I always wear an ID bracelet. I had something extremely traumatic happen to me that you will not believe. We had a big snowstorm and I was talking a walk in the snow. Because it had gotten so deep I got hypoglycemic and had forgotten to bring Glucose Tablets, mistake number one. Somehow, while I was cleaning house before I left, my Medic Alert bracelet fell off under the bathroom sink. Mistake number two.
I got so sick and disoriented and I was close to the fire station, so I went in and tried to tell them what was happening to me. They thought I was drunk and called the police. Remember now they had an ambulance right there.
I was wearing my insulin pump but my clothes covered it and I was taken to jail and left there for seven days!My insulin pump eventually became empty and I started to throw up which made me even look more like I was doing drugs or drunk. . I didn't eat for the whole time I was in there. I threw my insulin pump out in the hall, begged them to get me a doctor, but she didn't come in until Monday and this was Thursday. My blood sugars were over 400 when they finally checked it on the 7th day and that was with no food for a week.
My family was deperately trying to get me out, but the lawyer took 7 days to get to me and by then I was so dehydrated that they released me to a hospital, in which I spent 3 days. How is that for a good reason to wear a Medic Alert Bracelet? If I would have had it on this would have never happened. The firemen could have just given me a coke and sent me on my way.
I never had a low like that before and never would have believed that someting like that could ever happen to a person, but it did. So do yourself a favor and try thinking about wearing a bracelet. You never know when you are going to end up in a "situation" and around people that know nothing about diabetes. I was in there 7 DAYS mentioning diabetes to everyone and not a single person knew or cared that I was sick as opposed to being drunk or on drugs.
If you don't like regular Medic Alert bracelets there is a company called Lauren's Hope that makes beautiful bracelets, watches and jewelry with medic alert tags on the back. They have awesome stuff for children, men and women and I hope that everybody considers wearing some kind of identification so that you will be safe if something unforseen happens. It was a really frightening and awful experience and I don't wish anyone to have to go through something like that when it can be avoided.
Tell me, will you wear or do you wear a Medic Alert bracelet? Has this story affected your choice?
Oh my goodness!!! Thats sounds like a NIGHTMARE! Bless your heart! Talk about worst case scenario! I’m surprised you didn’t just pass out! Thanks for the website suggestion also, I’ve been looking for cute medical Ids!
Okay - just a point - I don’t care who you are, you should wear one. I know they can be a hassle. There are many styles available and it is a small price to pay for you life. Literally.
I have never had anything like this happen, but have worn a necklace (tucked in my shirt) or bracelet constantly for the last 15 years. As a child, this wasn’t stressed and I lived in a very, very small town where everybody knew your name, and diagnosis so I was lazy. I wised up in college.
Even if it’s just the cheap $5 one from the pharmacy, please start wearing one. It could save your life. Is it more uncomfortable to wear a bracelet or to imagine your family and friends at your own funeral?
I have worn a Medic Alert neclace or bracelet since being diagnosed in 1964. It has never been referred to, but it is there if needed. As to the original poster, how did you stay alive for seven days in jail without insulin for most of that time? Why did it take seven days for a lawyer to get to you? I would just like to know how to survive at least four days without insulin just in case of a natural disaster. Even without eating, a persons’ sugar will rise after the liver starts kicking glucose out.
This should have never happened with or without your Medic alert bracelet it is against all protocols that I know of in the United States for any first responder which includes Police and Fire officials. They are all trained by federal law to meet the standards and carry a valid up to date first responder certification and part of that training is for them to be aware of diabetics who may appear to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs and are just suffering from Hypo or hyperglycemia. This was definitely a failure of those institutions to act appropriate under the guidelines that where set forth. First you should sue them even if just to make it a point that they failed there oath and training they undertook so it doesn’t happen again and cause someone to loose there life. Now here’s where I am coming from first yes I am a T1 diabetic myself secondly I am a Firefighter/Paramedic and uno number one I check every bodies glucose level I treat regardless it’s the protocol its part of taking vital signs. Thirdly I am a registered nurse who works with med-flight transports. In short if I overlooked taking your Glucose or giving you the care you needed I should not be in the service of doing such and should quit.
Even if the statue of limitations has past you could still slap them in there butt and give the story to a news team so this never happens there again. They need to realize there job is about public safety and second best doesn’t count it’s not a game peoples lives depends on there performance so nothing but the best should be the rule.
There is NO reason why this should have happened. If you were in jail for supposedly being drunk or whatever, then you should have had an apperence scheduled in front of a judge the next day or so. Why was your lawyer not allowed in to see you? Was the Fairfax County Jail really that ignorant of the rights of the citizens? Did they totally get away with what they did? The hospital should have brought the supject up with the county after seeing how you were brought in!
I can understand where you are coming from and that is why I always wear my bracelet. Even when I get dressed up (which isn’t very often). I never think of it anymore, it’s just part of me. Thanks for giving us an example of what can happen without ID. Altho, do you think it really would of mattered, would they had really even looked at it? It sounds like you were dealing with the bottom of the barrell!!
A dear friend was picked up twice for drunk in public when he was hypo & thrown in the drunk tank. I live in a small college town & the police are on the alert for drunk students. He was belligerent to the cops. He was wearing an ID bracelet, but they were convinced he was intoxicated. He was released the next morning & his family raised hell.
Did they give you a breath test?
I wear a bracelet & also have a card taped to my wallet.
That must have been a truly horrifying experience. Before I started my medical career I went through a Med Assit program. When we studied medical ethics one of the examples given was a man brought into the ER who appeared to be drunk. Comments were made by staff that literally ruined the man’s life. It turned out that he was in DKA and he was a new pastor at one of the town’s churches. Needless to say he was labeled a drunk by the staff and the news spread rapidly through the town. It cost him his church and the chance of getting another church. So we even as Med Assist were being taught to keep our thoughts to ourselves and to consider all possiblle causes of the situation. Years later I went on to school, graduated and went to work in a large county hospital. Most of the time I worked in the ER and I was always amazed at the comments made by the ER staff including the doctors.
Yes, I wear a medical ID bracelet. But I got tired of the “ugly” thing on my wrist. So I went to the pharmacy and bought a few bracelets. Some say “Diabetic”, some say “I take insulin.” Then I went to Michael’s bought some beautiful beads and some elastic jewlery thread. I removed the chains from the ID bracelets and replaced them with beads. Now I have a choice as to what my medical jewlery looks like and can change according to what I am wearing.
So when you were arrested at the fire station how did you eventually get sugar? Did they give you a snack at the jail when you were getting booked?
Why didn’t you have court on friday the next day or just bond out thursday night?
Every jail will ask you when you are being booked if you take prescriptions or if you need immediate medical attention. If they didn’t ask you then you can sue. And they have nurses that work at jails.
It seems like you dealt with some really dumb people and I don’t see how a bracelet would have helped you in this situation.
After youve been through this with people not knowing/caring about your situation then you should realize that the one person you can count on is “you”. Would you trust these people to spot your bracelet? I think the one thing that could have prevented this from happening would be GLUCOSE TABLETS not a bracelet.
