Little Libby Ballantine....is the QUEEN OF CANDY in Frenchtown NJ. She owns the neighborhood chocolate shop LibbyBeans, located right on Bridge Street in Frenchy, where she offers all of the deliciousness including coffee and all sorts of yummy hard to find vintage candies. You may have noticed that her store has been closed since the end of August.

Libby is in the middle of dealing with a major health crisis that could potentially leave her wheelchair bound. In her last incarnation she was a nurse who had to leave her field due to a crush injury. While helping one of her patients they lost their footing and left her with an injury that completely changed the trajectory of her life. Without getting into serious detail, she was left with a pain disorder called CRPS. This disorder is so serious that it required a spinal implant with leads up and down her spine into her shoulders and neck to help control her pain so that she can live as normal a life as possible. For the last two years this device has been malfunctioning leaving Libby to deal with excruciating amounts of pain that culminated in her current situation, a spinal surgery that required a replacement of the device at the end of August this summer.

We were so encouraged after the surgery. Her pain reduced to a zero from her normal 8 to 10 plus on the pain scale, that she has been dealing with over the last 2 years. Every week we have thought that she would get back to work just waiting on her incision wound to heal.

Unfortunately, although the device is working so incredibly to relieve her pain the wound has not healed and is not responsive to any antibiotics that they have thrown her way. Last week we got the terrible news that she would have to go in for another spinal surgery this Wednesday, tomorrow, to deal with the infection, which could result in them having to remove her new spinal implant... the only thing that has been controlling her pain.

In this case her doctors will have to remove completely and wait for the infection to resolve before they will be able to attempt to implant a replacement, should she be able to tolerate another implant. This potential scenario will leave Libby hospitalized to control her pain for the duration of the healing process.

With all of that said.... I would like to ask every single one of you to keep her in your thoughts... She can use all the good energy that she can get at this moment. After being closed for over a month and potentially being closed for another 6 plus weeks, which is her projected healing time from tomorrow's surgery, it is becoming more and more impossible for her to maintain her business and personal expenses with no income for this amount of time. It would be so wonderful if the community could come together and give Libby the peace of mind that she's so deserves by giving her a little cushion, a few dollars at a time to help her get by during this difficult time.

Libby has given so much to our beautiful tight knit little community... we can only hope that the community will match her energy in her time of need. Thank you so much for considering making a donation. We appreciate you beyond the beyond!