Friendly places and friendly faces: At the Massy Pharmacy

It always helps, whenever one enters a pharmacy, that there is a friendly pharmacist just waiting to be of service. Most of all, one who is friendly, helpful, and so very knowledgeable.

This is the description of the pharmacist at the Massy pharmacy. I simply enjoy my encounters with her each time I visit this particular pharmacy. She does not treat me any differently as someone with a vision impairment. She takes everything in stride. She answers my questions, shows me where to insert my card when I come to pay for my purchases, and she is always so very pleasant.

I just wish that more persons in the service industry could be more like her.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day!

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids, with their wide eyed smiles and infectious laughter, is secured forever.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

She is a Godsend: My favourite pharmacist

I could not ask for a better pharmacist. She works at the Shoppers Pharmacy Drug Mart in the Bridlewood Mall.

She is patient, understands how to interact with me as a vision-impaired customer, and knows exactly how to help me identify my medications.

She is always ahead of the game, so to speak, because she has already labeled my bottles with distinguishing marks by the time I am there to pick up my prescriptions. She goes way beyond the call of duty but, sad to say, I do not even know her name!

She knows my first name and always calls me by it. She is a gem and I thank her for being my favourite pharmacist!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids, with their wide eyed smiles and infectious laughter, is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!

From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts! www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html

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'Let's Talk Tips' is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media, Business, and Advocacy.  http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

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A tedious but necessary chore: Taking care with the prescription bottles

This is probably always going to be a challenge for me and a very important one.  Whenever I receive more than one prescription bottle from the pharmacy I need to ensure that I am able to distinguish each of them because one error can cost me medically.

I have to say that my pharmacy and their super staff do understand and are always willing and ready to help me decipher the difference.  So, whenever I go to pick up my medications they have already labelled them for me by putting them in bottles that I can distinguish.   They do this with tape and elastics.

I am truly grateful to the Shoppers Drug Mart Pharmacy!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids, with their wide eyed smiles and infectious laughter, is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!

From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts! www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter!

'Let's Talk Tips' is my monthly resource for the most current and reliable informational tips available in the areas of Technology, Nutrition, Media, Business, and Advocacy.  http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Braille labels found in St. Lucia

Just imagine my surprise when I discovered that some of the products in a pharmacy in St. Lucia had Braille labels on their boxes.  I discovered this great find during my 2015 annual summer trip to this tiny Caribbean island and boy was I delighted.

I have seen Braille labels before on a sporadic basis but I certainly did not expect to find them in this particular neck of the woods.  Now, allow me to clarify for you.  The box in question that I discovered was denoted with the name of the product in Braille, just one line of Braille.

This was enough for me to light up with glee. Then a closer examination of other boxes on the shelf enabled me to discover that several others also had Braille notations on their fronts.

This, to me, is a start and I look forward to more progress.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
http://jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author/
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Looking for products in the pharmacy

I find that the easiest way for me to do this is to be very specific as to what I seek. So this is how I do it.

I either take a replica of what I am looking for: empty box, bottle, or package or tube. If I am unable to do so then I type out a description on my computer and I print it off on my printer and take it along.

When I enter the pharmacy I hand it off to the customer service rep or if a friend accompanies me I give it to them. This method sure works. I find it very effective. It sure helps to avoid lengthy explanations and I do not have to spend time explaining things to the one helping me.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan
Like me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan
Visit my online store to either purchase or subscribe for unlimited access to our library at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html and you can even take advantage of my free downloads!
Or subscribe to my free monthly newsletter at www.donnajodhan.com.

Dear Readers:
This is a personal request from me for you to join my campaign against bullying (CAB).

In 2012 I launched my own campaign against bullying in response to appeals from friends and associates. I decided to try something new and here it is.

You can support my campaign against bullying (CAB) and in return for your valuable contribution I will send you a thank you gift. Visit www.jodhanmysterybook.club to learn more. I will use all contributions to promote workshops to help others protect themselves from bullying and teach them how to launch their own anti bullying campaigns.

In addition, I will produce blogs and podcasts to help me spread my campaign and to convince others to do the same.

You may also visit my online store at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html and browse through my selections.

Help me to stop the spread of bullying and to show others how to combat bullies.

About my audio mysteries: Patterned after the "Murder, She Wrote!" and "Murdoch Mysteries," where mystery is the order of the day. Meet Detective DJ and the Crime Crushers. You won’t want to miss out on any of her audio mysteries! Filled with gripping drama and unbelievable plots, you won’t be able to stop listening until the very end and then you’ll be craving for more – there is mystery behind every mystery!

Detective DJ writes and records her own audio mysteries. She uses the power of words to create and solve her crimes, and then she draws you in and before you know it – you’re all caught up in the plot! But alas, at the end of it all, when you think you’ve identified the perpetrator, she surprises you once more and you’re left absolutely stunned and amazed!

A need to identify those bottles of pills

I am always so careful to ensure that whenever I need to get more than one bottle of pills from my pharmacy, be they prescriptions or not, I have to ensure that I know which bottle contains which pills.

True it is that I could identify through different sizes and different covers, and many times through the different shapes and smells of the pills themselves. But what if some of the bottles are of the same size and the pills feel the same?

Sure! It happens from time to time and you may be wondering then what do I do.

First off, when I realize that there could be an identification problem, I get to work with my friendly pharmacist. Next and very carefully, I ask the pharmacist to tell me which bottle is which and then I use tape to help me.

I put the tape on the bottles but there is more than this to it. If two bottles are of the same size, then tape goes onto one bottle and the other is left without any tape. The trick is for me to remember which bottle of pills has the tape.

So this is my trick. I go in alphabetical order. Example: Aspirins and Gravol. I put tape on the bottle of Aspirins and the bottle of Gravol is left without any tape. If I have three bottles then Aspirins will have the tape on the cover. Gravol will have tape at the bottom of its bottle, and Tylenol will not have any tape.

I do my best to ensure that all bottles of pills are easy to identify for me and my friendly pharmacist is usually so ready and willing to help me.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

Follow me on twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan.
Visit our online store to either purchase or subscribe for unlimited access to our library at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html and you can even take advantage of our free downloads! Or subscribe to our free
monthly newsletter at www.donnajodhan.com

This is a personal message from author Donna Jodhan
"Each time we raise our voice at someone else we are engaging in bullying! Each time we raise our hands to slap or punch someone else we are also engaging in bullying and each time we engage in actions to either manipulate or force someone else to do what we want we are also engaging in bullying!

There is no room in this world for bullying and each day we fail to take action against bullying it is another day that we allow others to bully us and our kids. Our heroes and role models are the ones who have made us proud; those brave young men and women who gave their lives for us in past wars and those who continue to do so. They are not the ones who choose to be racists and those who believe that their bad behaviour in public is acceptable.

I write and record audio mysteries that are being used at such events as murder mystery evenings as well as at public awareness and team building events. I promote understanding, tolerance, and problem solving and my audio mysteries continue to be broadcasted around the world and you can listen to them anywhere! On the plane or train! In the car or right there in your home! On your i device or computer!

Please join my campaign against bullying (CAB) by supporting my efforts to keep on writing and recording!
If you truly care then you will certainly dare!"

Problems with prescriptions

In a nutshell, it is a huge problem. I am unable to read them for myself and I still have to depend on sighted assistance to have them read to me. If there is no one around or if the doctor has not explained them to me, then I am in trouble.

I have a terrific family doctor who tells me what she is doing, that is, what type of prescription she is writing out for me. But I do not always get the same pharmacist who tells me exactly what the prescription is, and what it contains. Maybe there is some type of gadget out there that will help me to read prescriptions; hopefully someone will read this and let me know.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to share my blogs with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Trusting the One Who Helps Me

This circumstance applies most of all whenever I go grocery shopping; I have to place my trust totally in the one who helps me.  Yes, I usually take my shopping list with me.  I type it up on the computer, print it, and take it to the grocery with me.  However, when I give it to the customer service attendant who walks around with me, here is where I have to trust in them.

 

Most of the time I come home with what I have asked for but every now and then something falls through the cracks.  That's to be expected; I can't always expect the helpful customer service attendant to get me exactly what I have asked for.  It may be that sometimes they have either misread my request or that they are in such a hurry to get it done that they choose the incorrect item.  Sometimes like everything else they fail to find it and with a good heart they substitute something else which they feel may be sufficient for me or something that I would not mind having. 

 

I may for example ask for a certain brand of grape juice and if they do not find the specific brand then they would substitute another brand without telling me.  Or, I may ask for a beef pie and when they don't find it then they would substitute a chicken pie.  As long as they tell me what they have done then I am fine but the problem comes when they do not tell me and then I only discover it when I get home and days later I go to use the item in question and realize to my chagrin that I did not come home with my preferred item.

 

I have to place my total trust in anyone who helps me in the grocery, the pharmacy, the chain store, and in the electronic store.  There is no getting around this so I have to deal with it as best as I can. 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell others why blind persons need to trust the ones who help them.  Visit www.afb.org to learn more.