Blue Sapphire Crystal Leaf Necklace, 16 Inches Long

Hello and welcome to my shop! I am so exited you came to visit. 

   I want to tell you my life story and how I fell in love with making jewelry. My name is Javiera ( Javi ). I was born in Santiago, Chile. When I was very young my family moved to the United States, so we can have a better life for my sister and I. I don't remember anything from Chile when I was little. My family moved to Florida and that is where I was raised with my four siblings. My family moved very often, so I didn't make many friends. We moved around Florida and New York. Until finally we stay put in Palm Coast, FL. I didn't have an easy childhood when growing up. My parents broke up when I was young. My mom was left to support the family all on her own with five children. So I step up as the eldest and help my mom with work and more. I work with her in a cleaning company as much as I can, mostly during the night and the weekends. The nights were the most difficult but I knew no one will go hungry in my family. 

   Until one night I wasn't feeling well at all. I started feeling strange on certain nights entering doorways, like a heavy weight on my shoulders. I didn't understand it at that time but soon after that I didn't feel good one night and threw up. At the same time I was supposed to work that night but my mom was so silly that she ask me, if I was pregnant. And of course I said no. I stay home that night and just couldn't sleep. I even felt more strange during the night, with pounding and throbbing on my head. My mom said to me, if I didn't feel well enough until the next day she was going to take me somewhere. The next day I was feeling much worse with pain, so my mom put a cold towel on my head. I remember it was a Monday morning that she took me to the hopsital emergency room. We waited hours sitting there and I started having trouble with my vision and balance. At first the nurses thought I had Meningitis and she give me a mask to put on. While I was deteriorating by the minute, they finally call me into a room. 

   The doctor immediately order a cat scan to find out what was wrong. The doctor came back to the room and ask us questions. He ask if we wanted to hear the good new or the bad news first. Of course, we said we wanted to hear the good news. The good news was that I didn't have Meningitis. But the bad news was I have a brain tumor and it's bleeding internally. At that time we thought the doctor was joking, but no. Then we started to cry. They had to rush me to a children's hospital which was an hour away from where I lived. My mom told me to call my dad and I call my friend from high school. They all rushed over to the hospital to see me. I really didn't want to call my father because he just didn't help us out. I was rushed to the Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. At that time the cat scan from the previous hospital didn't work at the children's hospital. So I needed to get more test done and MRI. But of course, there is alway more problems in life.

   During this time I was an illegal immigrant. We had many social workers telling us to go back to our country and that without papers, no one was going to help us. I just couldn't believe that no doctor would help us because we were illegal immigrants. This was on going until the next day but the internal bleeding in my brain was getting worse. I was starting to feel dripping drop pain on the one side of my head. The surgeon couldn't wait much longer. My mom was going out of her mind because she didn't want me to die. How could you deny a little girl from any help? That Wednesday morning the surgery took place. While I was under, my mom was very worried and concern. They had to cut my skull open to be able to remove my brain tumor. This was a length procedure with a possibility of losing my vision. I had a 50/50 chance of losing my vision. This tumor was a slowing growing one and non cancerous but life threatening.

   Just at the age of 16, I didn't think I would ever have something like this. The tumor was removed and the surgeons had to leave some behind, so I would be able to speak and walk. Waking up after the surgery was very hard, I couldn't see and I was all swelled up. I could only hear everyone but eventually was able to see people shadows. I was in the hospital for 2 months. I had to learn how to walk again and be able to retrain myself. My mom was strong, she didn't eat but she worked. I know it was tough for her being in that position. Worrying about your child if she was going to make it and having her vision and being able to walk. After being stuck in bed for so long, I wanted to draw and do something. 

   So I started drawing and making jewelry. I love drawing but making jewelry was more hands on and interesting. My journey was not over but a beginning. The beginning of a hard time and trying to get medication. My mother had to go bankrupt and we lost everything. My mother and the doctors made an agreement with her to be able to see me and getting me medication. They did help to a certain degree. But one medication was $300 without insurance. This was hard financially because it was $300 for every two weeks. When I came home I was trying to learn how to walk again because I didn't have any physical therapy. I guess you might be wondering why I am telling you a long story about myself, its because this is how I started making jewelry.

   The struggle of my life is probably nothing compared to others who had it much worse than I did. This is my inspiration to keep going on. After recovering from the surgery, I was going to need another one to shrink the tumor. Recovering was not easy, I had to learn how to walk and be able to take medicine everyday for the rest of my life. Be able to control myself from all the side effects of the medication. We were able to stay at our home for a couple years after the bankruptcy. It took me a year to be able to go back to school and I still helped my mom with work. I got my gamma knife surgery around August 2008 to shrink the tumor in one go. That was a very easy recovery since it was only a week. 

   After all the drama in my life, my mother found a loving man and married him. He is the best father I could ever have. We all later move to Ohio after being in Palm Coast, FL for 12 years. That is where I live now. I found my wonderful husband who supports me with my condition and he is the love of my life. I found a wonderful organization with family and friends. I truly am blessed to be alive and being able to move on from a horrible situation. 

   Jewelry has been my passion for years and love making people happy when giving jewelry to someone. Act 20:35 "There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving." I have been living in Ohio for 9 year now and I alway wanted to start a jewelry business. So I did and here is the results from that. 

   I love making jewelry specially wire jewelry. Wire is so different and unique, wire can be change into any form you make it to be. My mother inspires me to do wonderful works in jewelry. All my jewelry is not tarnished wire, glass, stones, pewter, brass, beads and more. I also make jewelry with B’sue by 1928 products. B’sue by 1928 products are from 1928 Company with the help of B’sue Boutiques. This is all handmade jewelry made by me. I make vintage style jewelry, bohemian style jewelry and more. I hope you can be able to support my small business. I have been trying for years to sell my jewelry but it's a tough business. I am one person who wants to brighten up your day with my jewelry. Thank you for reading my story and have a wonderful week. 

Javi

Update of 2024:

I recently lost my job in November 2023 after working there for 10 years, and I loved it. Now, I’m creating new and unique jewelry. Losing my job has been tough, and the lack of interest in my work has been discouraging. If you can support my shop by purchasing something you love, I would be very grateful. I understand if times are tough and you can't buy anything, but you can still help by sharing and following my social media. Thank you.

Latest Update of 2024:

I started a new job as a 911 dispatcher in April, and I'm thrilled to have found a position that supports my family. At the end of April, I unexpectedly needed emergency gallbladder surgery. For years, I had stomach problems and thought it was dairy, but it turned out my gallbladder was the issue all along. Since 2018, I had been dealing with this, and discovering the real cause was shocking. My gallbladder was in bad shape, attached to my liver, and filled with gallstones. I had to have a drain put in because the situation was quite severe. Now, I’m recovering well and can finally enjoy foods like tiramisu without any problems. Thank you all for your support and love.