Medic Alert

i discovered the Medic Alert organization back in 1975 and became a member. why? because i'm allergic to penicillin and my father was concerned that i needed to wear some easily identifiable notice to that effect. if he hadn't been concerned, it never would have occurred to me to take the step. many thanks, dad!

i started wearing a nice bracelet (rather than a necklace) and have worn it ever since. if you get hurt or knocked unconscious, would your medical condition (if you have one) get recognized in time to keep you from harm? you might give serious thought to obtaining this identification for your safety.

being a bad girl, until today i had not updated my medic alert information (doctors, contacts, etc.) since the mid-90's and when the Medic Alert magazine arrived today (addressed to My Older Son, inexplicably at my address), i looked through it and discovered i really needed to get my information current, pay my dues, and get a new bracelet. a phone call later, all is okay.

one more note -- they have a program called Kid Smart and even children who have no medical conditions can participate. the advantage for those kids is an emergency contact is on file, as well as immunization history and personal health record (if you've kept it updated). if you travel or move around a lot, having your child's immunization records where they can't get lost is major peace of mind.

visit them at www.medicalert.org or call them at 888.633.4298. they're open monday through saturday, with convenient hours for those of us in the pacific northwest.