Shopping Cart [July 21, 2021
Meet Tiffany Tallent
She loves being outdoors, walking, running, hiking, and this year, she signed up for her 1st 5k. Which is amazing as she was diagnosed with MS 9.5 years ago, after almost 5 years of testing–though she has had symptoms since childhood–heat intolerance being her 1st symptom at the ripe old age of 7 or 8!
She is an actor, most notably voice acting for Star Trek: the Continuing Mission, an illustrator, she and her mom just published a book together. "Because You Are Mine", and a would-be writer, she is currently working on submitting her 1st novel.
Listen to her tell her story about finding Major Tom, a wounded kitten. Without her cooling vest she wouldn't of been able to go for her run to train for the 5k and there to save a kitten that had just been struck by a car.
Transcript at bottom of page.
Tiffany's vest of choice:
Women's Festival Bundle with 1- 2.0 XXS Vest garment, 1 set of ExtendedCool packs, and 1 set of SlimCool packs.
ThermApparel is a small business making big waves in the heat sensitivity world by designing the first lightweight, comfortable and invisible cooling vest, UnderCool. Check us out online, on our blog, or on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Please let us know if you have any other questions or ideas in the comments below, we will follow up. You can always reach us via:
Live Chat - www.thermapparel.com | Email - contact.us@thermapparel.net | Phone - 855-232-7233 | Address: ThermApparel LLC. 40 Franklin St. 4th Floor, Rochester, NY 14620
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Video Transcript:
Julia: There you are. Hi!
Tiffany: I'm good! How are you?
Julia: I'm doing good. I'm doing good. I'm so glad we figured out the technology. You'd think with the past year with all the zooms, and all the virtual meetings and everything, it's would be easier, but it's always. Anyways, I was, let me introduce you and tell you what we're doing and what's going on. This is ThermApparel, testimonials and on Facebook Live and today we're going to talk to Tiffany Tallent, who is most notably as an actor and most notably known for her voice acting for Star Trek: The Continuing Mission. She's an illustrator, her mom and her just published a book called because you are mine, and it's available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. And we'll put a link down in the comment section when we're done today. And she loves to be outside hiking, walking, running, and you just signed up for your first 5k. Which, amazing, _ and a half years ago, Tiffany was diagnosed with MS. And as majority of us know, MS and heat and running and all that don't go together very well. So that's incredible. So I know we have a lot of things we want to talk about. But how did you hear about ThermApparell?
Tiffany: You know, when I was first diagnosed, I didn't, I didn't know a whole lot about the heat intolerance. I just kind of heard that that was a symptom but I didn't really know what it entailed until I was on this Facebook group, and had a lot of people and they were talking about heat intolerance and then they were talking about cooling vests and I was like, oh, you know that when they were talking about the symptoms, I thought, Okay, that sounds like me. And that sounds like me for like a long time. Like, as long as I can remember, I've had these problems, it explains a lot. So I started looking online. And I was just going through. and I think at the time, it was probably Amazon. And I saw that you had something that looked like what I needed, and also something small enough. I'm five feet tall. So a lot of the vests that I saw on cooling devices I saw were really bulky and big. And I thought okay, well, you know, I'm a former dancer, I perform, you know, nothing really fit my lifestyle. And then I saw that, and I was really interested. And so I wound up going through your website instead. And you were just a .net back then. Yeah, so it was a it was a long time ago. So I you know, I had found it that way. And then I thought, Okay, this is this is what I need. And I got it. And I was right.
Julia: Well, we're so glad that it's helping you. It's incredible. And you're, you're gonna wear it when you do your first 5k?
Tiffany: I'm actually. Okay, so we have our thermostat set at 72 When I came upstairs to do this, and I thought, okay, it's too hot up here. So I went downstairs, I'm actually wearing it right now. Like, okay, right, I can, I can combat that, you know, because a lot of the times the heat would just, I would say it would erase my brain, you know, I would just take the dog out, and I would feel like I was just gone. Like, I just needed to recoup from that. And, you know, so it's made all the difference.
Julia: And did you notice your fatigue level changing?
Tiffany: Oh, absolutely! I mean, I remember in high school, they kind of thought, you know, they weren't sure what's wrong with me, I would go running. And I would be like really fast and do really good. And then I would just wear out so quickly, though, and they thought okay, maybe it's her asthma because I was like, I just get so tired. I just I'm exhausted after you know, a lap around the track. I feel great. And then I'm done. And I realized it was because I was getting hot. Now I can go running in 77 degrees and 90% humidity. And you know, I come back and I'm not wiped out. That's first thing in the morning. I can function for the rest of the day still. It's doesn't do me in.
Julia: That's wonderful. Well, that kind of moves us into our our next question is, what did you want to do, but you were having a hard time doing because of the heat?
Tiffany: If it was hot, or really above my threshold is about the 72 degrees. So if it's anything above that, and I'm moving around, and I you know, exerting myself it's hard to do a lot of the time. So you know, it really has helped with everything, especially like taking dogs out. I live in the south. I've lived in the South my whole life all over you know, Tennessee and now I'm in South Carolina and it's hot a lot and humid and I, the day that I got my first vest, I remember I had just taken the dog out and I was so frustrated when I saw the package come up, I just I cried when I got it because I was just so relieved. I was like, okay, it doesn't have to be like this anymore. And it's just so easy to put on and everything, you know, supposed to go under your clothes, but it can go over your clothes, you know, under, you know, however you want to wear it, it's just so easy, you know, to just grab it out of the freezer and, and go and take the dog out and then not feel, you know that exhaustion after. And it's helped me with, you know, my acting. I remember getting cast in a in a show and I was I was cast as Snoopy, which was last I love, I love Snoopy I've, I've done. I've played Lucy before and other shows. And so this was this is really fun. And I have a beagle, too. But I was worried because I knew I was going to be under those lights and makeup and a full costume. There was no, you know, but I had my best I had my white vest. And so I wore that and I had more energy than anyone else on the stage. And I was the only one with a MS, you know, and I was running circles around literally running circles around them. You know, and it was fun. It was a lot of fun. And it made it so I didn't have to worry about that. And it's, it's made it so I don't have to worry about a lot of things like oh, well, I don't have to worry about that I have my vest I can do that.
Julia: That's wonderful.
Tiffany: And so one of the things we've been talking about is, is running. And so really recently and this is kind of how we connected was because I mean I when I say that I love my vest. I'm not I'm not kidding. Anytime anybody talks about being too hot, or anybody with MS asks about heat intolerance, I'm like my "vest saved me it's wonderful." You know, I have like, my most commonly used things when I type in www it site comes up ThermApparel, because they know that I'm gonna, I'm gonna tell people to go there. Which just come come in so handy to me. And so, you know, we had recently moved well, not recently, we moved during COVID and my first cooling packs actually and a lot of stuff had got left behind in West Tennessee. And they were all supposed to come you know get reunited with us at some point, but those did not make it. Not by me just the person who was helping us didn't realize we kind of told them what they were but they didn't realize that what was so important and so they didn't they didn't make it and I thought all last year, you know, oh well I'm okay. I live near the beach. It's not I'm didn't you know, I didn't realize how much I missed it until I got it. I got the the 2.0 this year, and the extended cool I have I just swapped out it took a minute and a half, by the way to get it out of the freezer, swap out my cooling packs and put the other ones back in and put it on. Oh yeah, that's how longit took me was a minute and a half. So it was oh, I just saw Jay. I know him from my MS group. Hi, Jay! Um, no, I'm not doing that one, that's a 10k, I'm doing the I love poems connector run. Is the one I'm doing with my dad. So he's excited. It's in October. Yeah, okay. Yeah. So I'm training for it. And so, you know, last year I didn't realize until I got my new one this year. I was like, Oh my gosh, I missed this. I can do so much more. You know, I'm stronger than I've ever been you know, since I was dancing three times a week you know? Yeah, so it's been it's been really great. But, all of that aside, all the wonderful health things aside, it does for me I think the greatest thing and he's right over here is on one of my runs back in May. I was I was doing a run, it was hot, there was no way I would have done without my vest so you know, I had I had my vest I had everything. I was listening to my my Bowie playlist and I had it going and you had it in my mind. This is okay. I always run this one circle then I kind of stop and stretch and then like go on another path. I said when Space Oddity comes on I'm gotta stop and stretch and then go on my next path will lay came on and I stopped for that exact amount of time. I went on to the next path. And when I as soon as I turned around into that next path, I see this kitten limp in front of me. Now, if anybody saw the picture, you see, you couldn't, I wouldn't have seen him unless he walked in front of me, because I had an earbud in and I wouldn't have heard him if I had seen him. So it was just perfect timing, and I wouldn't have been out there without my vest. So I saw this little injured kitten. I picked it up. And long story short... this is Major Tom.
Julia: Oh, my goodness, look at that guy.
Tiffany: He is the sweetest, sweetest baby ever. And I mean, he's just awesome. And really so I mean, thank you guys, because without you, and he really was. I mean, on his night life, if I hadn't found him that day, he probably wouldn't have made it he had been hit by a car, you could see a little tiny tail. He's had a fractured pelvis, which is healing up, he's gonna get some X rays soon to make sure it's all healed, he's gonna have to have probably another surgery to pull his hip back into place. Because even though he's running, jumping, his hip is dislocated. And he's missing a tendon in his legs. So he's just amazing. And we are just so happy that we were able to find him.
He's beautiful. I know when you contacted us, and you were telling us about this story, I turned around to the guys and I'm like, we saved a kitten! Our vest saved a kitten! That is so awesome. That is such a great story. And he's doing good. I saw the pictures of him with the cone of shame.
Yes, he actually used that to his advantage. He knew that it was loud on the door. And so when he wanted out of his little bathroom at night, because we have to keep him up at night, because he gets into everything and his little tail had to heal it. So he would bang the cone on the door because he knew it was loud. And we would have to go get him. It would be like four o'clock in the morning. He's like I'm up. So we would.
Julia: It's just wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. I'm so glad the vest is helping you. And I'm so glad the vest helped Major Tom, too. We love it. All of us in the office are cat people, we all have cats. And so it's very heart warming. So, because the vest you were out training, because of that you found Major Tom?
Tiffany: Right, if I hadn't had my vest I wouldn't have been training that morning, I would have been like, last year, I would have gone to our workout room, and I would have been running there. It's not as fun and I really didn't do that that much. Because being outside is so much better.
Julia: And last year was so hard for everybody just 2020 was a total wash. You were able to get out and get going and that you're still continuing to train and that the vest is helping you do that. I've got I've got another question for you. What's the difference between using your vest and not using your vest in daily life? Is there an example that you can give me like walking your dog not walking the dog versus....
Tiffany: Well, I mean, even it's the thing is, you know, there's every once in a while be like oh, it's it's not that hot or the dog is not going to take that long. It doesn't matter if it's 90 degrees outside. If you go outside, you know that's the risk I take if I go outside and it's hot, and I don't put it on and there's times like I take it just because you know oh she's gonna go so bad. I'm just gonna take her she's gonna be real fast and it's five minutes and I'm you know, if I wish I'd taken that 30 seconds so you know, strap myself in, you know,
Julia: The minute and a half?
Tiffany: That was to change the packs out. That was to take it out of the fridge, change from the ExtendedCool to the SlimCool, and then put the extended pull back away and put it on.
Julia: I'm so glad you found that because I wouldn't even have thought. And you know, there's probably going to be a question, we get the most amazing questions on our live chat all the time, you know, that will probably be a question that comes up. I can tell them. Well, what else have you noticed that have you noticed your fatigue level or difference in your fatigue level, a difference in the amount of activity that you can and cannot do, or anything else that you want to tell us.
Tiffany: All of, all of the above, but I would just say that, like, in general, it probably just makes me happier too, because I would get angry, when I would go outside. I mean, and I will, I can't do it now, because I'm on my phone, but I can send you a picture. And it's actually the first time I put my vest on. And the picture is, it's such an example of how I felt before and kind of the relief I was feeling because it looks like my head is being erased by the sun. And that I'm screaming at it. And I just saw this, I was trying to take a picture of my vest and then I saw this. And it was just such an example that I kind of being the artist had to had to take it so but you can see I've got my best on in the picture. But I would just get angry, you know, being hot, I get frustrated, because you just don't understand necessarily, you know that you've got a heat intolerance, but you don't know that it's 74 degrees, and you're kind of starting to wear out. And your brain is starting to get fuzzy that you don't you know, you're just get frustrated and angry. So even just, you know, having that to not have stress. And it's it's wonderful not to have that stress of thinking, okay, am I going to be too hot doing this thing? Because no, I'm not. I don't know if anybody's ever been to the Jack Daniels distillery. But my husband and I went, and it was like 90 degrees outside. And it was so hot in some of the buildings that they everybody was coming out and thinking that 90 degrees was cold. Oh, you're so we're so nice. It was like 140 degree I have I don't remember as well over 100 degrees. And I'm the only one enjoying my time. Everybody's sweating and everything and I'm like, oh, this is really this is interesting you know, this is great, you know. It's just things like that if I had I wouldn't have been able to go if I had seen 140 degrees. I've been like, I'm out. There's no way I could've even thought aboutgoing. There's a lot of things that I just wouldn't even consider doing if I didn't have my vest, you know, places I'd be like, Oh, no, that's that's too hot. You know, not doing that.
Julia: Well. That's that's a good that's a good thought. Like, what kind of places? And for some people that don't understand what I mean, you think heat intolerence, you exercise, you overheat, you get uncomfortable. But tell us what happens with MS and heat intolerance. How long do you have? What are some of your warning signs? '
Tiffany: Well, for me, I really I just start to really, like I said, get frusterated, it's the first thing that goes is my thinking. It's like my brain just starts getting all mumbled up. And it's like, okay, you know, your words kind of start to go, you start getting frustrated and angry, you start getting really tired, like my muscles would just feel like they're just, you know, mud, you know, it's like, what am I you know, you're just walking through, you know, almost like the ocean, the entire you're working against something just almost like melting just being drained. Like if you're you know, your batteries on zero, your phone starts like saving different things, your body kind of starts picking and choosing like, okay, you've got to do this. So your brain is not functioning because you know, you at least have to walk back to the car, you know, your legs have to function. So your brain might not function as well. I mean, it's it just kind of feels almost like you're shutting down. And, you know, really prevents that from happening. And you know, when you do have that shutting down and you've had that for so long, it's something you start to avoid things and, and things start to make you nervous. I just don't feel that way anymore.
Julia: Oh, that's so good. Well, what were the things that you were avoiding? What just simple activities or complicated activities?
Tiffany: You know, there were, you know, for example, just exercising in general because I mean, even in the workout room, it wasn't that cold. It wasn't 72 degrees that I like it or colder when I'm working out. You know, things like that. Even taking the dogs out in the afternoon or something. Be like, Oh, honey, you've got to do that. It's too hot, you know, hiking just general things even, you know, being walking around outside in a downtown area would be difficult for me. You know, anything that you're going to be hot it helps with and it's helped me with and those are the kinds of things that I would either avoid, or just kind of has to be miserable through. You know, and it would just you just kind of look okay, well, I don't know, you know, and before I was diagnosed, I didn't know why. So like, I don't know, I just can't move right now. It's just nothing's working.
Julia: Which is scary. That can be frightening. And so I can't even imagine. But the vest has let you escape the house, it lets you get outside, you obviously, running, you found Major Tom.
Tiffany: I can enjoy the sun, I don't have to be, you know, I don't have to, to worry about the heat at all. Then one thing and this, this might not be something that that you'll think of, and I just I just thought about something that bothers me. And I'm sure you think of it, but there's some people that get concerned that with the best being snug would be um, triggering the hug, the MS hug it. For me, I get triggered when I was this is gonna sound when I have something super tight, like around here, you know, traditional underwear, and no, I can't, it triggers a hug. And I just feel awful. It's terrible. This doesn't do that. Because of how it's like distributed. It's snug, but it's not tight. It moves with you. It's not restricting it almost like people might look at it and be like, Oh, it kind of looks like a corset or something. No, no, no, no, I've worn those before. This is nothing like that. Super comfortable. Like I say, I go on runs. If anybody saw that picture do you would like yoga stuff, I do ballet stretches in the park wearing it. I mean, so it's great because it moves with you, it just really fits my lifestyle, whereas I didn't find anything else that I thought, you know, would come close to it. And, and so if anybody's concerned about you know, the hug and it being super tight for that, as someone who usually gets that triggered by tight garments, this doesn't do that to me. Because I think it's you know, so adjustable to how you do and it just moves so well with you. And like I said how it's distributed, you know, the weight of the it's not weight. I mean, it's nothing, it what like two pounds or less? It's distributed so evenly. It's not like putting all this pressure on any place and it's really like, you don't even notice that you're wearing it. So.
Julia: Oh, that's so awesome. We love hearing from our customers and the amazing stories that they have but I think yours is one of the best.
