Hello to everyone in the essential tremor community!
I am new to the International Essential Tremor Foundation and wanted to introduce myself. I am the new marketing and communications manager. My role involves development of messages and stories to educate the public about essential tremor and the impact it has on more than 10 million people nationwide. I serve as editor of our magazine, Tremor Talk, and our Tremor Gram enewsletter. I oversee our social media sites, Facebook and Twitter, and manage our website, among other responsibilities.
I must confess I had never heard of ET before I applied for this position. How could that be? It impacts so many people and yet I was not aware. But I am catching up. Each day I read and hear stories from people of all ages who are living with ET. Just this week I was reviewing the applications from our scholarship recipients and was in awe of their positive outlooks, and also saddened by what they have had to endure. One student was diagnosed at age six, so he has had little experience of NOT having ET. One is a mother of three who said her biggest challenge has been answering her children when they ask, “Will I shake like that when I grow up?”
I am proud to work for an organization that is serving the ET community with awareness and education initiatives, and support, like scholarships. And last year we donated $75,000 toward research initiatives to further better treatment options for ET.
The learning will continue for me, and I am asking all of you for your support in this area. I would not be able to do my work without the ET community at large who share their stories of hope, frustration and, sometimes despair. No, some stories are not happy ones, but these are the ones that may resonate with others who are battling each day. I will do my best to share these stories and keep the lines of communication open. And, I look forward to the day when I can write that story about the breakthrough in research that will help everyone. I know it’s coming . . . keep the faith. . . and keep in touch with me.
I look forward to hearing from all of you out there. Write to me at tammy@essentialtremor.org.