accident

does everyone know that i handle advertising for a newspaper and drive around most of the day selling? well now you do! monday i was working hard. the holidays are coming way to fast for a newspaper. i'm in the midst of selling gift guides, song books, menu pages. you name it its on my llist. I was stopped waiting for an opening to turn left into a customers business when a person in a BIG SUV rammed me from behind. It was totally unexpected. Thank god for seatbelts. It through me forward and slammed me back into the seat. My heart was pounding and my chest hurt were the seat belt caught me. My neck hurt my back hurt and I was scared. I've never been in an accident before. this was a little one compared to others but it was me and i was terrified. I thought i was going to have a heartr attack. the ambulance came. i knew what to expect because of my fire dept training. I get clostrophobic and didn't want the collor but knew i had to have it. as these wonderful young men (6!!! count em 6!!!! men in uniforms!!!!!) were putting the collor on and getting me onto the back board. I told them that they sure were lucky that this happened today and not 2 years ago cause they would have had a neck of a time getting all 300 pounds of me out of that car! i was fine but I had to wonder, do we still need to have some kind of bracelet saying not to or to be careful intibateing us if we are in an accident? is that somethaing that we have to live with for the rest of our lives? I'm ok today. very sore. very stiff. but very happy that the accident was minor and no one got hurt badly. good luck everyone and god bless and WEAR THOSE SEATBELTS

Yes Yes Yes. You need some type of notificaton for emergency purposes. I have the WLS card in my wallet next to my Insurance card. And when a Dr's office wants my insurance card, they get that card as well. My family also knows to make whoever aware of it. At one time, I laughed and said we needed a Tatoo. That might not be such a bad idea. When I was in the hospital last June with the lower GI bleed, I made the nurse go back to the Dr and remind him I had the RNY WLS surgery prior to letting them put the tube down my nose to my stomach to make sure I was not bleeding in the Upper GI. Come to find out...they did not know what to do with me and my problem because of the WLS surgery. They were scared to touch me and my problem. So if you have a choice, make sure you go to a hospital that is familiar with the WLS if possible.

Glad to hear that you're ok.....it could have been way worse! Yes, seat belts are a must in my car. We don't move until they are buckled! Joanie

YES< YES< YES, we are suppose to wear a necklace or bracelet to say no NG TUBE/WLS Patient. That is because if they put that tube in you it goes down the Asopagus & will put air in your stomach without stomach acids like normal people could kill you on the spot. EMT will not look in your wallet to find this card so you should be wearing it on you somewhere. I don't have one myself & no I should have & am glad you are O.K. You will probably be more sore tomorrow after the shock wears off a little. Take it easy!! Marilyn, the Bearlady

Wow - I hope you don't have any lingering problems from this. Just keep in touch with your doc and go to physical therapy if he prescribes it. I'm a big believer in physical therapy now. I had a couple of very minor accidents in my early 20's and thought I wasn't injured but then years of shoulder, neck and joint pain that I didn't realized was caused by the accidents ensued. I had another bigger accident later and when I started physical therapy I found out those lingering injuries were settled in from years of being untreated. It took awhile, but I went from waking up crying from the pain in my shoulders on a frequent basis, popping NSAIDs and getting cortisone injections in my shoulders to not needing anything. So pay attention to your body now, and a month from now and 6 months from now. It can take awhile to set in. I'll never make that mistake again! As for the bracelet, yes, I wear a medic alert bracelet that says Gastric Bypass, No NG tube without scope. I got it on eBay and I buy cheap and cute bracelets from Walmart, add another clasp to it and wear it like a regular bracelet. Dina