Star Trek fan badly burned in Santa Barbara fire needs your help!

[pookha]

tj i have an odd idea.
while not knowing anyone gone through a fire i have known people going through icu , critical ect.

one thing that was done was friends and family taped messages and then a master tape was made for it to be played to the recovering patient.
some were just simple hope you get better, to others singing a song or even reading a short poem , story , limerick./

 

[TJinLOCA]

Well that's good news!

Yes, it is.

BTW, the money finally cleared and entered my papal account, so I sent a little bit. I wish I had more to send.

Thanks, Jarock!

I'm glad they're both off the critical list. I hope everything goes smoothly from here on.

Me too.

tj i have an odd idea.
while not knowing anyone gone through a fire i have known people going through icu , critical ect.

one thing that was done was friends and family taped messages and then a master tape was made for it to be played to the recovering patient.
some were just simple hope you get better, to others singing a song or even reading a short poem , story , limerick./

That's a great idea, pookha. I'll pass it along and see if we can put something together.

Thanks for all the good thoughts, everyone.

 

[Nociod]

I have never had a PayPal account account before, but I just set one up. According to PayPal it will take 3-5 business days before my money enters the account, and considering it's friday and all the banks are closed until monday, I won't have the money in until next Wednesday or Thursday.

I wish them all the best, and that they both have a fast and speedy recovery.

When they do get better and you can speak to them, let them know that there's a lot of people that have them in their thoughts, even all the way from Norway

 

[TJinLOCA]

Thank you, Nociod! I'm looking forward to seeing them and telling them how many people are sending their good thoughts for their recovery.

 

[Venardhi]

I'll see if I can get something together to send. I just paid my tuition for next semester though so it will have to wait a week or two. Hopefully they'll be in much better condition by then and I can send something more specific to their needs.

 

[TJinLOCA]

Thanks, Venardhi. Every bit helps!

Lance had the first of his serious graft surgeries this week, and the doctors were very positive about the results. Carla is now able to sit up, and she'll be having graft surgery any day as well. We're all very hopeful that they'll recover completely, although there's still a very long road ahead of them.

For anyone in the Santa Barbara area, there's a benefit showing of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" on Monday Dec. 15 at the Arlington Theatre. My family will be there, and many many of Lance & Carla's friends and supporters!

Watch Star Trek II for Lance and Carla!

Thanks to everyone for your support!

 

[RJDiogenes]

Sounds like good progress is being made. They do indeed have a long road ahead, though; these are terrible injuries.

 

[The]

Just read this thread. Very tragic. I hope they can make a recovery. I have just PayPal donated some cash, as well. Good luck!

 

[TJinLOCA]

Thank you for your donation and your concern. It's very much appreciated!

 

[DarkHelmet]

TJ - I abhor PayPal. Can I send a check directly to you?

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

You can send it to me and i route it to her.

 

[DarkHelmet]

This is supposed to go to those in need, not those in need of porn.

 

[RJDiogenes]

TJ - I abhor PayPal. Can I send a check directly to you?

There's an address here where you can send a check directly:

Lance and Carla Burn Fund

And thank you.

 

[TJinLOCA]

^ What RJD said. And thanks!

 

[Amaris]

I wish I'd have known about the book thing ahead of time.
I just gave away about 150 Star Trek books a couple of weeks ago. Doh!


J.

 

[Bears Discover Fire]

Dammit and I gave away/sold an apartment full of furniture, dishes, office supplies, household items and clothing a week before this fire happened.

I'm down to my necessities and don't have a lot material I can donate, and I know this might sound odd: would they need things like laundry baskets and clothes hangers? Placemats? Kitchen towels? An all-in-one printer? Could the fund use a big roll of bubble wrap? I have an excess of these things.

I sold/gave away most of my furniture, but I have a set of three rattan etiguieres than can function as room dividers and book cases. I also have a genuine sheepskin rug I would happily dry clean and donate if they wanted it. I saw a note on the facebook page not to donate clothing or furniture unless you know them very well, so I would defer to your judgement: My mom just had a garage sale but may still have some furniture she wants unloaded. She has nicer stuff than I do, like a large square ottoman that doubles as a coffee table, wing chairs she paid a small fortune for, etc. I'll ask what she has and if she's interesting in donating. Would anything like that fit their tastes?

ETA: I also have an older generation iPod with a brand new, 20GB hard drive in it. Nothing has been written to that drive. The iPod has been well taken care of and has almost no cosmetic flaws. It just needs a firewire/usb split cable to work with a PC. Would they like it?

ETA again: I'm giving up my landline so I have a 2 handset cordless phone they can have.

 

[DanCPA]

is a small cash donation (money has been very bad this year for my small business) or worth while second hand goods preferred?

 

[TJinLOCA]

is a small cash donation (money has been very bad this year for my small business) or worth while second hand goods preferred?

TE, I'm sure anything you can donate will be appreciated. I'm not sure exactly which goods they need - you can check the Facebook page for specifics. And every bit of money helps!

The best news I had all week was this item in the SB paper:

Tea Fire burn victims improving

Santa Barbara - The mother of Tea Fire burn victim Lance Hoffman said Wednesday that he and his wife Carla, both 29, exchanged their first "I love yous" since being transported to UC Irvine Regional Burn Center nearly a month ago.

"Lance is conscious and breathing on his own," Linda Hoffman said in an e-mail. "He was able to focus, smile, sit up and breathe without the respirator. He was doing so well that the nurses were able to wheel Carla outside of his room so they could see each other, wave their heavily wrapped arms, and exchange "I love yous" (Lance can't speak yet but Carla could read his lips). An emotional time for all, including the nurses."

Linda Hoffman said the staff at the burn center "Is wonderful for many reasons, but their investment personally is undeniable. What a great day!"

I also heard that Carla took her first steps without the wheelchair today.

 

[TJinLOCA]

My mom just had a garage sale but may still have some furniture she wants unloaded. She has nicer stuff than I do, like a large square ottoman that doubles as a coffee table, wing chairs she paid a small fortune for, etc. I'll ask what she has and if she's interesting in donating. Would anything like that fit their tastes?

ETA: I also have an older generation iPod with a brand new, 20GB hard drive in it. Nothing has been written to that drive. The iPod has been well taken care of and has almost no cosmetic flaws. It just needs a firewire/usb split cable to work with a PC. Would they like it?

ETA again: I'm giving up my landline so I have a 2 handset cordless phone they can have.

Thanks, Bears! I'm going to the fundraiser event tomorrow night and I'll ask about specifics for furniture & household goods donations. And the iPod and cordless phones sound perfect - I'm sure they'll need those sorts of electronics when they get re-settled.

I'm glad I heard about this before I did my annual housecleaning/thrift shop donations, myself ... I have a number of nice furniture items and plenty of SF books & comics that I'm now hanging onto to give to Lance & Carla.

 

[RJDiogenes]

That's great. I hope they continue to improve quickly.

I left a message on that FaceBook page asking for specific suggestions for books. I'd hate to duplicate somebody else's donation. If you have any ideas, let me know.