A Tale of Two Bracelets

 

Today I'm going to show you two very different bracelets.  The only thing they have in common is that they are both bracelets.  One of them, you can knit.  One of them could save your life.

The first bracelet is Bestie, from Romi's third e-book Home is Where the Heart Is.  I loved the look of a lace bracelet and wanted to try it out.  I didn't have any of the Allhemp 3 yarn around, but years ago I used to dye cotton fabric and had done a little bit of Perle Cotton.  This is Perle Cotton 5, which I knit on US 1's (2.25 mm).  I used my Heavy Metals and loved the pointy, pointy tips for this.  I used a shell button and a clear, silver lined bead for the closure (they fit through the button hole at the other end of the bracelet).  The whole project was super quick and when it was finished I just got the whole thing soaking wet, wrung it out and patted it gently onto a paper towel to block - no pins, no wires - easy, peasy.  It's a super lightweight bracelet and I love the lace for summer.  I could see it in darker colors for other times of year and maybe in a metallic color for Christmas.  It's a grown up version of the friendship bracelets we all made and traded with our friends when we were younger.

The other bracelet is from Road ID.  It's a Wrist ID Slim Interactive bracelet.  I have a paracord bracelet with a dog tag on it with my name and emergency contact information that I wear when I run, but it's not very comfortable (so I ONLY wear it when I run) and I would have to replace the whole thing if I need to update phone numbers.  Last week Caleb and Logan started running with me (Running Buddies!) and I knew I needed ID for them so I decided to get us all Road ID's.  Now I know that not all of you run or bicycle (which is the primary reason Road ID was created), but bear with me here - there's a reason I'm sharing this.

If something were to happen when we were out on a run, say a car hits me - Caleb and Logan are fine in this scenario - yes, Caleb is there, yes he knows our phone number and address, but is he going to be thinking clearly enough in this situation to tell the EMT's?  Probably not, and even if he is thinking clearly, he doesn't know my health history and won't be able to answer a lot of the questions they'll have.

Different scenario:  Caleb is on a school field trip.  Something happens.  The school has some of his health information and they have emergency contact numbers, but that takes time and if there's a bus accident and something happens to the teachers, how long will it be before I'm contacted?

What about a car accident?  What if I trip and bump my head when I'm out getting groceries?  (Yes, I am that graceful.)  What if we're traveling and something happens?  There are a million things that could happen on any given day whether you run or you sit indoors.  If it happens to me or my family, I want to know that contact information and health information is available to the first responders.  That's what this bracelet does.

Road ID has three different bracelets as well as some other ID products (ankle, shoe, dog tags), but for us, I felt that bracelets would be the best choice.  The Wrist ID Sport was the original and it's a velcro band - it's sporty and reflective, but I decided that knitting and velcro weren't a great mix (also, it won't clean up from the sweat quite as easily as the other two designs).  The Wrist ID Elite is a silicone band with a deployment (watch type) buckle, so it's easy to clean and easy to take off and on and it's the dressiest of the three.  I went with the Wrist ID Slim for myself and Caleb.  It's the size of those silicone "cause" bracelets (like LIVEstrong) that you've all seen, but it comes in four different wrist sizes so it doesn't fall off of those of us with small wrists or cut off the circulation on those with larger wrists.  There's even a size to fit toddlers and small children (which is what this style was originally designed for).  Logan is sporting the Scout ID Original, which was designed for dogs.

While Logan's ID is the original type (all the info is on the id itself), Caleb and I have the interactive.  This means that on the inside of the ID are two codes that the first responders use when they call or log on to the Road ID system to get our information.  I can put as much information or as little as I like - from age, weight, height, emergency contact numbers, medical insurance information, medical histories, medication, all kinds of things.  I can also change it as often as I like.  If Mickael is traveling overseas for work, I can temporarily move him down the contact list while he's out of town and then put him back into the primary contact position when he gets home.  At certain times of the year, Caleb and I both take allergy medicine.  I can add this info during allergy season and take it off when we're not using the meds anymore.  There is a video on the website with a better explanation of the differences between Original Road ID and Interactive Road ID.

When first responders arrive at a scene, their primary objective is to stabilize the accident victims.  As they're doing this, they'll see a Road ID (and they know what it is).  If you have ICE info on your phone (and you should) or tucked into your wallet or purse, they might not find it for a while.  Having the information on your person means you'll get the right treatments faster.  The thing that really sold me on getting it and wearing it (I've worn it nonstop since I got it and it's not distracting or noticeable at this point) was the testimonials on the site.  Mickael will be getting one and I'm going to be talking to the rest of my family about it as well.  I'm not paranoid (not really), but things happen and if they do, this will make it easier for everyone involved.  I hope you go check it out for you and your family.

Have a great weekend!