Monday, July 8, 2013

Never Say Never . . . . .

As a teenage girl with diabetes, I developed a strong hatred for medical i.d.  For one thing, back in the 80’s medical i.d. was downright ugly and most certainly clashed with my oh-so-fashionable lace fingerless gloves, big jewelry and even bigger hair.  Of course, my i.d. disdain went much deeper than that.  I suspect the real reason I refused to wear medical i.d. was that it felt like a huge sign hanging off my body reminding me and everyone else that I was different from my friends, at a time when I just wanted to be like all the other teenaged Madonna-wanna-bes.

My teen years are long behind me now, but I still never wear medical i.d. - a fact that got me scolded during the Diabetes Hope virtual conference.  I did buy a cheap silicone bracelet marked “Diabetes” to wear at the gym, but other than that I figured I’d never wear medial i.d.

Well, never say never!!  I was contacted by Lauren’s Hope asking if I’d be willing to try one of their medical i.d. bracelets and write a review.  I figured it was about time I acted like a responsible grown woman instead of an insecure gawky teen (even if I still am more insecure and gawky than responsible and adult).  As I browsed through the women’s selections I was surprised at the huge array of styles available to meet everyone’s tastes and needs.  I had a hard time picking my favorite but in the end I went with a really pretty stainless steel bracelet (that is unfortunately out of stock for the foreseeable future.  Although this is it in white and also this one is very similar).  I was pleased to find that Lauren’s Hope also offers a bunch of different choices for the medical i.d. tags, so I didn’t have to settle for the (ugly to me) red style of years gone by.

Here is my finished bracelet and the tag.

BraceletBraceletTag

Tara from Lauren’s Hope helped a lot in suggesting useful info to include on the five lines for the tag.  I’ve got my name, “T1 diabetes on a pump”, my parent’s number listed as “ICE” (or in case of emergency), my home number, and NKA (or no known allergies) and instructions to see my wallet card.  (Ummm, yeah, which I still need to fill out and put in my wallet.)

BraceletOn1

So now I have my bracelet, how has it been going?  I’m pretty surprised to tell you that I love this thing!  I’ve worn it every day.  I even tried sleeping in it - it didn’t bother me that night, but by the next afternoon it was really bugging me so that may be a bit of an adjustment.  It has been hot here so almost everything touching skin feels uncomfortable but when winter rolls around I’ll try keeping it on overnight again and I have a feeling I’ll get used to it pretty quickly.

BraceletOn2

I will admit that I’ve taken to wearing the bracelet with the i.d. tag turned in on my wrist, as shown above.  I’m not embarrassed to wear medial i.d. but I do like it to look more like “real jewelry”.  In fact, the first time I wore it to my parent’s house I kept waiting for my Mom to ask about it.  Turns out, she thought it was just a regular bracelet until I showed her the tag.  And my Dad, who used to be an Emergency Responder, was glad to see me wearing it because on calls he always checked the wrists first for medical i.d.

My biggest worry now is breaking it, because I’m a pretty big klutz.  Luckily, Lauren’s Hope has a great repair policy:
“Regarding the repair policy, we are proud to have the most generous and comprehensive repair policy in the industry. A medical ID bracelet is of no use to anyone if it's broken in a drawer. If one of our bracelets breaks, we really want our customers to send it in so we can fix it and get it back in use. :)
1. In the first six months, repairs are free. Period. We have only a $7.25 shipping and handling charge, and that's it. Doesn't matter what happened to it; we fix it. We also offer ONE free resizing in this time period, with the same shipping charge. This is super helpful for people who experience a weight change or find that they simply want their bracelet to fit differently.
2. After the first six months, repairs are only $10 plus the same $7.25 shipping and handling charge. Much less expensive than replacing your whole bracelet!
Also, it's important to note that Lauren's Hope allows people to order replacement ID plaques without bracelets and vice versa, something most companies do not allow. This is very important if your ICE (In Case of Emergency) numbers, diagnosis/es, or other information changes and you just need a new tag, not a whole new bracelet. 
There are some exclusions. We cannot change a custom engraving once it's been done, nor can we add colored fill to your engraving after the fact. The repair warranty only covers your bracelet or necklace, not accessories such as charms.”

So this girl, who said she’d never wear medical i.d.?  She’s not only wearing it . . . . she is loving it.  She also might have her eye on a second one that she’ll strongly hint would make a wonderful Christmas gift from her husband!  (And she needs to stop referring to herself in the third person because that’s just kind of creepy.)  Never wear medical i.d.?  Never say never!

** Disclosure: I was contacted by Lauren’s Hope  and provided my choice of bracelet and engraved tag at no charge.  I was asked to consider posting a review, which I was happy to do because I was obviously very satisfied with the product.**

10 comments:

  1. I absolutely adore Lauren's Hope. When I first started wearing medical ID (about 6 years ago, as an 18 year old) I wanted something other than the clunky fake silver & gold Mr T looking bracelets & necklaces.

    I live in the UK and couldn't find anything suitable, but as soon as I found Lauren's Hope I fell in love! The original bracelet I bought from them 6 years ago is still going strong, as are the other 2 I've added to my collection over the years - so they are definitely worth paying the price for!

    I'm really hoping to buy a fancy pearl bracelet for more formal occasions, as my halloween themed one is starting to look too childish - even though I love it :D

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  2. Very nice. Glad that you're wearing the ID! I've had the same ID on a chain around my neck now for about 12 years. Not as visual, but still there. I got used to it pretty easily, and I only take it off for one or two reasons.

    You should definitely refer to yourself in the third person more... makes you sound important-- which you are.

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  3. Hi Karen. We were happy to offer you a medical ID for your review and are proud that you think so highly of our products. We look forward to providing you and your readers with cool jewelry that suits their lifestyles and fills their need for medical identification. Thanks again.
    LeAnn Carlson
    Owner-CEO, www.LaurensHope.com

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  4. I love it, Karen! It's beautiful.

    Great post as well. Thank you!

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  5. Love it! (the post AND the bracelet!)

    After 20+ years, I finally started wearing a bracelet, but it was a generic one I'd gotten engraved. I took it off for my c-section in April and keep forgetting to put it back on (old habits die hard). I LOVE Lauren's Hope.. I don't know how many times I've perused their website. Just need to save up so I can buy something from them hopefully soon!

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  6. Love your choice...and LOVE Lauren's Hope!! Ordered my sweet girl's about a year ago and she wears it at all times except for bath/shower. I'm a stickler. I tell her she needs it because we can never know when an accident may happen that would make it necessary for someone to know how to help her. She doesn't mind..she loves it. She has a second (won from a Free Stuff Friday from Lauren's Hope!) bracelet that she trades out with her ID tag.

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  7. Love Lauren's hope so much, they give you absolutely beautiful bracelets which contains inspirational or motivational lines. Great choice you got there, Karen!

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  8. Hi Karen,

    I saw you on the Hope Conference, and I saw that doctor scold a couple of people. I was sitting in front of my computer holding up my own bracelet as if you all could see it. LOL! I'll admit though, I only started wearing one about 6 months ago. I figured if I were an advocate, I should lead by example. Now I wear a wrist band, and ankle band, and sometimes dog tags. :)

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  9. I bought a medical alert bracelet a couple of months ago. It has snagged each and every sweater I own. I tried many times to fix the link that was snagging my sweaters. After it snagged a sweater that I paid over a hundred dollars for this morning I just took it off and threw it on the table. It's an okay looking bracelet and the stainless steel seems to be alright but the workmanship on my bracelet is not what I expected. If I send it back to be repaired then I'll have close to a hundred dollars in the bracelet. Sorry to be the only reviewer who seems to be unhappy but the truth is the truth.

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Thanks for your comment!