ANAHOLA — The brothers and sisters of soccer spent the final Sunday of 2007 helping one of their own. Gwen Tamura, one of the Kapa‘a High School soccer coaches, said in an e-mail that Tammy Fernandez, the sister of Jason
ANAHOLA — The brothers and sisters of soccer spent the final Sunday of 2007 helping one of their own.
Gwen Tamura, one of the Kapa‘a High School soccer coaches, said in an e-mail that Tammy Fernandez, the sister of Jason Efhan, organized a fundraising coed tournament at the Anahola Village Park.
Funds from that tournament are earmarked to help Efhan acquire a specially-built van.
Efhan is the president of “Live to Heal,” a foundation dedicated to helping individuals with spinal cord injuries purchase the physical therapy equipment they need and the body and mind therapies they deserve.
Players paid $20 per person to play, and there were enough of them to form at least four five-a-side teams.
“They originally wanted to play six-a-side, but the fields were too small,” said Pete Oliver, a longtime soccer supporter, who watched the action from a vantage point that allowed him to view two games simultaneously.
That format allowed for substitute players as the teams worked through pool play before getting into the finals.
Efhan, who wanted to be at the park, but had to stay at home due to illness, was involved in an auto accident while on vacation in Canada in 2006, his father said.
That accident paralyzed him from his armpits to lower extremities, states the “Live to Heal” Web site. With the support of his family and friends, the former collegiate soccer player healed.
But during his hospitalization and rehabilitation, Efhan noticed others with spinal cord injuries were not as lucky. He discovered that many people had no insurance, or inadequate insurance which led to less than their full recovery. Other patients had little family support for continued out-patient therapy programs.
“Doctors, psychologists, social workers and agency personnel told me of spinal cord-injured individuals who, for one reason or another, never continued physical therapy, didn’t receive any body, mind therapy, and never continued to help regulate their body. I also heard about people who did not have sufficient insurance coverage for physical therapy and body mind therapy so their quality of life slowly diminished,” Efhan said on the Web site.
This led to the birth of “Live to Heal.” Efhan said the organization was formed to help individuals who may have slipped through the cracks of the system as they cope with their disabilities. It is the intent of “Live to Heal” to help people with spinal cord injuries reach their greatest healing potential.
Prior to his accident, Tamura said Efhan was a great soccer player from Kaua‘i who attended Colorado State University on a soccer scholarship, and has dreams of working with people who took the wrong path in life.
According to a CSU Web site, Efhan set an individual record in 1998-99 with 33 points and 14 goals in the same period.
Posting a hat trick against Colorado Mines on Sept. 15, 1999, Efhan finished with 28 points and 12 goals in 1999 for the Pueblos, the dozen goals tying with Ryan Billiet.
For more information on Efhan’s crusade to help others with spinal cord injuries, visit the “Live to Heal” Web site at www.livetoheal.com.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
