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Customers become friends in time of need
By LISA PEEPLES © St. Petersburg Times, published October 31, 2000 INVERNESS -- To many local folks she is known as the Rose Lady. If you drive north on Highway 41 toward Hernando, you will most likely see her husband sitting atop his lawn mower, advertising roses for sale. Elwood "Woody" and Merle Faltinowski have been married for more than five decades now. They have been selling their sweet-smelling blooms to local residents for more than 35 years. Their prices are reasonable, and the personal touch they give is worth the drive to their home. Until a year or so ago, life was peaceful and uneventful for the Faltinowskis; then Merle learned she had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Doctors' visits, chemotherapy and radiation became a part of their daily routine. Though she had felt "rough" for quite some time before the diagnosis, the confirmation of her illness stunned the Faltinowskis. Once she started chemotherapy, Faltinowski suffered a damaging heart attack and had other reactions from the treatments. The road has been bumpy, but Faltinowski toughed it out through the chemotherapy, underwent radiation and is back to working in her rose garden. Once again, she is pruning, picking and arranging the flowers she so thoroughly enjoys. "I really never quit working with the flowers totally except for the month of September last year," she said, "but I did fear at that time that I might not be able to continue working with them. But you know what? I just made up my mind that I wasn't going to be an invalid, and I just gradually started working with the roses again. "And I want to thank my customers that through all of this, they were so patient and understanding with me. They would come by or call to see if I thought it might be possible for them to pick up some flowers. Sometimes I would have to tell them that I might feel rough after my next treatment and that I wasn't sure if they could get them right away. But you know, they would always say that was fine and that they would wait until I felt better." Throughout her sickness, Faltinowski said, friends and customers brought her everything from her favorite pound cake to hats that she could wear during her two bouts of hair loss. She also said that she stopped counting after she received 260 cards and letters wishing her a speedy recovery. "You know, when people that I knew were sick, I would send them get-well cards and notes," Faltinowski said. "At the time, I really didn't think how much that might have meant to them. But when I kept getting all of those cards and letters, I realized then just how important it was for people to show someone they are concerned. Those notes of encouragement really do make a difference!" Hardly a day went by without someone telling her that she was in their prayers or on their prayer list at church. "Some of my customers still tell me that they have me on their prayer list, which is always so comforting to me," she said. "You know, it was so good for my morale, the way people rallied around me and did so many nice things for me. That and the good Lord made all of the difference in the world for me!" Faltinowski still isn't quite up to par, but she is grateful for the restored health that she does have. "I still get tired easy and have some slight ill effects from the treatment, but I will tell you that I feel pretty good, and I really can't complain," she said.
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From the Times Seniority pages |
