The Old Coot loves his bracelet.
By Merlin
Lessler
I was with
my young friend Scotty the other day. He’s a kid, just became eligible for Social
Security this past year. He noticed the black bracelet on my wrist. “What’s
that all about?” he asked. I told him what it was. A “Your-wife- doesn’t- have-
to- report- you- missing-after- you- crash- on- your bicycle and conk- out – when
- an - ambulance- takes- you- to- the- hospital- and - you- don’t- come -home-
bracelet.” Mine, provides my name, address, and my wife’s cell phone number.
I used to
carry around a business card wrapped in clear plastic tape with her number on
it when I swam laps at the college pool. It kept floating out of my pocket and
the life guard would hand it to me when I got out of the water, with a huge
grin on his face. Now, I have a medical alert bracelet with a nylon strap that
doesn’t come off in the pool, when I’m on a walk or on a bike ride. You never
know when you’re going to need, it if you’re an old coot.
My friend
Paul from Michigan passed out on the beach in Florida two years ago. He didn’t
have any ID on him. Who does, when they take a little walk on the beach in a
bathing suit? Fortunately for him, he was only out for a few minutes and asked the
ambulance to stop at his hotel so he could tell his wife where he would be spending
the afternoon. Knowing how cool, calm and collected he is, he probably just
said, “I’ll be at the hospital and might not be home for dinner.” They kept him
for several days, spacing out a series of tests so they could maximize his
medical bill.
My bracelet
is so light and unintrusive that I hardly notice it. It cost me about $15 on-line
at Amazon. Including the engraving. It’s so much better than having your family
going from ER room to ER room in all the nearby hospitals, or worse yet, from morgue
to morgue to identify one of the “John Dos” in the cooler. Well worth the
price. Even for a cheapskate old coot like me.
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