Med-card Scenario 2

One Story Where Our Medication Card Saved a Life

One of PAA’s co-founders, Michael Fossey, had to go to the ER in the middle of the night due to vomiting and severe abdominal pain.  On a scale of 0-10, the pain was a 9-10.  A CT scan diagnosed him with a small bowel obstruction (something was blocking the intestine, which is life threatening).  Due to the COVID-19 issue, the hospital did not allow anyone to accompany Mike in the ER with him, not even his wife who’s a nurse.  Mike was in severe pain, throwing up, and could not recite all of his medications (he was on 7 prescriptions).

Mike had extremely elevated blood pressure and heart rate, which the doctors understandably attributed it to his severe pain.  Thanks to Mike’s wallet medication card, the doctor saw that he was on two important medications to treat his hypertension (high blood pressure) and his cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart beat).  The doctor realized that Mike had not been able to take these critical medications due to vomiting for hours.  The doctor immediately treated Mike with intravenous medications, which resolved both conditions.  Mike fortunately recovered after a few days in the hospital without requiring surgery for his bowel obstruction!  

This story showcases how Mike’s medication card prompted rapid treatment.  Had there been further delay in treating his blood pressure and heart rate elevations he would have been at an extremely high risk for heart attack, stroke, and death.  This story is personal for us, but medication complications such as these are extremely common occurrences.  In the United States alone there are greater than 100,000 deaths every year from preventable medication-related problems, and each year there are millions of Americans harmed by their medications.  In fact, tens of millions of Americans take prescriptions every day and are therefore at risk.  Since medications are necessary, carrying a wallet medication card is one of the most effective and simplest preventative measures anyone can take.  Medication cards truly save lives!