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'It's hard to deal with closing a chapter' | Downtown Greensboro business owner closing shop to undergo brain surgery

Meraki Handmade will close at the end of February, but owner Madeleine Mullane says she hopes to reopen in the future.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Some decisions have come easily to Madeleine Mullane - like when she decided to open up her own specialty store, and decided to do that in downtown Greensboro. 

"I knew this is where I wanted to be," she said. 

But, she says her decision to close Meraki Handmade was one of the hardest things she's ever had to do.

"It's hard to deal with closing a chapter that is so happy to me," she said, "I see it brings so many people joy. I’ve had so many customers come in and say, you can’t close, you can’t close!"

The downtown business will close at the end of the month, so Mullane can undergo a life-changing surgery - relieving pressure on her brain. 

"It's called intracranial hypertension," she said, "It causes a whole host of issues including...debilitating, terrible headaches, and cognitive impairment - so it causes me to think slower, to lose words, to not be fully there sometimes."

After years and years of searching, she finally found a neurosurgeon who will perform the surgery. 

"I was really faced with you know, the cognitive issues of having issues running my business and just being here - attendance," she said,  "There would be days where I could not get out of bed because I would be in so much pain.

"It all just kind of came to a head: the illness reached its magnitude and I found the doctor that could help me. It's necessary for my quality of life."

Meraki Handmade is offering discounts on merchandise through the end of February. 

Mullane says recovery will take several months, and she isn't sure when her store will reopen but stresses - this isn't the end. 

"It's not the end, it's just the end of this chapter," she said, "So many people have offered, as soon as I'm ready to come back, as much help as I need. It has been the most heartwarming thing I have ever experienced in my life."

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