Anyone familiar with the world of Harry Potter knows that each of the characters play a special role, and they hold a place in the hearts of the entire world. We were all alarmed when we found out that Jim Tavare, the actor who played Tom the Innkeeper in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, had been in a horrific car accident in March. This head-on collision left him in an Intensive Care Unit in Los Angeles, suffering with a broken neck, a punctured lung, 15 broken ribs, fractures in both breastbones and multiple breaks in his right leg.
While in ICU, Jim had multiple blood transfusions and surgeries, but kept in good spirits as he shared his progress with his fans on social media. His wife, Laura, typed out his updates and shared images of him giving thumbs up signs, despite being rigged up to multiple machines and donning a neck brace. She also reached out to us at Human Touch, having heard of our Perfect Chair recliners and all that they could do for someone recovering from neck and back injuries like Jim’s.
After spending 15 days in intensive care, as well as time in the recovery area of the hospital, Jim was released to his home, where we had coordinated with Laura to provide a PC-610 Omni Motion Classic recliner with several upgrades including Jade Heat and Memory Foam PLUS. Using the PC-610, Jim will be able to alleviate much of the pressure and pain that would otherwise be on his neck and spine, which will help him to relax and to recover faster.
We were so impressed with Jim and Laura’s hospitality while we delivered the chair and were equally movedas Jim announced that the experience of receiving such a gift was “quite an emotional moment.” His dog Mr. Kippy, sat with Jim and also enjoyed the comfort of the recliner. Mr. Kippy’s story is also a miraculous one, as he was with Jim in the car during the crash, and needed the vehicle to be cut open in order to be saved. This image shows them both enjoying the Perfect Chair PC-610 Omni Motion Classic.
Laura and Jim have graciously invited us to join them as we follow along on Jim’s progress and recovery. We’ve already received so many kind words from not only the Tavares, but even their extended family and friends. We are in awe of the support system that Jim has to help him through this journey, and feel very humbled that we’ve been invited to join in with such a gracious group.
Follow along here on our blog, for regular updates on Jim and his recovery. And feel free to post your own words of encouragement to Jim’s Facebook page here.
When we recently discovered that one of the chiropractors in our network was running a fundraiser for their friend’s newborn daughter, we knew we wanted to help. Dr. Cameron Call’s original plan was to raffle off tickets to win his own Perfect Chair PC-610 Omni-Motion Classic recliner, with a goal to raise money for 5 month-old June Rogers, a friend’s daughter who was born with multiple congenital heart defects and required multiple surgeries. June and her twin sister were born back in December, and she has already had one open-heart surgery at just 2 weeks old.
Dr. Call and his team at The Specific Chiropractic Center in Arizona opened up this raffle to their local area, but we wanted to take it a few steps further to get him to this goal much faster. Dr. Call has agreed to open the raffle up to the entire contingent United States, and we’ve offered to share his story as well as to help them out with a Perfect Chair PC-610 so that he would not need to lose the recliner that his patients have so greatly benefited from in his office.
Please take a moment to read about this incredible fundraiser, and feel free to submit your own entry for a chance to win a FREE PC-610 for as little as $20.
Here is Dr. Cameron Call’s original post:
If you've met me you know I LOVE building community and creating a support system that fosters health, happiness, and success. I hope you all will take the time to read this (LONG POST ALERT) and support this cause with me.
One of my friends in Ahwatukee (Arizona) is in need of some help, love, and support. Back in December she gave birth to two beautiful twin girls. (Twin parents UNITE!) Long before that though, they knew one of the babies was going to have some challenges to overcome - some BIG challenges.
June was born with multiple congenital heart defects, the main one being Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome (HRHS). Babies with this anatomy usually need a series of 3 surgeries called the Norwood, Glenn, and the Fontan. She had her first open heart surgery at 2 weeks old and lived at the hospital for 41 days after she was born. Her second open heart surgery is scheduled for the end of April. Her heart will never be "fixed" and a transplant may end up being in her future too.
I want to bring the community together and raise some money to help June and her parents during this difficult time - both financially, and emotionally.
My business, The Specific Chiropractic Center - Ahwatukee, will be raffling off a $3300 zero-gravity chair........ for $20/ticket. These chairs, designed in the USA by Human Touch, are called The Perfect Chair for a reason! They were designed to be the perfect chair for someone with chronic neck pain, back pain, and circulation problems. Many of you have been by the office and sat in these chairs. You know how exciting this is.
These chairs retail for over $3,000, but you might be able to get one for only $20! Help us raise money for little June Rogers' upcoming heart surgery. To purchase tickets, contact me at The Specific Chiropractic Center. Tickets can be purchased in our office, or via PayPal. Call 602-753-7782, or email me at cameron@thespecific.com, with how many tickets you'd like. The winner will be announced once we've reached our goal of 170 tickets sold.
For more info on the PC-610, click here.
Human Touch was recently able to show support for the American Cancer Society at the 2016 Relay for Life event. There, we donated two HT-Reflex 2 Foot and Calf Massagers to the team Beautiful Feet, which was captained by 16 year-old Carissa Dahlia. These Reflex2’s were featured in the Beautiful Feet booth at their May 1st event, offering some much-needed relief to its participants.
Relay for Life is an event that raises money for the American Cancer Society to put toward cancer research, as well as patient resources and programs. Beautiful Feet is a chapter of Chapman University’s event, in which the goal of each team was to have someone on the track walking to raise money for cancer for a full 24 hours. Carissa Dahlia also made it her goal to walk roughly 16 miles barefoot, despite the hot cement of the sidewalk route, in tribute to the hardships that cancer patients go through every day. In 2016, she increased that goal to 26 miles.
Carissa’s story is truly inspirational, as this young woman formed her team in memory of her maternal grandfather, Terry Borchard, who lost his battle with Multiple Myeloma cancer in 2014. Borchard had been a missionary and Bible translator in Papua New Guinea for over 40 years, and led a generous lifestyle that inspired Carissa and her family to also lead similar purpose-filled lives. Carissa’s team raised approximately $900 for Relay for Life in 2015, and another $1209 (so far) in 2016.
Here are a few quotes directly from Carissa throughout her experience:
"Once again I have created a Relay for Life team called Beautiful Feet. Last year I walked 16 miles barefoot at Relay for Life. Everyone thought I was crazy. It was hot. We were walking on cement. And yet I had ditched my shoes in our tent. At the time I didn’t have a real answer for why I was walking barefoot, I just knew deep down that I needed to do it. I now have the answer to why. The pain I experienced from walking barefoot on that hot cement for 16 miles was fleeting. Of course it hurt at the time and for a week or so afterwards, but it was nothing compared to the pain experienced by those fighting cancer or any other diseases. The pain I experienced was momentary and my choice. Theirs is not.”
“Walking barefooted reminds me of the real reason that we relay. We relay for the people. The people we’ve lost, the people still fighting, and the future people who might have to hear those fateful words. Relay is not just about the cancer and funding research. It’s about the people who will benefit from that research. The people it will save.”
“26+ miles completed barefoot and I am done walking. Or rather my legs are done walking. So I am reflecting on the reason that I have done this to my legs. Because of my Grandpa, both my grandmas, and countless others, I relay for them. I relay for the hope of a cure, the hope that one day all cancers will be treatable. I relay for love, the love I have for all those I've lost. And finally, I relay to help kick cancer into the past so that no one else has to hear those three words, "You have cancer."
"It has been one week since Relay for Life and my reasoning for walking barefoot has changed so much. As I walked so many more reasons came flooding to me, especially at night with the luminaries surrounding the track. I realized that as you watch a loved one suffer through their treatment you constantly say that you wish you could take some of their pain from them, walking barefoot allowed me to feel as though I had taken some of that pain from them. It also allowed me to physically feel the progression as my legs went from strong to weak to unable to walk. Walking barefoot for me was similar to my grandfather's cancer journey, like Multiple Myeloma, the pain would go away or subside, but it would always come back. I felt really connected to my grandpa during this experience, and while it hurt a lot, I will definitely do it again next year."