VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE - PLEASE READ!!
To Our Valued Customers
2007 was an extremely difficult year for us at best. Many of you know that I have been battling a cancer-like disease for quite some time now. I started daily chemo treatments in September of 2006 and did not get to stop the treatments until August 14th of this past year, 2007. The form of chemo that I was given never had the same side effects two days in a row. Some days I was pretty much okay, some days I was sick beyond belief, but most days I was just plain sick like having the flu for 11 months. At times, this could cause a delay on getting parts out within our 30 day policy even though I have tried my best to keep Susan supplied with the parts she needs to fill the orders. Most everyone has been truly patient and understanding, but some have been downright nasty to her when the blame should be on my shoulders.
Less than 30 days after getting the great news that I could stop the chemo treatments, the rug really got jerked out from under us. On 09/11/07 I had to go in and see the doctor because I had slipped off the edge of a carpeted stair and the sudden stop jammed my back, or so I thought. It took five long weeks to get in to see the Spinal/Orthopedic Specialist and, during that time, I was in extremely bad shape most days. I walked hunched over like a little old man and was taking unbelievable doses of narcotic pain pills just to get out of bed. I spent as much time casting and machining as I could tolerate, but it wasn’t enough at times and we ran over our 30 days more often than we would have liked. When I finally got into the Specialist’s exam room, we were presented with the horrible news. I needed major back surgery and I needed it 10 months ago, literally. Below are some x-rays showing how bad my back was. I was initially diagnosed with Severe Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, a condition where the bone grows around the nerve bundles and acts like a noose, and needed 2-3 levels fused based on an MRI I had taken in Feb. of ‘07. I was sent for an x-ray that day and things had gotten horrendously worse since the Feb. MRI. My spine was literally kinked at a 37 degree angle and two discs were completely gone, severed and squirted out into my body to just float around. Three vertebrae were rubbing on each other, bone to bone, and causing major problems, see the first two pics below. I was immediately sent in for another MRI. When we got the results back, it was extremely bad. I still needed the surgery, except now I was told that I was going to need a 10 level fusion with rods and screws, have my spinal column decompressed and spacers installed and have the bone chipped away from the nerves in the areas where I had the Stenosis. As the Doctor informed us, this was a BIG surgery and I had one of two options, stay in as much pain as I was in and just get worse or get in right away and have it fixed as best as he could get it.
I was admitted for surgery at 5:00 am on Dec. 5th. I was told that the surgery would last about 8 hours and I would go to CCU overnight and possibly for one extra day and be hospitalized for 7-10 days tops. I was told I’d be up and sitting the day after surgery and able to sit upright at my machine in a couple of days. The reality of the situation turned out to be much worse. Because of the massive doses of narcotics that I was taking (2 - 10/500 Vicoden, 1 - 60mg Morphine ER, 2 - 4mg Dilaudid and 20mg of Flexiril every four hours) there were huge complications. I wound up being kept in a drug induced coma for three days and in CCU for a total of eight days because they couldn’t get ahead of the pain and they were trying drugs that some of the nursing staff had never even heard of. The surgery actually took a little over 10 hours and I was hospitalized for a total of 14 days. I had eight levels of my spine fused, two rods about 16” long affixed to nine vertebrae with screws and eye-holes (as seen in pics 3 & 4 below), several cages implanted in some of the disc spaces and the remnants of one disc was found and removed, but the other has vanished. When I was released from the hospital, I had just began walking again and had to use a walker, I couldn’t sit back in a chair or sleep in any position other than on my right side until recently.
I sincerely apologize for the delays we have experienced during this past year and to those customers who have had to wait longer than our stated processing time for an order. Susan has done everything in her power to get all of the orders she could put together and shipped as quickly as possible. We only planned for me to be away from the machine and casting for 14 to 16 days tops. I was finally able to return to my shop for the first time in almost eight weeks this past Thursday night, 1-10-08, and turn the equipment on for a couple of hours. Please don’t put any of the blame on Susan for the delays. As soon as we learned of the complications and how massively screwed up my back was, she stopped putting items on eBay, except for some photo-etch products, (we don’t do the etching in-house so she could list whatever she had in inventory to keep generating sales) and a couple of other items that were in stock.
Nobody is going to get screwed out of their money. EVERYONE that has placed an order with us and is waiting for it will receive it just as quickly as I can get the parts made and to Susan for packaging and shipment. Please bear with us while we get through this extremely difficult period. I am back up and running almost full-time and the number of hours that I can spend sitting at the machine and casting bench are increasing at a steady pace. I am the one that has caused us to fall as behind as we are. If you are angry and need to vent, e-mail me at duane@arrowheadaluminum.com and let me have it. Don’t scream or cuss at Susan, she’s literally been through hell these past 16 months and is doing the absolute best that she can with what I am giving her to work with.
The way it looks right now, we are probably not going to do any shows in 2008. There are a couple of shows that are fairly close to home that we may try to attend after we get caught up, but there’s no way we can try to keep our schedule of attending between 16 and 22 shows a year. We have always said that making a buck at a show was not our main concern, catching up with the great friends we’ve made over the years, supporting the hobby and the show is why we went to as many as we did. We weren’t going to sit back and only do the 2 or 3 shows a year where we could make the most money and blow off the smaller shows with token $10 gift certificates like some of the other companies our size. This surgery was major and it’s going to take a long time to recover from it and I’ll never be 100%. For the next six months, I can’t lift anything heavier than a ½ gallon of milk and I can’t bend or twist. Loading and unloading the vehicle two times and setting up and tearing down displays for a show would be a huge undertaking for Susan to do by herself. As are many others, we also are greatly affected by the rising cost of gas, not just what it costs us, but also how much of our customer’s hobby budget is being redirected for gas.
As I have stated throughout this message, we are sincerely sorry for the delays that we are experiencing at this time. We are an honest and reputable company that is in this business full-time. Every single customer will receive the items they have ordered and we will get caught back up just as soon as I am physically able to get us there. Every customer that we have is extremely important to us and having any of you angry with us is unbearable. Having said that, I still refuse to sacrifice quality for quantity no matter how far behind we have gotten. The products you are waiting for will be just as high quality as any products you have ordered from us in the past.
Lastly, please also keep in mind that all of our products, with the exception of our photo-etch line and paint line, are made by hand, one at a time, by me. Our products are not mass- produced by CNC or any other outside source. Hopefully this will help to clarify any confusion, as some customers actually think our products are machined using CNC equipment or that they are supplied to us by an outside vendor. Due to the extremely high demand for many of our products, we have become increasingly busy in a relatively short period of time. This fact along with the fact that we had an extensive travel itinerary due to our show schedule, with all of our travel being done by driving rather than flying, is also why, at times, orders could take longer than anticipated in the past.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update and, should you know of anyone who may have any questions or concerns, please refer them to our website so they too can be informed of this information.
Duane J. Drew
Arrowhead Aluminum Accessories
