Bob has been a MedicAlert subscriber for as long as he can remember, since 1967.
Now 87 years old, his classic stainless steel MedicAlert ID has always been with him.
Bob’s MedicAlert journey began when he was about 12 or 13, before MedicAlert even existed. A new family moved in next door — a girl a year older than him, and a younger boy. "The girl and I became close friends, as very young kids do," he says, "and then it became a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship." They went to school dances, movies, and it lasted about four years, until a death in the family resulted in her family moving north, 160 kilometres away.
When she invited him to her high school graduation dance, Bob had a plan. He would take the train north for the weekend for the dance and return home Sunday. But before he could put his plan in motion, Bob came down with the mumps.
“The doctor says 'Okay, Bob, you can make this dance if we can get your glands down,'" he explains. The doctor gave him a shot of penicillin, the antibiotic of the day, and sent him home. "An hour later, I tried to move and I couldn't. My arms and legs were frozen."
Bob never made it to the dance.
His doctor told him he should never take penicillin again. "It would kill me," Bob says.
Over 20 years later, Bob found MedicAlert. "I heard about it — or my parents did. I don't remember who," he says. "But the end result was I became a subscriber and I got the classic stainless steel ID." He's not sure how many products existed at the time. "I suspect the classic silver bracelet and pendant were about it," he chuckles after looking at the website earlier this week and scrolling through 50 or 60 ID choices.
Bob has always stuck with the classic stainless ID, and he's replaced it a number of times over the years as the engraving has become worn or when his medications changed.
"It works for me," he says. And he understands the peace of mind behind wearing it every day. "The purpose of the ID is twofold," he says. The ID is recognized by everyone in the medical field — and the hotline number, which connects to his Personal Health Profile containing his full medical history. "So, if I had a problem and I was unconscious, somebody would see the bracelet and take the proper action."
Earlier this year, that kind of protection felt closer than ever. Bob had three major falls. Two of them ended with ambulance calls and EMTs transporting him to hospital. Low blood pressure — brought on by a change in his water pills — caused him to become dizzy. His blood pressure dropped to a dangerous level and he collapsed. "The next day I would have been dead," says Bob. “The hospital filled me with saline, stabilized me, and kept me for three days.
A week after he got home, he fell again. A trip back to the hospital, resulting from low potassium and four painful days of IV later, Bob finally went home. He hasn't had a dizzy spell since.
"Now, why do I mention all of that?" Bob says. "It's because I'm 86. I can't drive anymore because I am blind."
Bob explains that his wife golfs twice a week — it’s her time, and he wants her to have it. "Taking care of me is a full-time job. She does all my cooking, all my laundry, and combs my hair for me. She does everything. But she's not home all the time. And if anything happened to me, I'd be up the creek — unless I'm right near the phone."
That gap led him to consider NAVIVA, MedicAlert's new GPS-supported pendant, which arrived on his 87th birthday. "It was the only thing on my birthday list,” says Bob. “MedicAlert has provided me with a new tool to fill in for the time when my wife is either golfing, shopping, or just getting away from me," he jokes.
In the meantime, Bob keeps himself busy. He has a PSW visit him at his home three times a week, follows an exercise program, and on Thursdays he meets up with a group of friends for coffee at Tim Hortons. "I used to golf with them," he says, "and then we'd go have a drink afterwards. Now we go to Timmy's. Times have changed.”
But sixty-five years later, one thing hasn’t changed, Bob's MedicAlert ID is still on his wrist. And he intends to keep it there.
Are you an individual with a chronic medical condition? Learn more about how MedicAlert can provide peace of mind, protection, and support at medicalert.ca/signup or call 1-800-668-1507 today.
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