The post is part of the series “Life Stories” where we asked our customers to tell us their stories on why they wear a medical ID.

I Love having MyIHR for a Detailed Medical History

The day I realized I needed a medical ID bracelet was a day I was out walking with my friends. We’d chosen to walk down a trail from one city park to the next, a span that stretches about 2 miles each way. The morning of the walk I had eaten cream of rice cereal and nothing else. I wasn’t hungry when we left and didn’t think about eating anything else. I also left my water bottle and purse in the car.

Posted on the Harvard Health Blog by Reena Pande, M.D., Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School on APRIL 12, 2013, 2:05 PM. To view the original article, click here.

This article is being reposted as part of an awareness and education campaign during Stroke Awareness Month.

Salt is a cheap, easy way to turn on taste buds. That’s one reason why it’s in so many of the foods we eat. It’s so commonly used that most Americans consume more than double the recommended daily limit for it.

It is hard to explain to those who don’t know what it is like to be in pain or feel sick on the inside and look perfectly fine on the outside. Wearing a medical ID can help spread awareness of invisible illnesses like Crohn’s Disease, PTSD, Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Diabetes, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, MS, ME, M.D., Arthritis, Cancer, Heart Disease, Epilepsy, Severe Allergies, Dementia, Alzheimer’s and more!

• Nearly 1 in 2 Americans (133 million) has a chronic condition
  Chronic Care in America: A 21st Century Challenge, a study of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation & Partnership for Solutions: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (September 2004 Update). “Chronic Conditions: Making the Case for Ongoing Care”.

Blink a couple times and you may have missed it, but American Medical ID was on the TV show Elementary during the May 2nd episode “A Landmark Story”.

A woman was wearing her purple Silicone Flex medical ID bracelet as she was jogging in New York’s Central Park. The woman wore a medical ID because of her severe allergy to bee stings, which played a pivotal role in catching one of arch nemesis Moriarty’s hired assassins! Not too bad for a day’s work!

Here’s a Link to the Episode:

http://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary/video/3A391712-8BAB-D346-596F-5EFB723CF723/elementary-a-landmark-story/

Don’t forget, May is Allergy Awareness Month!

Many Americans celebrate Armed Forces Day annually on the third Saturday of May. It is a day to pay tribute to men and women who serve the United States’ armed forces. Armed Forces Day is also part of Armed Forces Week, which begins on the second Saturday of May.

American Medical ID is celebrating Armed Forces Week by working with the  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide all veterans in need with a free medical ID bracelet or pendant.

I’m writing this medical ID story in honor of my daughter, Madi Peretin, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on October 16, 2009, at the age of 11.

The most helpless feeling in the world is sitting next your child in the intensive care unit and knowing there is nothing you can do, except pray. When our daughter, Madi, suffered from severe DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) and was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 11, she spent 5 days in ICU at Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital and later was transferred to LaRabida Children’s Diabetes Center. All we could do was learn about this life-changing condition and adapt to our new way of life.

The bad news: Having a stroke is the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer in the United States.  It afflicts about 700,000 Americans per year and is also one of the leading causes of disability and dementia.

The good news: Strokes can be prevented. With good health, nutrition and daily exercise, the risk of stroke is much less.

What is a stroke?

People experience a stroke when the blood flow to the brain is interrupted or severely limited, effectively cutting off oxygen to the brain. This can hamper, slow or even stop bodily functions such as movement, perception, speech and consciousness. A stroke is not to be confused with a heart attack, which is when the blood supply to the heart is reduced or cut off.

Last Saturday we participated in FAAN’s Walk for Food Allergy in Houston, Texas, for a second year, and boy did we have fun! Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward a Cure is being held in more than 50 cities across the nation this year to raise awareness and funds for food allergy research and education programs. This year we are also proud to be a sponsor of FAAN walks in Denver, Long Island, and Chicago. Be sure to stop by our booth if you live in one of these locations or check out FAAN’s 2010 Walk Locations to see if there is one near you.

We are aware of the importance of wearing a medical ID every day.  Bill Hageman at the Chicago Tribune explains that not only can medical ID jewelry be life-saving but also fashionable.  Read an excerpt:http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sc-health-0224-bracelets-20100224,0,2798412.story .

“The notion goes back more than 50 years, when simple bracelets and necklaces noted a wearer’s medical condition, a great idea that can help emergency personnel provide faster treatment. As smart of a product as it was, some people were reluctant to wear such items because they were so pedestrian. 

As 2009 comes to a close, we wanted to take the time to say thank you to all of our loyal customers. We have done quite a bit during the past year and many of our accomplishments were direct results from your ideas and feedback.

Not only have we enhanced the American Medical ID and Universal Medical ID websites but we have also successfully developed and launched several new product lines and accessories with your help.