Healing with Heaven's Hands

Every month on the social media page Helping Hands in Seneca County, a woman posts that she is offering three free massages for cancer patients. That woman is Jennifer Theis. Theis has been a massage therapist for the past 10 years. Before becoming a massage therapist, she worked as a travel agent. She lost her job, so she moved on to work at Fostoria Industries. When Fostoria Industries closed, she saw the layoff as an opportunity to go back to school for massage therapy after securing funds through a government program. "I had learned other healing work, so I thought massages would go with that. After I finished school, I worked in a hospice center doing massages for those patients. I worked there for three years but my job was cut due to budgeting," Theis said. "Then I had a friend who worked at Cancer Patient Services in Findlay. They said the center was going to start offering massages and asked if I was interested. I said yes because I had enjoyed working for hospice so much," she said. Due to COVID, she had to stop doing massages. This was difficult for her, because she really enjoyed the work she said. "The massages became the highlight of my week. I really connected with my clients," she said. Ever resilient, Theis first started her own massage practice out of her home, but eventually moved to St. Francis Spirituality Center. Her practice is called Heaven's Hands, LLC. "I decided to start offering three free massages a month to cancer patients because I missed the connection and providing them with relief." The massages she does for cancer patients aren't too different from the massages she does for her day-to-day patients. She said the most important part is to ask certain questions, like if they've had surgery recently or if they're undergoing chemo. Cancer patients may have areas they don't want to be touched, or areas that Theis needs to be gentle with. During these massages, Theis tends to focus more on relaxation, muscle issues and stress than she does with other patients. One technique she uses is craniosacral therapy, which uses gentle touches to soothe the body. Theis also utilizes energy work through her hands to help spiritually heal, she said. "Before I came to St. Francis, there was a Sister here who was the massage therapist. She taught me to pray over clients before I start the massage. It helps to establish a spiritual connection instead of only a physical connection. "I feel I treat my practice more like a ministry than a job," she said. Theis offers paid massages and still gives three free massages per month to cancer patients. Theis' practice can be found on social media by searching "Heaven's Hands, LLC," and she can be reached her via email at heavenshands@att.net.