The Internet can be a blessing and a curse to those of us with medical issues. Support is crucial in surviving with chronic disease but playing doctor can be deadly.Play Doctor Take for example my own ongoing battle of Essential Tremor Symptoms. It’s like a game show, “Wheel of Symptoms.” Pick a symptom, describe it in detail and try to figure out if it is related to Essential Tremor or another condition/illness altogether.
Read full blog at: http://tremoraction.org/2014/06/playing-doctor/
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I am pleased to see that something is finally in the works to help with the VA mess. But it should not have happened in the first place. At this point, fixing blame can be useful only in fixing the problem. Finding what went wrong and why should be the main focus. The men and women who have risked their lives for our country deserve so much better than they are currently receiving. The problem needs to be fixed. It needs to be fixed now. And it needs to be fixed right the first time.
Forget the politics. It does not matter which party was in charge when the problem started. Nor does it matter which party gets the credit for fixing the problem. How is this for an idea? Congress fixes this problem, fixes it right the first time, and people begin to have renewed faith in the political process. Atlantic City as a quick getaway destination was a very pleasant surprise. I was looking for an affordable location on the beach. That was the deal breaker; it had to be on the beach. After looking through every town in NJ, MD and DE, I settled on Atlantic City because of the casinos. I do not really gamble, other than football bets with friends for Starbucks. The casinos were not the draw in of themselves. They were the means to a nice hotel on the beach. All the casinos seemed to have mid-week deals on rooms. It was a matter of comparing who had the best price for a standard room. Once I found several locations under $100 a night for a standard room, I compared the facilities themselves. With dietary restrictions, I need to make sure that there was food that I could eat. The Trump Taj Mahal won based on the fact that the website advertises the following restaurants, including a buffet and an american cafe, in the hotel: IL MULINO NEW YORK ROBERT'S STEAKHOUSE DYNASTY MOON AT DYNASTY FRALINGER'S PANDA EXPRESS WHITE HOUSE SUB SHOP TRATTORIA IL MULINO SULTAN'S FEAST THE RIM NOODLE BAR SPICE ROAD BURGER PLATE AMERICAN CAFE GO HARD ROCK CAFE ROYAL ALBERT'S PALACE STARBUCKS SBARRO MAHARAJA EXPRESS & SALAD EXPRESS AUNTIE ANNE'S The problem was over half of those restaurants were not open, including the buffet, or had severely curtailed hours of operation. Nowhere on the webpage does it list the restaurant as seasonal: http://www.trumptaj.com/dining/ . Only the two very pricey steakhouses were open besides the fast food and the hit or miss american cafe. Instead of being able to just base ourselves at the hotel for all our needs except the beach, I spent more time than I had planned on web searches (not on the hotel wifi which was not free but on my phone's data plan) trying to find restaurants in walking distance that could accommodate my needs (no red meats, no fried foods). The House of Blues in the Showboat Casino advertised a pasta dish on their online menu and the menu posted outside of the restaurant but when we were given menus in the restaurant, it was no where to be found. After explaining my situation to the waiter, he spoke to the chef, who kindly made me a pasta dish. The location itself was great, on the boardwalk, a short walk to the Landshark and Steel Pier. The room was very nice and clean with view of the beach from the side. The staff were very kind and helpful but the Taj fell short of my ideal hotel because of the need to forage for food. The Taj could have at least put signs in front of their restaurants saying when and why they were closed instead of just closed. We had to ask at the desk to find out Plate was open from 7a-2p only. If the Trump Taj had put the correct information on their website, I would have selected a different hotel. I recommend Atlantic City (see blog post on Atlantic City fun). I do not recommend the Trump Taj Mahal. Atlantic City has a lot to offer if you are interested in the beach and nightlife. The beach was nice (see slideshow above). It was clean. Lifeguards were on duty from 10a-6p. The water was nice, a little chilly at first but after the heat of the beach it was refreshing. We literally walked out of the hotel doors, crossed the boardwalk and were on the beach. Walking on the boardwalk in the evening was a nice way to wind down the day. There are benches and Adirondack chairs placed all along the boardwalk. They are the perfect place to sit and people watch or just plan your next move. The pictures, in the slideshow below, were taken from the deck of the Landshark Bar (http://atlanticcity.landsharkbarandgrill.com/ ) . The restaurant has a wonderful open deck that overlooks the ocean plus the lower bar area shown in the pictures. It was a nice place. The music was not too loud so you could still have conversation and the service was great. Almost all the big chains, HardRock Cafe, House of Blues and Margaritaville had outdoor dining areas but Landshark was the only one actually located on the beach itself. We arrived around 5p on a Monday evening and left shortly after breakfast on a Wednesday morning. Tuesday was spent on the beach. It was a nice break. Only a 3 hour drive and the beach is waiting at the end. For a quick break, I would recommend Atlantic City. Good prices on hotels if you are willing to do some work to find them and food outside of the major chains seemed to be reasonable. The beaches certainly weren't crowded. I can't say whether they will be back in July and August but for June, they were great. So got a free day, get an early start and do the Atlantic City beach for a day!
The last time you had excellent customer service at a store or restaurant, did you take a moment to ask to speak to the manager and let them know about their outstanding employee? Do you do the surveys that print on receipts? If you experience great customer service, support those giving it to you. Talk to the manager or mention them by name in the online survey. It isn't easy working with the public and the good ones need to be commended.
Please share your experiences with excellent customer service. "There is no cure for Essential Tremor. None. At least not yet. If there is to ever be a cure, there first has to be a solution to The Problem with Essential Tremor. The Problem with Essential Tremor is awareness (or lack thereof). Very few people know what Essential Tremor is. The term “movement disorder” is often assumed to mean Parkinson’s Disease. Essential Tremor not only does not have a place at the table of movement disorders, it is not even part of the dinner conversation."
See full text of blog at: http://tremoraction.org/2014/05/hanging-together/ Posted May 30th, 2014 by TAN There is no “fun” in essential tremor. Literally and figuratively. You cannot spell “fun” using the letters in essential tremor, and it certainly is not a barrel of laughs to cope with it. However, it is no reason you cannot inject your own fun into your life with essential tremor. It is simply a matter of not allowing essential tremor to steal everything you enjoyed before your symptoms appeared. Read the full post at: http://tremoraction.org/2014/05/taking-back-et-leisure-activity/ http://tremoraction.org/2014/05/advocacy-can-effective-individual-level/ When those of us with medical issues think of advocacy, we tend to think of the “big boys”: Michael J. Fox and Parkinson’s, Susan Komen and Breast Cancer. Reminiscent of the belief that our individual voices are not heard in politics unless we belong to one of the two mainstream parties, we buy into the thought that we must have an organization to advocate for us. While organizations can be helpful in advocating, they are by no means necessary. All you need to advocate is your personal experience and the desire to make your voice heard.
Read the full post at: http://tremoraction.org/2014/05/advocacy-can-effective-individual-level/ http://tremoraction.org/2014/05/advocate-1/ “Loretta Ellis Geddes, born in 1886, lived in Panama while her husband Thomas worked on building the canal. She raised seven children between Panama and New York City during the depression. She spent every day taking care of her husband, children, and grandchildren. What Loretta never did was eat dinner with her family, have refreshments at her daughter’s engagement tea, eat or drink anything at any of her children’s or grandchildren’s weddings. She had essential tremor. She had it from the time she was a teenager. No one knew what it was or what caused it." Read the full post at: http://tremoraction.org/2014/05/advocate-1/ My site is still very much in the process of being created. Please bear with my growing pains. Thank you.
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