A Saga of Medical IDs and Fitness Trackers

I have an allergy to natural rubber/latex.* While this comes as no surprise to many, it just might come as a surprise should I be somewhere, with a medical need, and unable to speak. For years, I wore an ID bracelet associated with one of the larger alert systems. It briefly told my medical condition, and then gave a phone number to be called to get more extensive information. The bracelet was clunky and stark, a big red Staff of Asclepius, and though it wasn't as obvious to others as to me, I always felt that it was some sort of a brand, labeling me as a health failure. I remember the joy I had when my husband, for a birthday gift, got me a smaller, rather pretty bracelet that fit my wrist better. While it was still from the medical alert company, it worked well with jewelry, when I wished to add something else to my wrist. But someone still had to call a number to get the health information needed, should I not be able to supply it. Plus, I was charged a yearly fee for the privilege of having my private information stored with the company. We eventually found another medical alert bracelet that was again non-clunky, made of silver (a metal I wear a lot in jewelry) and had the back engraved the back with my allergies. I've worn it many years. The engraving is wearing down a bit, now.

At some point, I learned about a company called Road ID. They make a product that is geared toward runners and bikers, should they become incapacitated out on the road. It is a superb medical alert tool. My Road ID had my name, my allergies, and my emergency contacts-- no need to call some company. The band could be changed to different colors, and though it was not recommended necessarily by the company, I often slipped the tag onto my watch for an alternative to a silicone. Wearing it gave me confidence to walk more on my own, knowing that should something "not good" happen, my needs and next of kin could be found. Even better, I could wear it swimming, an activity I love and was eager to resume.

From top: Road ID (wrist slim) , Buddha's head, Spire, Generic Medical Alert

About the same time I found Road ID, I began delving into the world of fitness tracker. My first was a simple Fitbit Zip, which I loved, because it told me my steps, and was much easier than the pedometers I'd tried. Eventually, my guys got me a Spire, which is good for someone who has a respiratory condition. Spire has served me well. Mine was one of the original devices when the company started, and they recently upgraded me to a newer model. It's a really cool instrument for monitoring activity, breathing, tension, focus, calm, etc. I am very happy with mine for those reasons.

Things change, or maybe they progress, or expand. While my spire and Road ID worked in combo, I also needed to monitor my heart rate. (At last check, Spire was working on this, but it had not yet been added to the devices bag of tricks). I decided to try the FitBit Alta HR. It tracks heart rate, steps, can give visual feedback for those things to me from my wrist, phone, or computer. (Yay!) It comes in a bunch of pretty colors as well as metal bands for a dressier look, all easily interchangeable. (Another yay!) It doesn't contain latex. (This one gets an Alleluia!) And, Road ID makes an ID that fits it specifically. (They have a whole link to IDs for wearable devices on their webpage.)

Fitbit Alta HR with Road ID in place

My Road ID for my Alta HR arrived today. And yes, I am a happy gal.



* other stuff too, but the latex allergy is why I started wearing an ID bracelet

The New York Times: Footsteps: From Ferrante's Naples to Hammett's San Francisco, Literary Pilgrimages Around the World by New York Times

What a stupendous collection of columns from the New York Times Travel section! It's a literary tour around the world. The first thing I did was to peruse the table of contents to see which of the books I had read. Some of my favorites are there, so it was an added delight to enrich my impressions with more details of location, author, and story. Some of the columns I'd read in the Times, other were new to me. Additional bonus? I was able to add a couple of books to my "want to read" list.

Many thanks to Blogging for Books, the publisher, and the travel writers and editors of the New York Times for providing me with such marvelous armchair traveling.

From the Publisher:
Before Nick Carraway was drawn into Daisy and Gatsby s sparkling, champagne-fueled world in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald vacationed in the French Riviera, where a small green lighthouse winked at ships on the horizon. Before the nameless lovers began their illicit affair in The Lover, Marguerite Duras embarked upon her own scandalous relationship amidst the urban streets of Saigon. And before readers were terrified by a tentacled dragon-man called Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft was enthralled by the Industrial Trust tower-- the 26-story skyscraper that makes up the skyline of Providence, Rhode Island. 
Based on the popular New York Times travel column, Footsteps is an anthology of literary pilgrimages, exploring the geographic muses behind some of history's greatest writers. From the "dangerous, dirty and seductive" streets of Naples, the setting for Elena Ferrante's famous Neapolitan novels, to the "stone arches, creaky oaken doors, and riverside paths" of Oxford, the backdrop for Alice's adventures in Wonderland, Footsteps takes a fresh approach to literary tourism, appealing to readers and travel enthusiasts alike."

Small Admissions by Amy Poppel

Took me a little longer than usual to get into the story of this book, but I'm glad I stuck it out. Some moments of amusement and also insight, such as the picture below from about 3/4 through the book:

"At every meal in Deutschland they ask if you want your water flat or "mit gas."  You, my dear, are flat. Kate has gas. We need both kinds. We need loan analysts as well as carbonated people who jazz around. the bubbles may look out of control, but ultimately they know in which direction they're going."

I like to believe  I'm the latter type.

From the publisher:
One admission can change your life...forever.

When ambitious grad student Kate Pearson’s handsome French “almost fiancé” ditches her, she definitely does not roll with the punches, despite the best efforts of family and friends. It seems that nothing will get Kate out of pajamas and back into the world.

Miraculously, one cringe-worthy job interview leads to a position in the admissions department at the revered Hudson Day School. Kate’s instantly thrown into a highly competitive and occasionally absurd culture, where she interviews all types of children: suitable, wildly unsuitable, charming, loathsome, ingratiating, or spoiled beyond all measure. And then there are the Park Avenue parents who refuse to take no for an answer.

As Kate begins to learn there’s no room for self-pity or nonsense during the height of admissions season or life itself, her sister and friends find themselves keeping secrets, dropping bombshells, and arguing with each other about how to keep Kate on her feet. Meanwhile, Kate seems to be doing very nicely, thank you, and is even beginning to find out that her broken heart is very much on the mend. Welcome to the world of Small Admissions.

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley: A Novel by Hannah Tinti

I'm remiss in writing my thoughts on this book. Let me say, though, that it is a remarkable tale, one that kept me reading well past the time I like to go to sleep. Samuel Hawley's past is told through the 12 bullets he's taken over the course of his life. He's a man who has done some things perhaps he shouldn't have. He's also a father, dedicated to keeping his daughter Loo, who he has raised by him for as long as she can remember. Told in alternating segments until past and present collide, and the reader is on pins and needles, waiting for that last bullet.

Favorite quote? "The past is like a shadow, always trying to catch up."Hawley to Loo, p 340

Passing Strange

I admit it. The cover of this book is what drew me in. Little did I know it would play a pivotal role in the story. It is absolutely haunting, beautiful, and alluring. Kudos to Gregory Manchess for the art and Christine Foltzer for the design. I didn't realize, when I snapped it off the shelf that the book would take place in a city I love, nor that it was written by an author I've read, or published by one of my favorite houses. These surprises, plus learning that Klages has written before of a magic-infused San Francisco, and will seek out more on this.

But to the book: the story is primarily set in the 1940's, and is a beautiful love story. In today's world, San Francisco is a stronghold for the LGBTQ community. In that time, though, queer life was forced even more underground. (I'd never heard of the 3 piece rule, for instance, though the internet tells me it was still being used, even in this century.) The story, which involves everything from art, to cross dressed torch singers, to Chinatown, held my attention. That there was magic thrown in, also helped, but to be honest, the magic was more of a bookend plot device than a true element of the story. The real magic was the love these friends had for each other, lasting decades, and the love between an artist and a singer in a long ago San Francisco.

The Woman in the Photo

When I was a kid, my dad was offered a position in Johnstown, but turned it down, despite a good salary, because, to him, Johnstown meant "flood". This was in the 1960's. The flood was May 1889, and though it was associated with heavy rains, the cause was completely man-made. Still, Daddy couldn't move past the cultural memory and turned the job down. 

I read this book simply to learn more about the flood. The story (or rather both stories, because there's a past and a present one) was incidental. I like the historical photographs that were included as well as refreshing myself on Clara Barton. What a fascinating image to think of the Johnstowners looking up into the mountain sky, and seeing sailboats there from the killer lake that rested behind the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River.

The Mission Walker: I was given three months to live by Edie Littlefield Sundby

It's a funny thing about courage-- it has a malleable nature, and can be applied equally to the mother who lifts a car off of her child or the soldier who who risks his life to save the rest of his unit from enemy fire. Courage is the woman who helped get 2500 Jewish children safe from Nazi-held Poland in WWII, or the 17 year old girl, lone survivor of a plane crash in the wilds of Peru, who followed creeks and rivers, past the piranhas and crocodiles, to get back to civilization. Courage is countless moments in human survival and endurance, against great odds, and incredible hardship. Courage is the fight against disease, and a terminal diagnosis to hold onto your life.  Courage is Edie Littlefield Sundby.

Imagine yourself a strong, vibrant, intelligent woman, physically fit, an avid walker, and practitioner of yoga. You are 55, and have just returned from volunteer work in India with one of your daughters. The abdominal difficulties you experienced while there could easily be attributed to the change in diet, but they persist at home. It is then you discover you have stage 4 cancer of the gall bladder. The prognosis is grim. But, you are Edie Littlefield Sundby, and you are determined to fight, determined to live.

The Mission Walker is Edie's story, told in her own focused voice. Edie guides the reader through the early days of her diagnosis, into the maze of medical treatment, in which, in her determination not to let cancer claim her quickly, she blazed new trails. She blazed past the predicted three month survival. She kept seeking new options, holding fast to her faith and to her family; through multiple chemotherapy rounds, surgeries, through fighting tumors in different parts of her body, and fighting the side effects of the treatments to save her. And then, in remission and in gratitude, she decided to try to walk the California Mission Trail, grateful, thankful to be alive, hoping to light a candle at each of the 21 missions along the way, and thanking God with every step. Edie recounts the amazing journey of following the bells, not knowing how far she would go, leaving that to God, but determined to try.

Yet there's more to The Mission Walker. Edie was determined to walk the portion of El Camino Real that stretched into Mexico, starting from its beginning in Loreto. The mission trail there was not maintained like the one in California; the journey would be very different and very difficult. As she made her plans for this trek, two years after the start of her first walk, her cancer came back. In a three month window between a repeat scan after radiation and  surgery, armed with all the information she could find, a well-crafted trail kit, determination, and faith, Edie began the walk that would complete her trek of the mission trail. It's an incredible story, an eye opening journey, also faith filled, but additionally a story of strength of every sort. It is just one more example of Edie's courage.

I have to add a disclaimer here: I know Edie. We met in 2012, and though we only spent one day together, it was a joyful one, celebrating the milestones of our children with our families. Edie and I didn't speak much that day. I knew a little of her story, but now realize where in that incredible fight she was. I was preoccupied, fighting my own medical diagnosis, focused more on the precautions I need to take daily to keep safe than on another's needs (which is a little embarrassing to admit, as I am a nurse, so my career has been focused on helping others with their health.) In the intervening years since we met, I followed her following the bells, but still didn't have a real grasp of the scope of her journey. It took this remarkable memoir to bring the journey, the strength of faith and character needed, into focus. Walk on, Edie. You walk strong. You walk with God. Thank you for letting us walk with you.
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