Guest Post: Lauren’s Hope Medical ID Bracelets
We’re all supposed to wear ‘em. You know what I mean - medical ID bracelets. Trouble is, they often look so…well…medical. Enter Lauren’s Hope. Lauren’s Hope offers fashionable and function medical jewelry, and today I’m so happy to have Kristi Domke guest blogging about her journey with diabetes and why she loves the cool medical bracelets and other jewelry from Lauren’s Hope. I met Kristi through our shared passion for diabetes advocacy. Kristi has type 1 Diabetes and is an active advocate within the diabetes community. After years of struggling with finding a medical ID she felt comfortable wearing, she finally found Lauren’s Hope. I’ll let Kristi take it from here so she can share her story with you!
At age eleven, most young girls are worried about what outfit to wear to school or what their best friend is up to. Their biggest worry is whether they should wear their hair up or down tomorrow. However, for me, at age eleven, I was worried about how many carbohydrates are in my meal plan, and how much insulin to do for the cake I had at the neighbor’s birthday party. I was worried about what people might think if they knew I had diabetes. My life, growing up with Type 1 diabetes, was much different than the other kids I grew up with.
Since I was diagnosed with diabetes more than fifteen years ago, I have had to face many challenges such as eating a special diet, constantly monitoring my blood sugars, and leading a life that is rather controlled. I have had to face an unexpected illness, change my entire lifestyle, and deal with the unawareness about diabetes in general. But through all of these hardships, I have learned a great deal about myself, and about others. Not only have I learned from my diabetes, but I have taught others that there is more to life than meets the eye. I have taken a seemingly negative situation and made it into a positive aspect of my life. I am stronger and wiser now, not just from having diabetes, but from allowing the experience to teach me important lessons about myself and about life.
My days of insulin shots and blood testing began when I was just eleven years old. I displayed the classic symptoms of untreated diabetes, although I did not realize it at the time. I started to feel sick, and I was sent on an unexpected trip to the emergency room. On September 26, 1996 I was diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes, and my world was flipped upside down. From that moment on my life forever changed. I had to learn so much in such a short period of time. It was exhausting. I had to learn how to give myself shots, how to monitor my blood sugar, how to carb count, how to eat a certain diet (limiting my sweets!), how to adjust my insulin, how to recognize and treat low and high blood sugars, the list goes on and on. It was a lot of stress for just a kid.
When I was diagnosed, I was in the sixth grade. Now, as I’m sure many people can recall, sixth grade is a pretty challenging time in one’s life. It’s the time when most kids are entering Middle School, and are being overwhelmed with new classes, a new atmosphere, and new friends. However, in addition to all of this, I was also facing ridicule by other kids for my diabetes. My boyfriend at the time even broke up with me because he thought my diabetes was contagious! This experience allowed me to see that there are many misconceptions about diabetes, and many people do not understand what the disease entails. This helped me to realize that the most important thing any person with diabetes can do for themselves is to become educated about the disease, do what they can to manage it, and to promote awareness to others to get them involved in the fight to find a cure.
As a young child with diabetes, I felt like I stuck out in a crowd like a sore thumb! In my younger years, I was very self conscience about my diabetes and what people would think if they found out. And for this reason, I never wanted to wear any medical ID. All I had was this unattractive and cheap tag from the pharmacy. It was horrible to wear, and so like a rebellious teen – I didn’t wear it! My parents and doctors would scold me for not wearing my medical ID bracelet, but I was a girl and wanted something pretty! Then one day, I found Lauren’s Hope Medical ID Bracelets . I was thrilled to see their fashionable and functional medical ID bracelets. I ordered one, and have been a loyal customer ever since. I get compliments on my Lauren’s Hope Medical ID Bracelet all the time, and now I use it as a conversation piece about my diabetes! When someone comments on my Lauren’s Hope medical ID bracelet it gives me a chance to explain diabetes and to make others aware of what the disease entails. Many are surprised to learn that taking care of my diabetes has become as routine to me as brushing my teeth! Now, when someone notices my Lauren’s Hope Medical ID Bracelet, I give a standard lesson in diabetes management to those around me. Once I show a willingness to explain my disease, people begin to admire my strength and how outspoken I am about my diabetes.
I am 26 years old now, and have grown in many ways. I have become very independent and know how to take care of myself. It was not easy, but did not take long to adjust to my new style of living. I am no longer afraid of what others might think about my diabetes. Instead, I take every opportunity to share my experience of living with Type 1 diabetes and hope that somehow, even in a small way, I am able to help someone else struggling with this disease!
To view Lauren’s Hope medical alert jewelry you can visit them online at www.LaurensHope.com. They offer hundreds of medical ID styles for men, women and kids!
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Being a man, I generally don’t like jewelry, but I feel your pain on not wanting to wear the often ugly medical ID bracelets. My beef is that the bracelets (or necklaces in my case) are generally not very good-looking and more specifically are not very stylish (for men). It might be a shock to hear this, but SOME men have style. The medical ID companies have yet to really go after that niche market. We generally give up and look for something minimalistic that will do until the real thing comes along. I’m glad you found some ID jewelry that scratches your stylistic itch!