! I think I've had cats that weighed more than 36 lbs (not really but ALMOST!)
Glad you don't have immediate need for the image text idea. I have the image URL right in my "Custom listing text" so it appears in every listing ( of course I already 5500 store items without it so I'm a long way from having it in EVERY listing!) I am thinking I am going to have to end all my listings to get the word "cash" out of them before January 15th so hopefully the image box will be in all then.
You know we are all rooting for you and for your daugher's speedy recovery!
posted on October 29, 2005 09:19:58 AM
I caught this post too late to offer any help but I'm glad she is doing better. Keep us posted. Diane - if you still have my email - feel free to email me directly - I'm always happy to return a favor.
I love NEGLUS's idea too. I used to do something like that back in the day when Vendio would go down and we would lose our photos. Haven't used in a long time but you never know when you may have a emergency so I may just go back to that myself.
posted on October 29, 2005 12:59:42 PM
I am glad to hear your daughter is feeling spunkier, hopefully the worst is over. My only contribution is to utilize your network, as you are doing by getting your dad's help.
Caroline 
