Joining the Stroke Survivors Club

Update 10-13-18

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Yes, on Saturday August 11, I Joined the Stroke Survivors' Club

My wife's employer has a beautiful home in a rustic part of Phoenixville, PA.

They asked her to house sit while they were in Cape May, NJ, and she asked me to join her. So to avoid Friday afternoon traffic, I drove out Thursday evening, August 9.

Friday morning I felt a little dizzy, which I told my wife. She said: "You should see a doctor," Me: "No, I'll be fine."

I finished a press release, then went out for lunch. After lunch I started another press release.

Around 3:00pm I said I felt tired, so I took a nap until before dinner. We had dinner without incident.

Spent some time together after dinner then I went upstairs to get ready for bed.

Overnight I felt a numbness in my right hand, so I thought I'd take a walk in the morning to walk it off.

Saturday morning I woke up and my entire right side was numb, and I told my wife I thought I might have had a stroke. She thought we should get to an ER, but I said I'd take a quick shower first, which I did.

We went to Phoenixville Hospital. We parked in a lot, I walked down some steps to the ER, and even signed the admission forms.

I had a CT Scan and an MRI, which at first were inconclusive, so a neurologist was contacted, and I was admitted for an overnight stay.

On Sunday my symptoms got much worse. My speech got slurred, I lost the use of my right hand and leg.

The neurologist arrived on Monday, and concluded that I had a brain stem stroke, which is difficult to detect with an MRI, but he said he would have certain parts of the MRI images enlarged, and would be able to confirm his diagnosis.

My condition had been stabilized, so arrangements were made to transfer me to Healthsouth, in Vineland, NJ, a stroke rehab facility.

Healthsouth, Vineland, NJ

For me, and most others I'm sure, stroke rehab is a difficult process on many levels. It's a strange experience to go from being fully functional one day, to being unable to stand, walk, and use a hand the next. The rehab process is full-time, residential, and includes Occupational Therapy, (OT); Physical Therapy, (PT); and Speech Therapy.

OT is primarily upper body: Hand, Arm, and Shoulder. PT is primarily lower body: Standing and Walking. Speech Therapy is actually mostly cognitive, checking daily reasoning processes, which can be affected by a stroke.

Progress is measured by a set of standards pertaining to everyday functions: dressing, washing, motor skills, walking and standing (being able to effectively use the affected side of the body.)

When I arrived at Healthsouth, I was unable to stand, walk, or move my right hand.

After five weeks of daily therapy I returned home, and I am now able to walk with a walker, move with the use of a wheelchair, and perform simple tasks with my right hand.

My wife also received family training at Healthsouth, she is now able to help me with my full range of daily activities, while I begin to readjust to daily life.

Healthsouth therapists gave me many different types of exercises, and as long as I continue to do them, I can continue to work towards a complete recovery.

Additionally my treatments at Healthsouth resulted in me now enjoying blood pressure and blood sugar numbers that are the lowest I've had in my adult life.

My second family at The Ritz Theatre Co. has been a blessing to me. Today my wife and I attended a performance of Incorruptible, which was a very important step to me in getting back to my life.

I am eternally grateful to everyone who has helped me get through this, the best is truly yet to come!

Steve Thompson
September 23, 2018

Healthsouth, Vineland, NJ

Incorruptible, at The Ritz Theatre Co.

Understanding and Appreciating Journalistic Integrity

Steve Thompson
Thompson Communications

Journalistic integrity used to be taken for granted, but no more. 

Legitimate journalists who have produced quality, ethical work for decades have been attacked as "fake news" simply because the person featured in their stories doesn't like how he was portrayed. The same person has shown disdain for the free press in general.

The free press exposed the error of our very costly role in the Viet Nam war. The free press exposed the criminal activities of another president, and caused his eventual resignation of his office. The free press exposed our own government's separating children from their parents, then incarcerating them in centers, and holding them in cages.

In every instance, and many, many more, each of these actions would have continued were it not for a free press.

But in order for the free press to work, it needs to be coupled with journalistic integrity.

Journalistic integrity comes down to one simple element: Credibility.

We must be able to trust what we read, see, and hear from media outlets.

So how can an average person understand what is credible, and what isn't?

Substantiation.

My generation learned a lot about substantiation from the Watergate era: Woodward and Bernstein, and their editor Ben Bradlee, as depicted in the film All the President's Men.

To understand what takes place before The Washington Post publishes a story, check out their clearly defined editorial policies, which cover many elements, including fact checking.

Are they perfect? No more perfect than you and I, but when they discover a mistake they admit it, and publish a retraction or correction.

(Click or Tap to Enlarge)

Fact vs. Opinion; Fake News Isn't Opinion, It's Propaganda

Most media outlets publish both fact and opinion. 

Credible media outlets clearly identify opinion pieces. 

When legislation passes and becomes law, that's fact. It can be substantiated by the vote count, and the text of the bill.

But the law's impact is opinion. Many people use background information to support their opinions, but they remain opinions, until they can be substantiated with fact.

Less credible media outlets now routinely present opinion as unsubstantiated facts, because their audience doesn't know the difference, and probably doesn't care.

Here's a brief history, and debunking, of the recent "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory

That untrue conspiracy theory resulted in a North Carolina man entering the pizza shop in Washington DC in December of 2016, and allegedly firing an assault rifle inside the shop.

Words matter.

There are a few ways to determine whether you are receiving the truth or not.

Consider the Source

Always be sure that you recognize and respect the original source of the story, and check to see if the same story was reported by other media outlets.

Consider who benefits

Propaganda is generally spread to benefit a few people in power. One of the reasons why some media outlets publish false or misleading stories is so that they will continue to have access to the people in power, who their propaganda benefits.

Consider the questions asked by journalists

A "fluff piece" will usually include questions that flatter, but never challenge the subject.


Always Maintaining Journalistic Integrity

I've done publicity work for a wide range of different types of clients, from those selling industrial equipment intended to increase productivity, to an Academy Award Winner promoting his film roles and public appearances, to up and coming talents who are working hard to advance their careers.

I have never once had to resort to "alternate facts" for any of those clients.

Consequently, when I send out a press notice the media outlets know that they can depend on my own journalistic integrity.

Because throughout my career I have established myself as a publicist with journalistic integrity, journalists know that if they publish something that they've received from me, they are assured that we will be able to answer any questions that their audience might ask, because they know that everything that I send out is substantiated. It's fact, not opinion, not propaganda.

So if you have questions about journalistic integrity, just ask. 

If you value and need journalistic integrity, then you know you can trust me!

Contact:

Steve Thompson

Thompson Communications

856-425-0743

(Google Voice line, for
quick voicemail and text.)

steve@thomcomm.net

About Me

Understanding the Basic Publicity Process

Today you have more ways than ever to get your message out. So the task becomes how do you use all of those communications channels to your best advantage?

You can compose your message, then publish it verbatim, through paid advertising, through social media, through blogging, and through your own website.

So why implement a publicity effort?

Credibility.

When your story appears in a media outlet, it implies the endorsement of the media outlet.

Producer, SAG-AFTRA Actress Sabrina Percario has been a client for several years. Most recently she produced a film entitled Breaking with actress Alessandra Hajaj, which has earned an impressive list of festival awards.

Here is one of the places where her story appeared: Multiple Award Winning Breaking Features The Accomplishments Of Two Talented Immigrant Female Filmmakers

What went into getting that story published? 

First we had to organize all of the information into a press release.

Then I create a Media Resource webpage, where journalists can go to obtain our information. 

Breaking Media Resource Page

That way I can send an introductory email with enough information that the recipient can make up their mind quickly, without having to read the entire story. If they want more information, our intro note contains a link to our media resource page. If they don't want to take the time to download the files right away, I offer a link to an online version of the release.

Then we contact a list of media outlets who have a high probability of publishing the story. That list comes from a few different places.

When I started working with Sabrina, because she's originally from Brazil, I learned about the annual Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival. I researched which journalists covered the festival, because they have an exceptionally high probability for publishing Sabrina's stories. The Immigrant Magazine has an interest in stories about immigrants who work hard and make a name for themselves in the US. 

I submitted Sabrina's story to the editor, and she responded by saying yes, she would publish Sabrina's story, and she gave us a few editorial points she wanted to see in the story. We edited her story, and submitted it, and the editor accepted it, and published it.

The Immigrant Magazine First Story on Sabrina Percario

Submitting a story to media outlets is a subjective process, that is, sometimes media outlets have no interest in the story.

When that's the case, we turn to a commercial press release distribution service. In my opinion, the top two press release distribution services are PR Newswire and PR Web. I prefer a company called eReleases who has an arrangement with PR Newswire available at a discounted rate. I think their Buzz Builder program is an exceptionally good value. There are also less expensive services, contact me and I'll explain them too!

Many commercial distribution services offer Associated Press (AP) distribution. AP is an internationally known resource to journalists, which reaches newspapers across the country. That's mostly useful for reaching journalists who may be working on a story that covers your subject, and may want to include something from your release in their story.

With a press release distribution service there are a few options. Most services will offer publication catagories, meaning for example, with a client like Sabrina, we want Entertainment media outlets and journalists. And geographic demographics too. In Sabrina's case, we concentrate on Los Angeles and New York. 

You can Click Here to see who eReleases reaches

When press release distribution services offer guaranteed appearance on a number of media sites, it's through syndicated distribution. That's a relationship they have with a number of sites. Those usually only stay up maybe two to three months, but a few stay on longer.

These syndicated release placements are useful for social media posts.

Sabrina Percario on Financial Content, a syndicated release placement

For most clients, the two month introductory program I offer works best.

Thompson Communications Two Month Promotional Program

If you don't have the budget for that program, but you want to learn how to do everything yourself, I offer a consulting package.

Thompson Communications Consulting

In summary, the publicity process usually follows this sequence:

Distill your message into a form that will generate interest from media outlets.

Create an infrastructure for making your message accessible to media outlets, I typically use a Media Resource page and an Online Press Release, because they are a convenience to the people we're contacting, and after a week or two they begin to show up in search engine searches.

Create a target media list based on who you intend to reach with your message.

Contact those media outlets through email and telephone.

If necessary, use a press release distribution service. In a case where your subject is of general interest, I advise using a distribution service right away. There are actually many to choose from, I feel eReleases offers the best value.

Then once your release is distributed, some media outlets may publish your story without notifying you, so it's a good idea to use Google Alerts to track where your story appears.

There are five essential steps you should take if you are interested in gaining publicity. I'll send these to you right away, (for free, with no additional obligations) just write to me at steve@thomcomm.com with "5 Essential Publicity Steps" in the title and I'll get it right out to you.

Contact:

Steve Thompson

Thompson Communications

856-425-0743

(Google Voice line, for
quick voicemail and text.)

steve@thomcomm.com

About Me

Is a Confidential Outreach Right for You?

Sometimes it helps to have someone else do professional, confidential outreach for you.

Distribution is a typical subject that's handled confidentially. A list of potential distributors or co-production partners is compiled, then outreach is conducted personally. Sometimes initial contact is by traditional printed, mailed business letter. That way when a follow-up telephone call is made, the usual response is "Yes, I do remember seeing that letter."

Once a contact is established, you are notified, and you and your representatives can pick up from there.

Above the line talent promotion can also be handled this way, but it's important to understand the difference between an attorney, an agent, and a publicist in this regard. As publicist, we only convey information that is non-proprietary. So our services do not lend themselves to promoting a script or screenplay.

The confidential aspect of our work refers to the fact that the outreach is private, not public. When we promote you through a press release, we want as many people as possible to know what we're doing. When we do a confidential outreach for you, no one knows about it other than us and the people we contact on your behalf.

We also do not negotiate on your behalf. We can make an introduction on your behalf, but all financial details would be handled by yourself, your attorney, agent, or manager.

Attorneys, agents, and managers prefer to "field offers," meaning that once you have offers, they will negotiate on your behalf. But many don't want to promote you to generate those offers, so that's where I come in.

If you are looking for a way to break through to the next level in your career, consider a confidential outreach, it could be exactly what you need to advance in your industry.

A confidential outreach will only work for certain people at certain points in their career, so if this sounds interesting to you, it's best to get back to me, tell me a little about what you are doing, and what you would like to accomplish, and I'll be glad to let you know if the technique might work for you.

Contact:

Steve Thompson

Thompson Communications

856-425-0743
(Google Voice line, for

quick voicemail and text.)

steve@thomcomm.net

About Me

Dealing with Peripheral Neuropathy

(Scroll down for an update 3/8/2021)

My personal experience with neuropathy began in the late summer of 2014. I was in my doctor’s office for a check up, and I mentioned that I had foot pains that were awakening me at night. At the time I had a job which required me to stand all day, so I just thought that was the source of my trouble. He said, "Well, we'll deal with the neuropathy next." (At the time I didn't even know what neuropathy was, I looked it up when I got home!)

He informed me that I was a diabetic, and I would have to take metformin every day for the rest of my life to bring my blood glucose level down. So I tried it, but within fifteen minutes I began to have adverse reactions. My stomach hurt, I became disoriented, I developed stabbing pains in the lower half of my body, which I never had before. That night I went to bed right away, and stayed in bed most of the following day.

Thinking it was just something out of the ordinary, I took it again the following day, which was a Monday so I was at work, and in a short time I felt so bad that I didn’t think I’d be able to drive someone else’s vehicle, which was a part of my job at the time.

Coincidentally I had a doctor’s appointment for that night, but my wife advised me to go to a nearby Urgent Care, which I did.

They did not have the necessary equipment to test my reaction, so I kept my early evening doctor’s appointment.

When I told him about my reaction, he berated me! “I’ve prescribed metformin to millions of my patients, and none has ever had the reactions you describe!” I had the jar of pills in my hand, and I said “I don’t care how many patients you’ve had, I know what happened to me, and I refuse to take any more of these.” 

He mumbled something about who’s name was on the wall of his office, and I was mis-advised to go to Urgent Care. That was the last time I ever went to him.

The next week I began to suffer with stabbing pains in my big toes, which I now know is neuropathy. I also began to suffer with pains in my muscles when I did things like going up a ladder, which I also never had before.

I found another doctor, and he advised me that although I never had stabbing pains before in my life, and they started on the very day I took metformin (and continue to today) it was just a coincidence. 

The next doctor prescribed gabapentin, which also made me feel strange.

I asked him about pain treatments, and he said "Well I don't think that pain treatment is the way to deal with neuropathy." I thought if he ever had the pain I'm experiencing every night, he'd head straight to the medicine chest as fast as he could!

I did some research of my own, and found a few things that help. 

Corydalis, a natural herb treatment that’s used in Asia works, so now I take one capsule in the morning so I can work, and another after lunch.

I also learned from a Neuropathy group member about Evening Primrose Oil, that seems to help also. Note the label reads "Three Per Day." Click here to view it on the Walgreen's site.

I’ve tried hemp oil tablets, which you can order here from Amazon, they seem to help. They also seem to help with sleep, but they do not get you high.

I’ve tried a few drops of CBD Oil at bedtime, that seems to help also.

During the winter I apply some Capzasin-HP Cream to my feet, that helps, but you have to wash it off your hands right away, or it will sting the skin on your hands.

When the weather is warmer, I use Aloe Vera gel on my feet at bedtime, which you can pick up anywhere, that seems to help.

If you have a doctor you trust, lucky you!

But if not, you need to do some research, check with other group members, then keep trying until you find something that works for you.

I hope my experiences help you! I'll be adding more information and resources soon, so I'll keep you updated.

UPDATE 3/8/2021

A year and a half ago a neuropathy group member recommended the following supplement regimen to me:

Evening Primrose Oil, 1000 mg, Folic Acid 400 MCG, B-12 Methylcobalamin 5000 mcg, Benfotiamine 300 mg, Alpha Lipoic Acid 200 mg, L-Arginine 1000 mg

And it has worked for me! I no longer have neuropathy pain at night, I don't need any painkillers at night any more.

At my worse, the pains began around 3:00pm and got progressively worse. I screamed out in pain in my bedroom, and even at a store at the self check-out register.

As I started the regimen, that time got later and later, until now I don't have any neuropathy pains at all!

I don't sell any of these supplements, so I have nothing to gain by telling you this, except that it worked for me, and maybe it will work for you.

Read up on these supplements on your own, then think about how they might help you.

I've also moved to a new state, found a new doctor, who recommended cymbalta, which seems to help too.

Please comment on Facebook if you'd like, thanks!

Here are a few other links that might help you:

Dr. Oz on Corydalis

Mayo Clinic on Peripheral Neuropathy

Sometimes there's just no substance that seems to ease the pain, but here's a Facebook link to a beautiful piece of music by neuropathy group member Cheryl Edelman

Please Note: My intent is to share my experiences, gained through trial and error. I am not selling any of these products, nor am I recommending them to you. You should always consult with a qualified healthcare expert before making decisions and taking action regarding your personal health.

Maximizing Your Online Profile

As a creative professional: actor, director, producer, technician, you need to be continually aware of your online profile, and how it directly affects your career.

A few years ago an actor client told me a producer hired him because of his Facebook posts!

So there are a few things at the very minimum that you should have:

An Up to Date IMDb Profile

Your Own Website

Relevant Social Media Postings

When people contact me to assist them in creating publicity programs, the goal is always to obtain coverage by major entertainment media outlets.

So if coverage in major media outlets is your goal, it's time to do your homework! Learn which media outlets and journalists cover your sort of story. Before you send out a press release, introduce yourself and explain why you feel your story would benefit their audience. 

You work in one of the most competitive industries, so learn what sets your story apart from your competitors. 

I have an actress/producer client who produced a film about making hard career decisions, and the loss of her mother. That's a story that people can relate to, so her story received some media coverage. 

A film technician client worked in a post-production shop that produced effects for some high-profile films, so that helped his story get published.

For some people it's better to have a publicist create, manage, and distribute their information. Every day you see people in media who make mistakes by "going direct," you don't want to be one of them!

In our business every story is different, every person is different, I think that's one of the things we like about it! What's your story?

I want to hear from you, so please feel free to contact me on how to maximize your online profile, how we can develop your story, and get your story out to media outlets!

Contact:

Steve Thompson

Thompson Communications

steve@thomcomm.net

About Me

Structuring an Entertainment Publicity Program

Last year I began working as the Community Outreach Director for The Ritz Theatre Company, near my home.

Since then I've promoted several shows, including the Bob Fosse classic Pippin.

Here is a published story on the show. I wrote the press release:

The Ritz Theatre Company Presents "Pippin"

My basic structure is to introduce the reader to the show, provide a quote from our Artistic Director about why he feels the show is relevant to our audience, then describe our current production, including cast and crew.

Our intention is to take a reader who knows nothing, or very little about the show, and leave them with a basic understanding, and enough information that will prompt them to take an action, in this case buy a ticket!

Then the press release is submitted to media outlets who have a reasonable probability of publishing it, in this example New Jersey Stage. 

The process is similar for an entertainment publicity program that would promote you or your project. I will interview you to learn what makes your story unique, write a press release, then get it out to those people who I think have a good probability for covering your type of story, while also promoting your story in social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Stage 32.

Here is another example on a film industry professional:

ACTRESS/PRODUCER SABRINA PERCARIO LAUNCHES PRODUCTION COMPANY

If you are serious about generating publicity for yourself or a project, and you would like to get started developing a publicity program, take the first step, and get back to me. 

I'll ask you a few clarifying questions, then give you enough information so that you can make an informed decision on how you would like to proceed.

Steve Thompson

Thompson Communications

steve@thomcomm.net

856-425-0743

(For quick voicemail and text.)