When I was a CWD (child with diabetes) in the late 80's/early 90's, I had two options: I could wear the clunky, thick, stretchy metal bracelet whose links always seemed to trap my arm hair (and then rip it out when the bracelet shifted on my wrist), or I could sport a large (to a child) medallion around my neck that announced by way of bright red caduceus: OH HAI I HAVE A MEDICAL CONDITION!
And when I was a CSWD (college student with diabetes) (that's not a real acronym), I wore no external indication of my diabetes whatsoever. This continued into adulthood until I attended the Friends For Life conference for the first time few years ago, where it seemed that so many of the people I'd befriended and respected in the diabetes online community were being the sort of responsible adult that I merely pretended I was - they wore ID bracelets! And there were stylish options! Alright, alright, fine, I'll get one.
Or make one! (A medical ID joins my insulin pump and Dexcom CGM as Things I Didn't Want To Wear But Then I Saw My Friends With Diabetes Wear Them So I Guess I'll Try It.)
I still have that original bracelet; the engraved nameplate often switched between bracelet options. I thought I'd be annoyed with making my diabetes "visible" by wearing medical jewelry, but I'm not. It actually feels nice to know there's a little bit of "here's what's up" hanging out on my wrist in case I get into a situation where I can't speak for myself. And while I once believed that wearing an insulin pump would serve as a pseudo-medical ID in case of an emergency, that isn't actually the case - an EMT will look for medical ID jewelry; they're not necessarily going to look for an insulin pump. (And what would that have told them, anyway? No name or medical condition specifics on that puppy!)
In the spirit of "I'm glad I started wearing medical IDs again", I'm looking to share the love. N-Style ID (whose founder has a daughter with T1D, and coincidentally the same company I bought that first "medical ID as an adult" bracelet from) contacted me, asking if they could send me one of their bracelets - but since my N-Style ID is working just fine I'd rather pass this gift onto one of you.
You can win one of the three designs I have pictured below ("Hoot", "Light Blue Rubber", or "Camo"):
There will be one winner, and your bracelet's ID plate will be engraved however you wish. Your bracelet will be shipped directly to you from N-Style ID.
Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter this contest and make sure to leave a comment on this blog post answering the following questions: Do you normally wear medical ID jewelry? If so - what do you wear? If not - why not? Bonus entries may be earned by liking the N-Style ID Facebook page and following them on Twitter!
This contest will be be open for 48 hours; I will pick a winner Friday morning. This is not limited to U.S. residents - all are encouraged to enter.
GOOD LUCK!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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