It was a scorching day and I watched the drover dismount from his horse as the air rippled across the horizon. Taking his hat off the drover leaned over the trough and splashed water over his face and neck and popped his broad-brimmed cowboy hat back on his head. I saw him flinch and lift the hat and beneath his tan, he paled. Within seconds he had collapsed in the red dust, choking to death.

The drover was anaphylactic – fatally allergic to bee stings.

I was in my mid-teens and didn’t have a clue what to do. I didn’t even know what was wrong except this man was dying in front of me, miles and miles from any help.

He lived because of a necklace. It was a Medical Alert, warning of Anaphylaxia. One of the other drovers – a barred doctor – on seeing the collapsed drover; seeing the necklace, performed an emergency tracheotomy (cutting into the throat, beneath the swollen tongue) and the Australian Flying Doctors flew in.

I myself have the same fatal allergy but have always shied away from wearing Medical Alert bracelets or necklaces. For years they have been gaudy medallions made of gold, silver and stainless steel – not of my liking at all. However style trends for designer medical alert bracelets are its own changing industry with increasing numbers of styles becoming available. One company who have got my attention is Mediband. Finally medical Alert bracelets are not the embarrassment that they used to be!

You cannot choose when and where a medical emergency will strike. However I have found that it is exceedingly comforting knowing that you have got an item of jewellery that is explicitly intended to save your life – and I am for the first time wearing just such an alert. It is my voice in a medical emergency. Medical staff – even First Aiders - are trained to look for a Medical Bracelet immediately upon assessing the patient.

Why have Mediband so impressed me?
Their bracelets are like those charity wristbands of old. Made of silicone, easily cleaned & 100% hypo-allergenic (non-toxic) my Medical Alert just looks like a trendy bracelet to the untrained eye.
It does not intrude in my life in any which way – I can swim (shower), play sports, lie in the sun, work – just live – with it on my wrist. It does not get uncomfortably hot or cold, does not scrape against desks etc like a metal bracelet nor conflict with my jewellery choices as a necklace may do.
However, it could just save my life.

The range of bracelets available from Mediband is superb and their prices are more than reasonable.

See www.mediband.com for more information or to buy.