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

[TJinLOCA]

Hey folks,

This is a plea for help for my friend and her husband, who were the only two people to receive serious burns in the recent Tea Fire in Santa Barbara. Carla is a devoted Star Trek fan who manages our favorite comic shop, Metro Entertainment. She was an extra in Star Trek XI, and is one of our favorite people.

Carla and her husband Lance were fleeing their home when a flash fire overtook them. They received second and third degree burns and were in critical condition at the UC Riverside Burn Center at last report, and their home and all their belongings were completely destroyed in the fire.

Reports indicate that Carla and Lance suffered the most dire injuries of anyone affected by the Tea Fire, but this is not all that makes them unique. Carla and Lance Hoffman are not your average couple. Although opposite in physical appearance, both are described by close friends as open-minded people with hearts of gold. The couple met at Los Angeles’s Whittier College 10 years ago, but have been married for only a little over a year. Their anniversary, September 7, may not seem like a significant date to an average person, but it marked the day before the 41st anniversary of Star Trek, Carla’s favorite show. “She didn’t plan it like that, but I did point it out to her,” said John Givetz, who has worked with Carla for the past eight years. “She’s a huge nerd, she’s a Trekkie. She is unapologetic for who she is and what she likes. She loves comics and loves sharing that passion.”

- Santa Barbara Independent, Nov. 20, 2008

Here's how you can help: The SB Fire Department has set up a fund to help with Carla & Lance's medical bills (which will be enormous). There is information on this page:

Lance and Carla Burn Fund

And this page has info and a link to the relief fund through the "Donate" button at the bottom.

Messages of support can also be posted to the Facebook page that was set up for Lance and Carla.

My family is devastated by this. Carla and Lance are wonderful people, and they need our help. Anything you can spare will be greatly appreciated. I've always been impressed with how caring and generous fans can be in a crisis ... please show that spirit now.

-TJ in LO, CA

 

[Amaris]

TJ, your paypal link isn't working. I'm getting an error message about an action not being completed.


J.

 

[TJinLOCA]

Argh. I've had intermittent problems with that link all day ... try going to the SB Martial Arts page and click the "Donate" button directly from the Latest News box in the lower right. NOTE: You might have to click it twice before the PayPal page comes up.

 

[Amaris]

Thank you.


J.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

Wow.

Terribly sorry about this TJ.

 

[RJDiogenes]

This is really terrible. I shudder just thinking about that kind of injury. I hope your friends recover as quickly and completely as possible, TJ. I will send out a check to their fund today.

And they have no home to go back to when they better. Life can really be horrible sometimes....

 

[TJinLOCA]

Thanks everybody. Michael at SB Martial Arts is having a drive for physical items that they'll need too, as well as money ... you can get information on the Facebook page link.

There's a fundraising dinner in Santa Barbara next week that we're going to attend. I'll find out more about how they're doing and how long the recovery is expected to take.

 

[JiNX-01]

Arrggh! I tried the martial arts donate link and it gave me the same error message as the original!

 

[Koinek]

 

[TJinLOCA]

Arrggh! I tried the martial arts donate link and it gave me the same error message as the original!

Yeah, they're obviously having some problems with the site. I found that if I logged off my PayPal account, and logged completely out before trying the link
again, it works (if you do it from the Martial Arts page, rather than the direct PayPal link).

If you're still having problems, let me know! I'll contact Michael at SBMA and see if he can figure out what's wrong.

At the very least, you can always mail a check.

Thanks!

 

[JiNX-01]

Arrggh! I tried the martial arts donate link and it gave me the same error message as the original!

Yeah, they're obviously having some problems with the site. I found that if I logged off my PayPal account, and logged completely out before trying the link
again, it works (if you do it from the Martial Arts page, rather than the direct PayPal link).

If you're still having problems, let me know! I'll contact Michael at SBMA and see if he can figure out what's wrong.

At the very least, you can always mail a check.

Thanks!

Thanks, TJ. Maybe you can just e-mail or PM a direct link for his account and I'll do it that way?

 

[TJinLOCA]

Thanks, TJ. Maybe you can just e-mail or PM a direct link for his account and I'll do it that way?

I'll let you know when I hear from Michael.

There's a fundraiser dinner next week to benefit the Lance & Carla Relief Fund, in Santa Barbara. My family will be attending, and I'll keep everyone posted on what I find out about their condition.

 

[DarkHelmet]

TJ, my company does custom e-commerce sites (FWIW, I offered Antony/Christian our services during the PL crap).

If you want a guaranteed to work, 100% solution to take credit cards, let me know. I will of course waive our fee, and the bank/credit card fees are minimal - about 2.5%.

I can have it ready to go tomorrow.

 

[JuanBolio]

I wish I had money to give...

 

[DarkHelmet]

TJ, just sent you a PM for the solution to this "problem".

 

[TJinLOCA]

Thanks, DH!

Meanwhile, I changed the original post to include the direct link to the "Latest News" box:

Lance & Carla Relief Fund

If anyone had problems with the link earlier, give this a try and see if it helps.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I sent out a little something, and I'll try to send more later; I'm in the midst of changing jobs, so I'm a little strapped right now. Also, I'm wondering if it might make them feel better to have some of their favorite books replaced to have around when they're feeling better; if you know or can find out what they want, I can take care of that.

 

[TJinLOCA]

Thanks, RJD. We have a bunch of books/DVDs that we can donate as well ... I'll be talking to their families and co-workers next Monday night, so we can ask about what they need.

They're both still in medically induced comas for now while they treat the worst of their burns, so it will be awhile yet before we can ask them directly.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Ouch. They're out of danger, though, right?

I'm going to pin this for a while, to make sure everybody gets to see it.

 

[TJinLOCA]

Ouch. They're out of danger, though, right?

I'm really not sure. Everyone is being very positive, and the last thing published in the paper said they were no longer on the critical list. But for those of us not familiar with treating serious burns, it sounds pretty scary.

They're being kept in a coma, and they're on respirators. They said they were waiting for them to get stronger before the do any skin graft operations for the worst burns (they both have 3rd degree burns, with Lance's being more severe).

All we can do is hope and pray (and donate money, if we have it!)