IzLegal Illustrated
FINDING SUPPORT AND LOVE Through Family and Community
For this month’s main feature, I invited my good friend, Javier Perez, to share his story with us. I’ve known Javier for a long time and have been inspired by him in many ways. Over the past several years, he’s struggled through some of the most challenging moments in his life and has succeeded beyond measure. When we’re faced with hardships in our lives, the people who have overcome adversities before us give us encouragement, support, and love to beat those hardships.
which was something we tried to do often. I was really rushing things that day because my son had a Little League playoff game that evening, and I wanted to get to the game as quickly as possible. After the run, I took a quick shower and went to the game, which was just starting by the time I got there. I ran into a gentleman whose son I had coached many years before, and we started talking on either side of the fence. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a car coming toward us very quickly. I hit the fence as hard as I could to try to get the man I was speaking to out of the way, and he managed to slide away. I turned to help the lady sitting behind me when everything went dark. The next thing I remember is opening my eyes and finding myself in the hospital. I started talking to my wife about the accident, which I thought happened that same day, but my wife told me that the accident
Danny and Javi at the opening of Modern Med Centers
had been a month ago. She told me that I had been in and out, but I don’t remember any of it. During that time, I had gone through 20 surgeries and had both of my legs amputated. The strange thing about the amputation was that when I woke up, I didn’t know it had happened. I could still feel my legs and toes, and they hurt. I remember telling my wife that they were really bothering me and asking if she could get the doctor to give me something because I was in excruciating pain. My wife realized I had no idea what happened to me, and she was the one to tell me about my legs. Learning of my amputations destroyed me for a little bit. It was tough to take. But, throughout that night, I prayed and really started thinking about what happened to me. I quickly came to realize three important things: I am alive. My kids are going to have me. I am here for a purpose. In the month before I woke up, the doctors had given me a 0% chance of survival, and the fact that I did survive was not an accident. At that point, I came to
Three and a half years ago, I was the principal at a local high school here. I was also an avid runner and enjoyed staying in shape. In 2016, on Sept. 26, I had a regular day at work, and afterward, I got together with a few of my colleagues and jogged 4–5 miles together,
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LIGHTS OUT Florida City Battles to End ‘Extreme’ Lights Display
of the court’s decision. By 2017, “Hyatt Extreme Christmas” was in full swing again, much to their neighbors’ chagrin. Mark Hyatt rode the wave of support for his display all the way to a vacant seat on the Plantation City Council in 2016, but the highs would soon stop there. Plantation news outlets reported in 2018 that Mark Hyatt filed for divorce, effectively ending any hope of another “Hyatt Extreme Christmas.” As the snow has settled, an extravagant lights display has instead become a story of nasty court battles with a sad ending for the Hyatts and their “extreme” Christmas devotees.
There’s nothing quite like the magic of twinkling Christmas lights. But for city officials in Plantation, Florida, Christmas lights are a stark reminder of a prolonged fight, nearly $500,000 in court fees, and continued drama.
potential injury or death to pedestrians due to the traffic. Police officers in Plantation were dispatched to the light display multiple times each season for complaints by neighbors, accidents, and traffic control. After a two-year battle in court, a judge ruled in favor of the Hyatts, claiming the city could not prove the display was dangerous or a nuisance. The city had spent nearly half a million dollars fighting their case.
In 2014, Plantation sued residents Mark and Kathy Hyatt for their “Hyatt Extreme Christmas” lights display, claiming it was a “public nuisance.” Each year, the Hyatts decorated their yard with more than 200,000 lights, snow, a Christmas tree, a Nativity scene, a functioning Ferris wheel, and more. Their creation was featured on two nationally televised programs and attracted flocks of visitors. But, for the Hyatt’s neighbors, extreme didn’t even begin to explain the chaos. Neighbors complained to the city about increased traffic, litter in their yards, and
For the Hyatts, Christmas 2016 was a celebration, though their display was restrained due to the timing
Arroz con Pollo a la Chorrera
Ingredients
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine chicken thighs, sour orange juice, minced garlic, cumin, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix until well combined. Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 30 minutes up to overnight in the refrigerator. 2. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. In a large, wide pot, heat the annatto oil over medium heat.Working in batches, add the chicken skin side down and cook, turning once, for 7–8 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove and set aside. 3. In the same pot, combine the onion, green pepper, and red pepper and cook 5–6 minutes until soft.Add the chopped garlic and cook 1 minute.Add the chopped tomato and white wine and cook 3–4 minutes to cook out the alcohol a bit. Pour in 2 cups of the chicken stock and return the chicken to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. 4. Add the rice and saffron and continue to cook 5–7 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Pour in another 2 cups of the stock and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 7–8 minutes. 5. Add the final 2 cups of the stock and the beer, and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the capers, peas, and roasted red pepper.Turn down the heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes.Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste.
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1/2 cup lager-style beer
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3 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
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2 tbsp capers in brine
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1/3 cup sour orange juice
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1 10-oz box frozen peas, thawed
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1 tbsp minced garlic
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1 cup roasted red pepper, thinly sliced
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1 tsp ground cumin
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1 tsp dried oregano
ANNATTO OIL Ingredients •
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Salt and pepper, to taste
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1/4 cup annatto oil (see oil recipe)
2 tbsp achiote seeds
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1 cup yellow onion, chopped
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1/2 cup olive oil
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1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
Directions 1. In a small saucepan over medium- low heat, combine the achiote seeds and olive oil and cook 5–7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain out the seeds and keep the oil in a jar with a tight lid. Annatto oil can be stored for up to a month as a seasoning for yellow rice, meat, and poultry dishes.
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1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
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2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
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1 cup tomato, seeded and chopped
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1/2 cup dry white wine
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6 cups chicken stock
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3 cups medium-grain white rice
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1/4 tsp saffron threads, crumbled
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... continued from Cover
the conclusion that what happened had happened, and I needed to start getting better. I started making small efforts and goals for myself — things like sitting up in bed by myself — that would help me get better every day. I knew that setting these small goals wouldn’t be easy, but they were accomplishable and would lead me to reach my long-term goals of recovery. Through these efforts, I slowly started to improve on a daily basis, but I had one significant mental block I had to get past. No matter what my improvement was, I couldn’t look at my limbs. For whatever reason, I didn’t want to, and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Every time the doctors came in to get me in a harness so they could get me to a chair for the day, they would blindfold me. I was like this for a long while until my son changed my mind. This happened when he was 5 years old, and during one of his visits, he told me he wanted to see my limbs. Right at that moment, I realized that if a 5-year-old had no issue with it, then how could I have any issue with it? Sure enough, later that night, when all the visitors and doctors left, my family came around, and we pulled off the covers to look at my limbs. That was a significant moment for me because it meant I was improving even more. Not only did my family give me the encouragement I needed, but I also received an incredible amount of support from my community. During the time I spent in the hospital, a lot of different people from the community came to visit me. Some of them heard the story on the news and came to check in with me. Many of them were amputees who shared their own stories with me about how they had been through what I was going through. It was extremely motivating for me. They made me feel better once I was able to leave the hospital, and I knew from that moment on that I would try to give back the way they did. Once I left the hospital, I went to a rehab center for the next two months. My therapy started pretty intensely. Four or five times a day, I was working through my therapy sessions with only a 2 1/2 hour break in between. While going through this therapy, I was constantly exhausted. Even trying to sit up was an immense challenge. So my amazing wife and my best friend decided to talk to the doctor about my condition. They asked him if he would check my testosterone levels because I literally had no energy to do anything. The doctor told them there was no need to check it because the exhaustion was not unexpected. My wife told him, “Check him, or I’m going to find testosterone somewhere, and I’ll give it to him.” The doctor still refused.
therapy, or hormone therapy for men and women. As we grow, our hope is to help people find the relief and solutions they’re looking for. As I’ve moved forward in life, I feel that my accident happened for a reason. The journey I’ve started down aims to give back to the community, as they did for me, and to help people in similar situations. Not only have I put my efforts into my new business, but I also visit the hospital once a month or more to speak with recent amputees who are going through rough times. Helping people through this process and talking with them about what’s to come in the future continues to give me the strength to follow my own goals and dreams. I know that I can help people, just like they helped me. At times, we’re not all mentally strong, but when we deal with things that require us to become strong, we can overcome everything. I’ve been there, and it’s the truth. P.S. I want to thank Danny Izquierdo for featuring me in his newsletter and giving me this opportunity to share my story with you. If you or anyone you know is interested in learning more about what we offer at Modern Med Centers, I would encourage you to visit the website at ModernMedCenters.com. –Javier Perez
While I was in physical therapy, my family and I were also going to family group therapy. At one point, a female doctor came in, and my wife started talking to her about my low energy and how she suspected it had something to do with my testosterone levels. After hearing the story, the doctor told my wife, “You might be on to something here.” They checked me and discovered my testosterone levels were at 3. A person my age at that time should have been between 300–1,000, but I was at a total of 3 . It was a major problem. The next day, they put me on a program that gave me testosterone regularly, and I began making tremendous improvements. That’s when the idea of a healing help center that focuses on hormone treatments for men and women started to take root. I didn’t know anything about the medical field, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this idea. I wanted a center where people could find the treatments they needed without being forced to visit several clinics. My wife always smiled and agreed with me whenever I talked about it; she was happy I had found something I was so enthusiastic about. I eventually brought up the idea to my best friend, who is in the medical field, and he agreed that this was a great idea. “Let’s do it,” he said, and we put our heads together to start thinking about how we could make it a reality. A couple years later, we finally opened Modern Med Centers: a one-stop shop for people who need treatments that include IV therapy, physical
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2655 Le Jeune Road Suite 805 Coral Gables, FL 33134
INSIDE this issue
1
The Reason I Survived
2
Florida City Sues Family Over Extreme Christmas Display
Arroz con Pollo a la Chorrera
4
The History Behind Christmas Lights
Why Do We Hang Christmas Lights? LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
Johnson continued this tradition, increasing the number of lights each year and eventually putting them up outside. But because electricity was still a new concept, many years passed before the fad took off for regular Americans. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge began the tradition of lighting the National Christmas Tree, which spurred the idea of selling stringed lights commercially. By the 1930s, families everywhere were buying boxes of bulbs by the dozen. Today, an estimated 150 million Christmas lights are sold in America each year, decorating 80 million homes and consuming 6% of the nation’s electricity every December. Whether you’ll be putting up your own lights or appreciating the most impressive light displays in your neighborhood or town, let the glow fill you with joy this season. Just don’t leave them up until February!
The first string of twinkling lights illuminating your neighbor’s house is always a telltale sign of the upcoming seasonal festivities. Christmas lights are a holiday staple, but have you ever wondered where this beloved tradition started? The tradition of hanging lights on the tree originally started with candles. Because this posed an immense fire hazard, Edward Hibberd Johnson, a close friend of Thomas Edison and vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, vowed to find a better way to decorate Christmas trees with light. In December 1882, three years after Edison’s invention of the lightbulb in November 1879, Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue lightbulbs together and wound them around a Christmas tree in his parlor window. A passing reporter saw the spectacle and declared in the Detroit Post and Tribune, “One can hardly imagine anything prettier.”
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