Trainlover9943 posted:Same with Nicholas (Rocky Mountaineer)
His name is Dave, he moved on.
JohnActon posted:Big_Boy_4005 posted:
Unfortunately, the other problem will never go away, which is the neuropathy in my hands. Imagine going through life with oven mitts on. This condition makes everyday tasks, very difficult.
Elliot, I confess to no first hand experience on this though I have read in more than one place that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an effective treatment for neuropathy. Have you discussed this with your physician ? Might be worthwhile even if it just slowed the progression. Have you tried one of the type by voice apps ? Again I haven't tried them but read that they are light years ahead of where they were five years ago. Understanding your problems with typing please don't feel compelled to respond to this just thinking out loud about your problems. j
Elliot, my wife Linda also has it in both her hands and feet. She claims medical marijuana and regular visits to a good chiropractor help keep it calmed down. Johnaction, thank you for sharing what you read about the hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I'll pass that on to her.
Hi Elliot, I hope your doing better! The wife and I got that puzzle you sent me done and as soon as I get some trim boards I will be making a frame for it! I hope you can find something for your hands, Like some have stated Medical marijuana might be an idea.
Elliot and Dave Z, just to give you a little in site on hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I just went threw 7 weeks of it here in Washington State. It was required from my oral surgeon before he would remove my rotting teeth for all the Chemo and radiation I had.
I hope your sitting down for the next information I am about to give you. The charge here in Washington for hyperbaric oxygen therapy was $2,244.00 per visit plus some other office charges. At the end of 7 weeks the total charges before insurance was a little over $85,000.00
Just wanted to share this information with you guys!
I hope things get better for you Elliot! If anything you can still go down and run trains!
Thanks Mike. Sorry to say, the hands are as bad as ever. Today's adventure was getting the leftover meatloaf out of the fridge. My wife had placed it on top of the package of eggs. I barely got the heavy pan out, but in the process, I somehow snagged the egg crate, which fell about three feet. Through the miracle of modern science, I lucked out, and as far as I could tell, none broke. Prior to that, I didn't think much of that flimsy plastic container, but there seems to be some serious engineering there.
Medical expenses are insane. Dialysis is in the neighborhood of $2000 per session, three times per week, every week, forever. Fortunately, I have good insurance, and after I pay for the first one to meet my deductible for the year, I don't see any more bills. The downside is my insurance doesn't cover dialysis if I leave Minnesota. Back in July, we had planned to chase the Big Boy one last time, out to North Platte. Everything was set, until we found out my insurance wouldn't cover me on the road. That was depressing to say the least. We're going to try shopping for insurance again this year. I hate that. I could go on medicare by virtue of being on dialysis, but there are a couple problems with that. One, it won't cover my wife, and two, the donut hole, making it potentially more expensive, than private.
Egg update: My wife reports, I did break at least one. Oh well.
Yes, Paying for everything can be a dilemma!
Broke at least one egg! Having not broken all does attest to the engineering that goes into those little egg cartons! I have admired the engineering that goes into the packaging for a host of items! Those folks are the unsung heroes of modern products!
Elliot, I am sorry that your hands are not doing any better, I wish there was something they could do for you! I know what you mean, I know what you mean, insurance companies get you one way or another!
On the egg report, sure sounds like you still got lucky!
I will get a picture of that puzzle and send it to you! Thanks again!
Well guys, breaking an egg is way better than breaking a leg. Take it from someone who has done both.
I see an omelet in my future.
Back in my college days at the University of Colorado, every year the engineering school held an event, with a number of contests that the students could participate in. There was a mousetrap powered vehicle contest, which used the power from the spring to propel a small lightweight car max distance. If I remember correctly, there was a concrete canoe race. But the one that I liked watching was the egg drop. Students would design containers to hold an egg. They were then dropped from the eighth story of the engineering tower. There were actually a number of winners.
Forty years later, they're still doing it.
Elliot, That is great they are still doing it!! We never did any kind of experiments or competitions nearly as fun!! Although they were still teaching vacuum tube theory when I went to school. And, wouldn't you know, I did work on vacuum tube carrier sets and mobile radios in the early years of my too long working days.
Big_Boy_4005 posted:Medical expenses are insane. Dialysis is in the neighborhood of $2000 per session, three times per week, every week, forever. Fortunately, I have good insurance, and after I pay for the first one to meet my deductible for the year, I don't see any more bills. The downside is my insurance doesn't cover dialysis if I leave Minnesota. Back in July, we had planned to chase the Big Boy one last time, out to North Platte. Everything was set, until we found out my insurance wouldn't cover me on the road. That was depressing to say the least. We're going to try shopping for insurance again this year. I hate that. I could go on medicare by virtue of being on dialysis, but there are a couple problems with that. One, it won't cover my wife, and two, the donut hole, making it potentially more expensive, than private.
That is amazing to hear Elliot, never expected insurance wouldn't cross state borders. Time for the tax payers to get the same healthcare as it's representatives voted for themselves?
It's a bit of a long story, but here goes. I always liked the idea of the ACA (Obama Care). At the time, I was getting insurance through a state program because every private company refused to cover me, the "high risk pool". Great coverage too. Just because it was a state run program, didn't mean it was cheap, I paid plenty in premiums, but at least I was covered.
When the ACA came along, it removed the pre-existing condition clause from private insurance, meaning they could no longer deny people like me.. As a result, the state program closed down. We turned right away to the company that had been administering the state program. It wasn't much more than what we had been paying, and the coverage was still great.
After two years with them, that company had a contract dispute with the group of doctors that I use. Keeping my doctors was the highest priority at the time, so we switched companies. The original company ultimately resolved the contract dispute, but we had already switched, to be safe. We never had any problems with the new insurance.
It was late in the first year of the new insurance that I started dialysis. Last year, we were going to take a five week long road trip in September and October, but in May, I stepped on a nail, and we had to cancel the trip. We would have found out last year that we had this problem. This problem has a name, it's called "out of network". So now we have go shopping again. Medicare, would probably allow me to travel, but there's good chance that it will be more expensive out of pocket, than private.
Bottom line, at the time we signed up with our current company, we never thought to ask about this stuff. The problem only became obvious last July
good morning Elliot sorry to hear life has some ruts in the road for you. as to the insurance thing yep one has to read more so now than ever as most insurance is the in network type I never liked it and personally the ACA cost me 3 times the normal premium so a fan I am not. so why not see if old insurance will cover you out of state and if cost is not bigger why not switch back?
on side note the trees are losing there leaves so I can see more of the wye at division street I contacted depot about west side camera they were going to fix it that was a month ago! so I'm selling raffle tickets for when it comes back online "laughing loudly on that one! "
take care
Big_Boy_4005 posted:Well guys, breaking an egg is way better than breaking a leg. Take it from someone who has done both.
Back in my college days at the University of Colorado, every year the engineering school held an event, with a number of contests that the students could participate in. There was a mousetrap powered vehicle contest, which used the power from the spring to propel a small lightweight car max distance. If I remember correctly, there was a concrete canoe race. But the one that I liked watching was the egg drop. Students would design containers to hold an egg. They were then dropped from the eighth story of the engineering tower. There were actually a number of winners.
Forty years later, they're still doing it.
In the early days of model rocketry they had a similar competition, where you had to launch an egg on a model rocket, and when the rocket eventually landed (via parachute, it is against rules to allow a nose cone to come down without some sort of parachute or other device), it had to be intact. People got pretty good at it, though the fun kind of came off when commercial firms produced cargo containers for rockets that could do this (some smart alecks of course set the challenge of launching a rocket like 2000 feet, have the cargo container come down on its own without any kind of parachute or other kind of thing to slow it down, and have it land with the egg intact. Never heard if they were successful, would have taken clever design to allow it to drift down like that and work.
It all sucks! Elliot, I sent you a PM!
Out of network limitations frequently involve HMO or Medicare Advantage budget based policies. They can be great for folks who do NOT travel to distant train shows and chow down on sausage out of network. By contract, HMO & Advantage plans only cover emergency medical services. On unique occasions we have been able have coverage extended when out of network with something like an acute cardiac event putting a person in a distant I.C.U.
Most Personal Choice style plans cover nationally. All medicare A & B plans cover nationwide medicare providers.
Plan D. It is very important to examine all of the various drug companies offered in your area and have your physician review the particular scheduled meds covered. This is a critical consideration. Can have big $$$$$ issues. It will really impact your York budget if you choose blindly.
Urban hospital and rural hospitals have a vastly different expense experience across the board. Hence long time ago people would get medical coverage in an area where the premiums were cheap then try to use it in expensive urban hospitals. That is called insurance fraud. You can wind up not having access to your trains for a while.
Yo Elliot you should have a smile on your face as trees are dropping leaves so you can see all at division street cam and from roadway again!
hope today is better for you and guess the days of shorts and tee shirts have departed as I see its calling for 31 degrees for the high hmm do I hear trains and hot chocolate time!
Regret to info everyone, Elliot Feinberg passed away this morning. It was my honor to working with him for 4 years on his huge layout at his home basement.
Patrick
Thank you for the sad information, CGWforever.
Sorry for the loss of a great modeler. May he RIP. I’ll give a whistle blast around the layout tonight.
I am greatly saddened to hear this. I didn’t know Elliot personally but I did know his posts and the videos he was in back in the days when I first got back into this hobby. That was the late 90s. Please correct me if I wrong but I believe Elliot was in at least two (I think TM) videos. One where he showed his train display at a mall in Minnesota and another where he had a portable train layout that he towed to different events. He seemed like a really great guy in his posts on the forum and it is a big loss to the hobby and all his friends and family that he is gone. I will never forget the saga of his “dream/nightmare” layout. You will be missed Elliot.
Very sad to hear this, I liked his posts. R.I.P. Elliot. May God be with you and your family and friends.
RIP Elliot
It’s a sad day for model railroading. Elliot was an inspiration and amazed me with his work ethic and fearless endeavors. Like others, I’ve been missing his updates. RIP!
@CGWforever Patrick so sorry for the loss of a great friend! I know he was an Outstanding mentor to me when I first joined this forum. He was always there to answer my questions. May he rest in peace! Also, prayers to his wife and son!
In the early 80's Elliot lived in the Denver/Boulder area. He was the replacement employee at the hobbyshop I had worked for at the time and I moved on to a different one. He knew quite a bit about postwar Lionel. Around 1986 I think, he moved to the Minneapolis area and worked at the Mall of America. Nice guy to know. R.I.P.
Rip, sorry for the loss to friends and family.
Sad to see someone pass who put so much into his layout. Condolences to his friends and family.
I just read through this entire thread and was so sad to read about the challenges Elliot was facing, but encouraged by the support shown by his friends on the forum--all resulting from a simple "Have you heard from?" type of inquiry. I hope all the replies provided some encouragement and that he turned to them many times over whenever he was feeling down. My condolences to his friends and family.
RIP Elliot......Condolences to his family and friends.
Peter
Very sorry to hear of Elliots passing I met him only once at the Mall of America and he was genuinely a nice guy that was a wealth of information
Wow! My condolences to has surviving family. His layout looked like an inspiration to all that have seen it.
Sorry to read this. Knew Elliot from years back in another world. He was always ready to help and was polite and to the point. He and his kind will be missed.
Jim K
Very saddened to hear this. We exchanged many nice emails concerning railroad topics we had in common. RIP Big Boy!
His monthly layout updates were a must read.
George
Cross posting my comment here from another concurrent thread that also addressed Elliot’s death:
This hits hard.
Elliot was an important figure to me when he opened EnterTrainment, an O gauge layout attraction, in the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN, in August 1992, when the shopping center was unveiled.
When I connected with Elliot in person in 2016, I was happy to invite him to visit the Milwaukee Lionel Railroad Club in New Berlin, WI, a kind of payback for his efforts 20 years earlier. (That’s me on the left and Elliot to the right in the photo.)
I figured I would one day follow up with a visit to his Stillwater, MN, home, but his subsequent health struggles and my own scheduling challenges made that more difficult. Now I regret not making it a priority.
Elliot was a fun guy. How could I not like him?
My condolences as well.
Here’s the other thread:
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