River Falls teen working extra hours to keep family business afloat

RIVER FALLS, Wis. (WEAU) - Health issues have turned the dream of a River Falls woman into a nightmare. But despite those struggles, the flower shop she bought four years ago has survived, largely due to the help of her teenage daughter.

“This is home. The St. Croix Valley is home. We were out for a drive and we were in River Falls and I told my husband, I said, “Do you want to buy a business?” And he reached over and was checking me to see if I had a fever and I had COVID,” said Erin Powers, owner of Bojon’s Flowers.

“The customers, the stories, the memories. My mom used to do flowers with like her best friends and they had a flower shop. A couple of years ago, I lost my mom. In doing this, it’s brought me closer to like being with my mom, like feeling like she’s here with us. And my daughter, who at the time was 13 or 14, started showing a tremendous interest in flowers,” said Erin.

“It’s always, like, really fun because like I’ve always been like an artistic person. Like I love like drawing and stuff, but using flowers is just really fun because I also have a big interest in like plants and stuff,” said Cara Powers, Erin’s daughter.

“I’ve always had health issues. I’ve probably had, I honestly lost count, but I think I’ve had over 40 surgeries in my life. Eight years ago, I ended up having open heart surgery,” said Erin.

“My mom, she started cutting down like a lot of hours she worked. I had to take over a lot of it. And same thing with my dad, like he can’t do as much as he used to,” said Cara.

“Both my hips are bone on bone, which need to be replaced. Torn rotator cuff, torn labrum in my right shoulder needs to be repaired. I try not to talk about mine too much because mine are, I don’t want to say less important, but hers are more severe. Hers are life-threatening. My role has been being here to support Cara the best way I can, as she kind of took over running a lot of the day-to-day stuff,” said Jeff Powers, Erin’s wife.

“Alstroemeria, more carnations, some fall cremones. I would say probably in the last year, I’ve kind of taken over like a lot of big responsibilities of stuff. Like this is where I keep all my desert plants and my succulents,” said Cara.

“She’s been amazing just watching her growth from when we started when she was 14 to now being 18,” said Jeff.

“Yeah, me and my dad make these,” said Cara.

“If you want me to brag about Cara, I could do it for hours,” said Jeff.

“I do a lot more of the ordering now, which is something my mom used to do. So, I’m kind of taking over on that side of things,” said Cara.

“It’s hard, because as a parent, I feel like I should be taking care of my children, instead of vice versa,” said Erin.

“Alright, here’s your receipt, and then I’ll get these bagged up for you,” said Cara.

“My number one would be to get Erin healthy, healthier, and really get to a point where she is comfortable with her body again,” said Jeff.

“It is my absolute goal in life to continue doing it, and to get out of these surgeries and keep fighting. I want to get back out there, and I want to help the communities. That is like my purpose on this earth, is to help,” said Erin.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with the family’s medical costs.