BethU
Extremely helpful member
- Joined
- May 11, 2008
- Messages
- 2,646
- Reason
- PALS
- Diagnosis
- 05/2008
- Country
- US
- State
- California
- City
- Los Angeles
I got one of those steel disks you wear on a chain to warn medical attendants of medical problems they should know about.
It was really a piece of c*** ... I've had pet tags of better quality. The engraving is tiny, you can hardly read it, and even with info on both sides you can't get much data on it. Plus, if 90% of the people in the world don't know what ALS / Lou Gehrig's Disease is, it's not going to help much to tell them I've got it. Plus which, now, the disk has started falling off the chain. The attachment is not secure, and I decided it's not worth fussing with.
SO ... I made up a fake "employee ID" card, with a photo. Looks kinda classy. I put on it:
I CANNOT SPEAK
or SWALLOW.
But I can understand everything you say.
I have ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
Also Heart Disease.
On the other side, I have my name, two emergency contacts, and a note that I have a feeding tube. I got it laminated at Kinko's for $1.50
I figure the most important things people need to know about are my speech and swallowing ... If I'm in an ER, I don't want someone trying to give me a pill with water or thinking my inability to speak is something new.
I attached it to my old employee ID lanyard with the company name all around it, and it looks pretty good. A small low-tech solution to a medium-sized problem.
It was really a piece of c*** ... I've had pet tags of better quality. The engraving is tiny, you can hardly read it, and even with info on both sides you can't get much data on it. Plus, if 90% of the people in the world don't know what ALS / Lou Gehrig's Disease is, it's not going to help much to tell them I've got it. Plus which, now, the disk has started falling off the chain. The attachment is not secure, and I decided it's not worth fussing with.
SO ... I made up a fake "employee ID" card, with a photo. Looks kinda classy. I put on it:
I CANNOT SPEAK
or SWALLOW.
But I can understand everything you say.
I have ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
Also Heart Disease.
On the other side, I have my name, two emergency contacts, and a note that I have a feeding tube. I got it laminated at Kinko's for $1.50
I figure the most important things people need to know about are my speech and swallowing ... If I'm in an ER, I don't want someone trying to give me a pill with water or thinking my inability to speak is something new.
I attached it to my old employee ID lanyard with the company name all around it, and it looks pretty good. A small low-tech solution to a medium-sized problem.