Romert

October 2009 - National Movement Disorders Awareness Month

2009-10-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

Romert - April 2009

2009-10-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

Romert and the Case of the Cherry-Pit-Pack

2008-12-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

Romert goes to Chicago!

2008-03-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

How to Raise Funds for the Tremoraction Network - Without Spending a Penny!

2007-11-30T22:51:00.001-08:00

Tremor Action Network is a small nonprofit that provides awareness, education and support for people with movement disorders. Please help keep our newsletter, Spikes & Spasms, a free resource by making a donation to offset the publishing costs of the newsletter. Any size contribution is welcome, and is tax deductible in the United States and where appropriate outside the USA.

In addition to the free newsletter, we provide other no charge services, including but not limited to: Tremor, an online support group (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/tremor/), packets of current information and resources, and one-on-one services.

An effortless contribution is searching the web at GoodSearch (http://www.goodsearch.com/). Each Internet search through GoodSearch generates $.01 for TAN at no cost to you. We appreciate family, friends and co-workers using GoodSearch too!

We will soon be implementing the GoodShop by GoodSearch.
http://www.goodsearch.com/goodshop.aspx

Here's one example of how much our organization can earn from GoodSearch:
Size Number of Average Estimated
Supporters Searches Revenue/Year
Per Day from Search

Small 100 2 $730

A contribution is made to TAN every time you search the Internet using GoodSearch.com. Tremor Action Network will generate approximately $.01 for each new search. If you think about how many times you search the Internet, the searches from TAN supporters will quickly add up! The sky is the limit!!!

Also visit benevolink.com
Benevolink® Giving Made Simple!Tremor Action Network would like to share Benevolink with you, a great way for you to donate to Tremor Action Network. You can generate contributions for Tremor Action Network by “shopping online.” Benevolink is completely private and secure. Register as a member with Benevolink for FREE by clicking on the Benevolink logo, or via www.benevolink.com , or telephone (1-800-556-GIVE). A live person immediately answers if you need assistance for enrolling in the Benevolink Giving Community! Benevolink has more than 200 brand name retailers. Benevolink Marketplace merchants automatically contribute a percentage of your total purchase to a Benevolink account in your name, when you purchase through (only) Marketplace at Benevolink. You can choose Tremor Action Network as one of your favorite charities before your online shopping begins. Once a quarter, you will be prompted, via email, to check your Benevolink account online and direct your funds to Tremor Action Network. The Benevolink program is an easy and effective way for retailers to reach into the community with their philanthropic efforts.

Tremor Action Network looks forward to you becoming a member of the Benevolink community to support essential tremor and tremor related neurological movement disorders research for new treatments and a cure.

ROMERT - October 2007

2007-09-14T20:48:00.001-07:00

Romert and Friends - April 2007

2007-09-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Romert Visits Washington AGAIN!!!!!

2006-09-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Romert's pal, Kathleen, from the Tremor Action Network, has been busy calling all the Health Aides who work for the “appropriations” Senators and House of Representatives that review the U.S. Budget and draft fiscal plans, encouraging them to attend the Movement Disorders Patient Summit. She has received positive responses. Romert is amazed at how much time and energy Kathleen devotes to making the world a better place for everyone who is affected by movement disorders!

The September issue of Spikes & Spasms is now available at:
http://www.tremoraction.org/pdfs/SEP-2006.pdf

New ET Study

2006-05-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

The Toonist

2006-05-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is me with my three dogs, Sparky (4), Pogo (2), and Mia (7 months).

ROMERT GOES TO WASHINGTON

2006-03-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

Congressman Stark to Fight Against Budget Cuts

President Bush's proposed budget cuts for 2007 include substantial funding cuts to 9 out of the 10 research institutes at the National Institutes of Health. One of those institutes is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, whose clinical research and trials include essential tremor and dystonias.

Essential Tremor is a rhythmic, involuntary muscular contraction characterized by oscillations (to-and-fro movements) of a part of the body. The most common of all involuntary movements, tremor can affect various body parts such as the hands, head, facial structures, vocal cords, trunk, and legs; most tremors, however, occur in the hands. Tremor often accompanies neurological disorders associated with aging. Although the disorder is not life-threatening, it can be responsible for functional disability and social embarrassment.

NINDS investigators are currently conducting physiological studies of patients with tremors. These studies include classifying the tremor and providing appropriate therapy.

Dystonias are movement disorders in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The movements, which are involuntary and sometimes painful, may affect a single muscle; a group of muscles such as those in the arms, legs, or neck; or the entire body. Early symptoms may include deterioration in handwriting, foot cramps, or a dragging foot after running or walking some distance. Other possible symptoms are tremor and voice or speech difficulties. About half the cases of dystonia have no connection to disease or injury and are called primary or idiopathic dystonia. Of the primary dystonias, many cases appear to be inherited. Dystonias can also be symptoms of other diseases, some of which may be hereditary. In some individuals, symptoms of a dystonia appear in childhood. For other individuals, the symptoms emerge in late adolescence or early adulthood.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) conducts research related to dystonia in its laboratories at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and also supports additional dystonia research through grants to major medical institutions across the country. Investigators believe that the dystonias result from an abnormality in an area of the brain called the basal ganglia, where some of the messages that initiate muscle contractions are processed. Scientists at the NINDS laboratories have conducted detailed investigations of the pattern of muscle activity in persons with dystonias. Studies using EEG analysis and neuroimaging are probing brain activity. The search for the gene or genes responsible for some forms of dominantly inherited dystonias continues.

Hello World!

2006-02-09T19:52:00.000-08:00

Hello World! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Romert, the Essential Otter. I am a sea otter, (not to be confused with a river otter).

Up until recently, I have been floating, aimlessly along the coast of California, hoping that I would soon have a name. Thanks to Andrea, from the Yahoo Tremor Group, I finally can be called something else besides "Hey You, yes you floating on your back in the ocean!"

And....like many of you, I carry the challenges of living with both Essential Tremor (or ET) and Dystonia. Did you know that sea otters are prone to tremors? Not everyone knows that. It makes it a little difficult to carefully open the abalone shells sometimes, but I take each day one at a time.

I hope you will follow my adventures, which will be posted in the Tremor Action Newsletter and also on my blog!

I'd enjoy hearing from all of you, because I can only get by with a little help from my friends! Speaking of friends, click on the link below and watch one of my fellow sea otters at play on a live webcam.... have fun!
-Romert

Live Sea Otter Webcam...... at the Monterey Bay Aquarium!
http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_otter/otter_cam.asp