road id

Let me tell you a story about a hike, a 17 year old, a bike and an ER.

Last night I met up with a group of friends that meet every Wednesday evening to hike around a local mountain. Mill Mountain is a nice hike with some challenges. It is so wonderful to have a group of friends to share all sorts of adventures with. Well ten minutes into the walk up the old road to our trail head, we see a seemingly calm young man sitting on the wall. We looked over closer and noticed a good amount of road rash and blood, so we hopped on over.

We get over and he could not see us clearly, he was seeing in pinks and greys. He looked really hot and really pale and a lot in shock. One of us dumped water on his head as we tried to contact a parental unit (it was a bad time of day to find people we learned) and address some of his immediate concerns. We got him to lay on the ground in case he passed out and so he could maybe get some oxygen to his head. Another cyclist (who also happened to be a police officer) was riding by up the road and stopped. He called EMS, while we were trying to find anyone he could talk to on another phone.

Let me tell you, for the type of accident he had at 17, he was quite calm and brave. I would'a been all sorts of upset!

So EMS got there and he was loaded up into the rescue vehicle and we loaded up his bike into our car. I followed him as the others walked on. Well at 17, I do not know I would have wanted to have been left alone in an ER, after all that had just happened. So I stayed in the ER, as we talked about all sorts of stuff, while we waited on his Mother. He was not feeling well, felt a little light headed and I did not want him to start thinking and get more scared than he was.

Long story short, he has a broken wrist and getting a pin put in it on Friday (tomorrow), hurts a lot and got pretty shaken up I am sure. His Dad picked up his bike from me today and I was glad to find out he did not have a concussion, though he was hurting pretty bad.

I did not think I would ever need identification or emergency contacts on me, whether running, walking, hiking or biking. You see I have always thought this way, I do not really go that fast in descents when I am on my bike, I wear a helmet and use caution if the terrain or weather calls for a little something extra. Plus, I am fortunate to often have friends to ride with. Even if I was by myself I always felt I would be ok, if there was an accident. I also figured that with a helmet on and working toward maintaining a low speed I would be able to give the phone numbers and names of people to call. Last night I found out that is incorrect! Our new friend could not remember any numbers and was so panicked or in shock that he could barely register who to call.

So this has inspired me to get something I have talked about a lot, but have lacked follow through. Purchasing a Road ID!
What is this you ask?
It is this really great idea! It is a bracelet, anklet, necklace, shoe attachment, you pick it, with your personal information on it. Name, hometown, emergency contacts and even space for a personal motto.
Where do you find this great idea?
www.roadid.com
Here is what I am getting, though the "dog tags are cool too": http://www.roadid.com/common/learnmore_ankle.aspx?GoBackURL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.roadid.com%2fcommon%2fid.aspx%3fhash%3dankle

I hope you take time to build your own Road ID sooner rather than later! Make it easier for people who find you to contact your loved ones!

Quick and happy healing my friend and look forward to riding with you when you are all better!

Not going into an ER as Jane Doe,
-Rhonda