I’ve been doing some research for a project at work. Found a nice website that gives benchmarks for retailers–Retail Owners Institute (http://www.retailowner.com/). This will help us get our mercantile back on track. I’ve learned more than I dreamed possible about retail this past two months. Boy–we still have a long way to go.

My son holding the loose gas line

I helped my son move this week. We rented a Budget truck. We stopped for gas two hours into our trip and when I screwed off the gas cap, the line leading to the gas tank fell on the ground. Gas gushed everywhere right in the middle of a Murphy’s in a Walmart parking lot. Thankfully, I was standing to one side and managed to grab it up and prop it through the hole where it should have been secured. Then I got on the phone with Budget–needless to say, I was NOT happy. The Murphy ladies were great–they gave me  orange cones to put at each end of the truck and we sat there for nearly four hours waiting for repairs. When I picked that truck up from Bryan TX, it had a full tank of gas. Anyone adding gas to that tank should have seen that something was wrong. I won’t rent from Budget again because this shows to me a considerable lack of attention to maintenance of their vehicles.

How could anyone not notice something like this???

Folks…that is NOT acceptable doctoring….either the guy was a moron or he just didn’t care enough to actually do a few tests. Alzheimer’s CANNOT be definitively diagnosed just by asking a few questions. GET A SECOND OPINION. If you have a loved one who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the Alzheimer’s Association has a wealth of information. There are many other health problems, some reversible, that can have symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s.

I recently took her to a neurologist for a seemingly unrelated health problem, but he was very thorough and took two hours to question her about her medical history and do a series of tests on her reflexes and mobility. He recognized a pattern of seemingly unrelated health issues–difficulty walking, memory problems, incontinence to name a few. They all pointed to an often overlooked ailment called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus…and she may  not have Alzheimer’s at all. We still have a lot of testing to do before a final diagnosis can be made, but thank God for doctor’s who care.

The moral of this story is….don’t accept a doctor’s word as gospel. If you have any doubts, get a second opinion. Be an educated and assertive consumer, especially where your health is concerned.