Will the ER folks know about your Indiana
Even before I underwent my radical cystectomy/Indiana pouch I had read about the value of wearing a medical identification bracelet. If you happen to be brought to the emergency room alone and unconscious after an accident it’s possible that the medical staff will try to catheterize your bladder in order to a) verify that you don’t have a kidney or bladder injury and b) monitor your urine output. If your stoma is a cosmetic masterpiece, integrated into your bellybutton, no one may be aware of it.
A catheter inserted into your urethra won’t go very far and it obviously won’t yield any urine. Besides wasting precious time it could lead to an erroneous diagnosis. The stoma may leak eventually but that may take some time depending on the circumstances of your injury and your state of hydration
Medical ID bracelets are commonplace. Medical responders know to look for them.
They vary from plain stainless steel ($24.95) to 18-k gold ($2600). Yes, that is twenty-six hundred dollars! Some of the pricey ones look more like ordinary jewelry and the relatively inconspicuous medical symbol might be easy to overlook in the complicated and busy atmosphere of an emergency room setting.
My rather plain ($44.95, no tax or shipping) stainless bracelet is engraved with my name and phone number on one side and the medical information (radical cystectomy Indiana
Persons with a more complicated problem may want to use a vendor that includes access to the patient’s medical history for an additional fee.
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