Aloha friends, family and paddling community,

Some of you know Stacia Palafox and many of you do not yet, on August 9th while in Newport, California for the Whitey Harrison race, Stacia had a major stroke. Her amazing fiancé, Brett got her to the Hoag Hospital in record time. She was diagnosed and given TPA – a medicine to dissolve the blood clot and minimize damage. This took care of the first clot but a second required surgery to remove. The stroke affected the left side of her brain. This means that the right side of her body use, speech and memory have all suffered trauma. She is making great progress, but reality is that recovery will be months of hard work on her part. 

I would like to share why I believe Stacia deserves your generosity and give you some background info. First and foremost, Stacia is absolutely the most selfless person I know. In 2018 she was awarded Team Arizona’s first ever Ho’ Aloha Award or Friendship Award. Stacia began paddling with Team Arizona OCC in 2012 and has been a highly active member of our community since. She has served as Team Arizona president and other board positions. She has always raced in multiple SCORA races each year. She even completed her first winter series race this past January on an OC2. Team Arizona uses the Ironman race to raise funds for our club every year and she has captained the bike station many years running. She is truly dedicated to the growth and survival of Team Arizona OCC and all paddlers alike.

In this time of need, we are hoping our community of paddlers and their friends and family can help in a small way to help cover the costs of travel, missed work and other unexpected expenses that would not be covered under health insurance. If you are able to donate a small amount it would be greatly appreciated. We know that not everyone is able, and we would just ask for your positive thoughts and prayers. Also, we would like everyone to know how to recognize and what to do for a stroke. Please visit https://www.hoag.org/specialties-services/neurosciences/programs/stroke/about-stroke/

Please feel free to share this with your network of friends and family.

Mahalo

Andy Thomas