The Juggling Caregiver

By Claudia R Warner

Travelin’ Time!

Happy Fourth of July! This time of year means vacation excursions for many of us. The Fourth of July celebrations kick off the month’s events with picnics, parades, fireworks, and family get-togethers. Some of you will be traveling far from home during this month, while others, like us will be taking advantage of nearby activities.

I’m a worry-wart. No doubt about it. And I do a pretty good job of it! The problem with this is that there is always something to concern me. If the day is sunny and warm and we plan an outing, I worry that Wes will get overheated or too tired. If it gets humid, I’m cautiously watching the sky for storm clouds and checking the weather channel with gusto…..well, you get the picture, I’m sure. The positive side of this is that I try to “fix” the things I worry about so I don’t have to contend with them.

Since we live in a rural area, we have to travel at least 35 minutes to various appointments, libraries, most of our shopping, etc. Here’s what REALLY bothered me: What if we had an accident and I was not able to ”talk” for Wes? What if he decided to get out of the vehicle while I was running a quick errand, and got lost? Not being able to speak would be a real problem and what if he had a seizure because he became upset?

Have any of you had the same concerns? Well, I somehow stumbled on a great solution! It is called ROAD ID. This is a form of identification that was devised for runners and has seen widely expanded use by other athletes as well as others wanting to wear an ID. The business was started by Mike and Edward Wimmer, a father and son.

Edward had a mishap while training for a marathon and was wearing no identification. He realized that he could have ended up in a hospital as a “John Doe” with no way of having his family contacted or his medical records accessed. Fortunately, the Wimmers are creative people and they launched Road ID on the internet.

Road ID is a wearable form of identification. It comes in various styles:  to be worn on the wrist, ankle, shoe, or as a dog tag. All are lightweight and waterproof so they can be worn all of the time! Wes has the wrist ID. It consists of an engraved stainless steel “tag” on an adjustable band. He wears it all of the time.

That’s not all! The ID comes in two versions: the Road ID Original and the ROAD ID Interactive.

Road ID Original shows your name, address, home phone and contact person’s name and their phone number. The Interactive one allows you to create an Emergency Response Profile that is available to First Responders 24 hours a day every day of the year! The front of the tag is engraved with your name address and instructions for obtaining your medical profile via 800 phone number or web site.

Your serial number and pin number are engraved on the back of the tag. This gives the First Responders or other Emergency personnel access to your information. It tells them your contacts, health insurance, medical information and more. PLUS whenever there is a change in your profile, such as medications you simply go online and update the information. This sounds more difficult than it is---the instructions really do make it an easy task.

You are probably thinking the same thing I did—this is going to be expensive! Nope. The Road ID itself costs $20-30, depending on what style you choose. If you want the Emergency Response Profile—which I heartily recommend and it’s the one Wes wears—the first year is FREE!  After that, you can renew it online for $9.99 a year. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But it isn’t.

Those of you who are able to take trips might consider getting one of these. It certainly has given me peace of mind, even though we are unable to do much traveling. Since athletes everywhere wear these, it isn’t primarily a “stroke thing” and I really like that.

Happy Independence Day and enjoy your independence with Road ID.

Enjoy your travels ---and don’t worry!

"Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." ~ Jack Kerouac