Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Recounting Charles Salvatore’s trip

By Kyle LoJacono

When Charles Salvatore set out on his trip across America April 20 he knew it would be tough, but not as hard as it turned out.
The Zephyrhills resident completed about 1,400 of his 5,600-mile journey from the city to Sterling, Ala. Even though he came up short, Salvatore is still the first person to go as far on a 50cc motor scooter, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Salvatore, 24, planned the trip to raise money and awareness for the American Liver Foundation’s Southeast Regional Division. During the weeks leading up to the trip he raised enough money to pay for his journey and donate $2,313 to the foundation, according to the division’s vice president Katherine Cline.
Salvatore recorded his trip, which can be viewed on www.youtube.com by searching for Charles Salvatore Alaska trip.
The Laker recently talked with Salvatore about his adventure, which he called “One Man’s Journey,” and his plans to continue supporting the foundation.
Q: What was it like to hit the road for the trip?
A: It was crazy. The first day was very exciting, but it rained a lot from Gainesville to Tallahassee. It was so cold that day I could see my breath.
Q: What was the worst part of the trip?
A: The sitting. My tailbone was bruised by the time I reached Houston.
Q: How frustrating were the delays you had?
A: I got pulled over three times in Florida and five times overall and that slowed me down a lot. Most of the time I had to maintain 40 mph by the signs, but the wind and rain and slowed me down to about 23 mph and the cops thought it was too dangerous for me to be on the highways.
Q: Did you think of turning back sooner?
A: I actually broke down in Alabama because I was way behind schedule and needed to go another 200 miles to reach New Orleans. I didn’t think I’d make it, but my fiancée (Billy-Jeen Gutierrez) talked to me about why I’m doing the trip and that got me back mentally. We took some stuff off my bike so I could go faster and I got to New Orleans in five hours.
Q: Will you continue to support the foundation?
A: I’m hoping to get something together with Zephyrhills High School where the grade-level that donates the most money to the foundation each quarter gets a big trophy. I’m talking like 6-foot. I’ve got some other fundraising plans.
Q: I understand you named the scooter Louisiana, why and how did it hold up?
A: It was such a relief to get to Louisiana that I had to name my bike after the state. It was so good to me. I’m pretty big (about 300 pounds), so it had a lot of weight to carry…I don’t have it right now because it’s stuck in Moore, Okla. at a motorcycle shop and they said it would cost $800 to ship it here. I want to get it back to auction off to raise money for the foundation.
Q: You had a close call in Oklahoma didn’t you?
A: I was on the side of the road with no (shoulder), so I was really close to the road. A double semitruck hit me in the side. I was only going 25 mph because I was going up a hill. I wasn’t hurt, but I was mentally messed up. People said it would happen, but I didn’t think it would. Then I talked with the people at the foundation and they thought it wasn’t worth my life so we called it off.
Q: Going so far must still make you proud though, right?
A: No one’s ever done it before. People with the Guinness records wanted me to go at least 3,000 miles and I went 1,600 miles because I had to take some back roads when cops thought it was too dangerous on the highway, but it was only 1,400 on the main roads. I have witnesses and I recorded it all, but I don’t know if they will accept that as a record or not.
Q: Would you do anything like this again?
A: I would never do it on something as small as a scooter. There were huge storms a lot of the time. There was a tornado the last day I was in Texas. It was super super windy and that slowed me down and I’d want something a little bigger.
Q: How has the experience changed you?
A: I’ve changed a lot from the trip. It makes me appreciate the land and Mother Nature. I didn’t expect the wind and rain to slow me so much, but I know it is powerful now. I grew as a person and it made me see what’s important and it helped lead me to my new career choice.
Q: And what is that?
A: I’m switching from going to school to be a chef to military service. I always wanted to go into the military and I want to join the Navy. I love the water and I wanted to be a marine biologist growing up, but I was just bad in school.
Q: You were going to the Art Institute of Tampa, so are you leaving it?
A: Yes. I like being a chef, but I decided why do something I like when I could do something I love.

—To donate to the American Liver Foundation, visit www.liverfoundation.org and click on the “donate” link on the upper left side of the screen.

By Joe Potter
Laker Correspondent

Master groomer Deborah Shivvers opened Happy Hearts Professional Pet Grooming Salon May 17 in Wesley Chapel.
Shivvers has been working with animals for 37 years and said her goal is to provide excellent services for her customers at affordable prices. Shivvers’ 32 years of experience as a master groomer and her positive attitude virtually guarantee success in achieving her goal.

She went into business for herself after she and her husband purchased some property off Old Pasco Road in April. She had been working for a pet motel near her old home in St. Petersburg.
What had been a short 15 to 20-minute commute turned into a grueling hour-and-a-quarter trip after she moved to Pasco County, Shivvers said. Although she considered her previous job an awesome place to work, she was ready for a change.
Happy Hearts Pet Salon, 7900 Bay Pines Drive, opened within six weeks of Shivvers moving to Wesley Chapel.
She had previously had her own pet grooming business for several years while living in North Carolina. She decided now was the time for her to start her own business in Florida.
“My main focus is to save people money anyway I can and for the whole experience to be pleasant — for them to be happy, for their dog to be happy and for me to be happy,” Shivvers said. “That’s why I named the business Happy Hearts Pet Salon.
“Life should always be lived with a happy heart,” Shivvers added.
The salon offers various ways for customers to save money on grooming services. For a list of discounts see the box below.
Dental care is a big part of animal grooming services, Shivvers said. Some dogs only get their teeth brushed when they are taken to a salon. Pets’ teeth should be brushed more often because plaque buildup and tooth decay can cause heart disease and kidney failure for pets, Shivvers explained.
“I’m all for dental prevention,” Shivvers said.
Shivvers has also received massage training that can be used to help relax pets while they are being groomed, Shivvers said.
While Shivvers primarily provides grooming services for dogs, she will also groom cats. However, rates charged to groom cats vary depending upon how well the cats cooperate.
The salon is located on an outbuilding on Shivvers’ property. She said she plans to make improvements to the building, including installing patio doors, putting a colorful coat of paint on the exterior, having an enclosed inside dog run and having an outside exercise area for pets.
Happy Hearts Professional Pet Grooming Salon is open most days from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Customers may drop their dogs off whenever it is convenient for them. It usually takes two to three hours for her to groom a dog. She uses all natural organic plant-based oils in her grooming.
For more information on the salon, call Shivvers at (813) 991-1404 or (727) 744-5094 or visit www.happyheartspetsalon.com.

Available discounts
–Schedule and keep your next grooming appointment and save $1 on that groom when you keep the appointment.
–Schedule and pay for five grooms in advance and save 10 percent on the total bill.
–Pay with cash and save $3.
–Pet owners save $3 on the first grooming if they bring their pet in within 30 days after having adopted it from a shelter or rescue organization. Customers need to bring a copy of the adoption papers to qualify.
–Pet owners save an additional $10 on the first grooming if they bring their pet in within 30 days after having adopted it from a Pasco shelter or pound that uses euthanasia as a means of population control. Customers will need to bring a copy of the adoption papers to qualify.
–A $3 savings if a customer’s dog has been groomed within 60 days at another salon. Customers will need to bring in a receipt to qualify.

How to get there:
Take SR 54 to Old Pasco Road. Turn onto Old Pasco Road and drive 2.3 miles to Lindenhurst Drive. Turn left on Lindenhurst Drive. Bay Pines Drive is the first street on the right. Turn onto Bay Pines Drive and drive 0.7 miles. Happy Hearts Professional Pet Grooming Salon will be on the right side.
The salon is a few miles from the Grove at Wesley Chapel mall located off I-75.

By Dona Fair
Special to The Laker

Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicolas R. Gagnon, son of Ronn Gagnon of Deerberry Drive, Land O Lakes, has turned his dreams of becoming a firefighter into a reality. Gagnon is a student at the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas.

The academy is host to the fire protection apprentice course, training more than 1,400 students from all services each year in a comprehensive 68-day course that gives students the basics in fire science and live training drills along with a dash of chemistry, physics, and math.  More than 2,000 students attend advanced courses as well.  The school is accredited through the International Fire Service Accreditation.
“Prior to coming here, I did a lot of cardiovascular and strength training to help me pass all of the objectives here,” said Gagnon, who is assigned to the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.  “Overall, being mentally prepared has helped me get through the course.”
Live fires in buildings and aircraft, a series of timed tasks and tests, and search and rescue drills in confined spaces in full fire fighting gear keep Gagnon and the other students at the top of their game.
“The training has been tough at times but rewarding,” said the 2005 graduate of Tampa Baptist Academy.  “I feel like I have earned this certification to the full extent.  It is great getting paid to have fun.”
For Gagnon and his fellow classmates, the outcome is far more than simply the realization of a dream.  The results of their training and shared experience could easily result in lives saved in countless places and situations around the world.

“I wanted to become a firefighter because of September 11th,” Gagnon said. “I know that it’s the ‘cliché’ but it’s the truth, I wanted to help. I want to be the one people call on when they are in trouble.  Also being in the military gives me the opportunity to serve my country to fullest extent.”

By Sarah Whitman

The cane Bob Theisen uses to walk rests up against a wooden fence. He won’t need it much today. Seated comfortably atop a horse named Tampa Bay, Theisen stretches his arms into the air and pushes past the pains associated with multiple sclerosis.
Theisen has just begun his therapy session at Quantum Leap Farm, a nonprofit serving disabled adults, military and seniors in Odessa.

“I’m happy to be here,” he says. “When I’m here, it’s just me and Tampa Bay.”
Quantum was founded in 2000 by Dr. Edie Dopking and is situated on 10 acres at 10504 Woodstock Road, just a few miles from the Veterans Expressway. The nonprofit serves about 750 clients and has a staff of highly trained instructors, including two mental health counselors and an exercise scientist.
Dopking, who has a PhD in aging studies, previously volunteered at Bakas Equestrain Center in Tampa, a nonprofit for disabled children. She opened Quantum with personal funds specifically to help those 18 and older.
“It’s very therapeutic,” said George Abinader, a marine left partially paralyzed by an automobile accident. “I get to work on my balance and my core muscles. It’s good exercise. ”
Abinader is an inpatient at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. At Quantum, he feeds carrots to Idaho, a 12-year-old mare, and temporarily forgets about the routine of living in a medical facility.
Once a week, the hospital brings a group of veterans to Quantum for hippotherapy, a form of physical therapy using horses.  Kim Peatee, a recreational therapist from the hospital, comes along for support.
“This is the best therapy out there,” Peatee said. “A lot of our patients have spinal cord injuries. Here, they can work on range of motion and do other things that they might otherwise not be able to. It’s a way for them to get out of the hospital.”
Navy seaman Henry Sawyer injured his spinal cord playing football and is reliant on a wheelchair. He is stationed in Jacksonville but is currently staying at the veterans’ hospital. His wife Lusanda and son, Mikhail, are also in Tampa. The whole family visits Quantum.
“I grew up on a farm so I like it here because it reminds me of the old days,” Sawyer said with a smile. “It’s good exercise and it brings up morale. It lets us know we can still do things.”
Lusanda said being around the horses visibly lifts her husband’s spirits.
“He’s more relaxed when he’s here because he’s doing something he loves to do,” she said.
In addition to veterans, Quantum serves many individuals with developmental and acquired disabilities.
Theisen contacted the farm after seeing an advertisement in the paper. Since being diagnosed with MS in 1994, he’s sought out countless therapies. None have worked as well as training with Tampa Bay.

“With me, physical therapy is about thinking outside the box,” he said. “I’ve been doing hippotherapy for six years and the difference from where I started to where I am now is huge. I am more flexible and I’m able to move better. Plus it’s fun.”
Liz Howell is Theisen’s instructor. She has a bachelor’s in exercise science from the University of South Florida and is Quantum’s stable manager.
“When someone comes here, it’s all about what they want to get out of it,” Howell. “Some want to work on strength and flexibility. Some just come here to get away from the world.”
In addition to using riding as therapy, Quantum uses a program called At E.A.S.E, Equine Assisted Self Exploration. Clients in the program work with a trained counselor and horse specialist doing activities other than riding. They spend time petting, feeding and brushing the animals. It is often used as mental health therapy.
“For many people, being here is an opportunity to heal,” said Mary Diana, operations coordinator for Quantum. “This may not be traditional therapy but the results are amazing.”
Howell said just spending time on the farm is therapeutic. When she’s having a bad day, the people and the animals cheer her up. In addition to horses, a 1000-pound pig, three turkeys, two cats, a donkey and a black lab call Quantum home.
“People come here and the place just brings a smile to their face,” Howell said.
To manage it’s approximated half million dollar annual budget, Quantum applies for hundreds of grants each year.
They have received support from a variety of sources including Publix Supermarkets Charities, the USAA Foundation Charitable Trust and Nutrena Feeds, Inc.
The organization was recently awarded the 2010 Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award from the National Community Development Association. The Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Department nominated Quantum for the award for its pole barn project that was funded through the department.
Diana said the farm receives multiple awards and grants because the services offered bring joy to the lives of so many people.
“Our therapies affect the clients in so many ways, physically, emotionally and socially,” she said. “It can be hard to motivate somebody who is struggling with a disability but just about anybody who comes out here perks up.”
Theisen considers Quantum a sanctuary, a place where he can set down his cane and temporarily make use of a stronger set of legs.
“When I’m here, this is my time,” he said. “I can forget about everything else.”
One-hour therapy sessions are $40 for disabled and $50 for able-bodied adults.
For information on Quantum Leap Farm, call (813) 920-9250 or visit www.QuantumLeapFarm.org.

By Joe Potter

Zephyrhills resident Michael O’Donnell can finally look ahead to his future just after the one-year anniversary of being diagnosed with a form of cancer uncommon for people his age.
O’Donnell, 23, hopes to be a law enforcement officer either with the Zephyrhills Police Department or the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. He learns in a few weeks if he has been accepted into the Police Academy at Pasco-Hernando Community College.

O’Donnell’s cancer was diagnosed in October 2008 and part of his tongue was removed along with a muscle in his neck. A lump was discovered on his neck eight months later in May 2009 during a follow-up visit with his doctor. Surgery was not an option because the cancerous tumor was located near his carotid artery and he was treated instead with radiation and chemotherapy.
Before the cancer diagnosis, the Zephyrhills native was a brawny 200-pounder in top physical condition. He lost 50 pounds in less than a month while undergoing radiation and chemotherapy and agreed to a feeding tube only after losing 55 pounds.
Now O’Donnell says he feels physically and mentally able to successfully complete the police academy, which will move him a step closer to his career goal.
“I figure if I made it through cancer without having insurance or anything like that and not being able to work, I can tough it out through school which requires six to eight months,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell is currently on temporary disability and is receiving financial assistance from Medicaid to pay for his medical care.
If school does not work out, he will find a job, O’Donnell said, adding, “I’m not a man opposed to working. I like to work.”
While reflecting back on the last 12 months, O’Donnell said, “It’s been a very enlightening process to say the least. The last year had its ups and downs.”
O’Donnell hated to admit it, but there were some moments when he wished he would have died because he was in so much pain. There were times when he felt like he was fighting a losing battle.
He is grateful for the support his wife, Sarah, his parents, his sisters, and many others provided him during the past year. He said his health situation impacted his family emotionally. To them, he said, it looked like he was dying and they were powerless to do anything about it.
“I had to keep telling myself, ‘I’m not going anywhere,’” O’Donnell said. “This is not going to beat me. I’ll fight it to the end.”
That attitude and mental toughness combined with his religious faith helped him to beat the disease, O’Donnell said.
“Every night before I go to bed I make sure I get on my knees and I pray to God and I tell him, ‘Lord, thank you for the day that I had,’” O’Donnell said. “Whether it was a good day or a bad day, I had another day, there are a lot of people out there who are worse off than I am.”
Not having medical insurance could have placed him in debt for years to come. However, his parents helped out.
“Thankfully, Florida Cancer Center worked with me and helped the process along to get me qualified for Medicaid,” O’Donnell said. “That’s another thing I thank God for because if we had not had (Medicaid) I don’t know what we would have done. I also thank God for my aunt and uncle and my family putting together a golf tournament that was able to raise funds that went into a medical bill pay account.”
During the early stages of his cancer treatment, Medicaid placed him on a plan where he had to pay a portion of the costs.
“Every month when I had to see the doctor that medical bill pay account (from the golf tournament) came in so handy. Without it, we would not have the money to cover the doctor’s bills,” O’Donnell said.
The tournament was last September at Silverado Golf & Country Club in Zephyrhills. After Medicaid realized how expensive his radiation and chemotherapy treatments were, the federal agency took over all of the costs. Now, he is back on a cost-sharing plan since he has finished his treatments.
O’Donnell remarked that he has a roof over his head, a wife who loves him, a family who cares about him and that he is looking forward to his future.
Things are “so much better” now than they were last May, Sarah O’Donnell said during a telephone interview from Michigan.
“He has been gaining weight, he’s feeling better and he’s happier,” Sarah. The couple will celebrate their second wedding anniversary in August.
The lowest point of the last 12 months was probably when Michael had to begin using a feeding tube because he had lost so much weight, Sarah O’Donnell said. The feeding tube was removed last December. February 2010 was a pivotal month for Michael because that’s when he was able to resume eating some of the spicy foods he enjoys, Sarah O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell’s battle against cancer has changed his outlook on life. He is now more willing to accept help from others. Previously, he had thought he had to do anything in life he wanted to without help from anyone else.
“I’m very grateful that I had the amount of people and the kind of people in my life that were willing to give us, my wife and I, the help that we needed,” O’Donnell said. “I really don’t know what we would have done if we hadn’t had that help.”