Desmond Gilhooly - Epilepsy
Desmond Gilhooly from Kilcock, Ireland, has epilepsy and mild asthma, he wore his MedicAlert bracelet every day for around 15 years and fortunately never required MedicAlert's emergency service.
That was until one weekend when Desmond's parents were due to meet his new fiancée's mother for the first time.
Desmond never made it to his parent's house. He lost control of his car, which flipped over and skidded along the road. He was driving alone and suffered a seizure. Although doctors are still unsure if the seizure caused the accident or the accident caused Desmond to have a seizure.
Fortunately, a motorist travelling behind Desmond called emergency services, which arrived on the scene to cut him out of his car.
The paramedics spotted Desmond's MedicAlert Emblem on his wrist and were able to find out that he was epileptic, what medication he was on and what to avoid. Desmond's family were quickly contacted using next of kin details from his MedicAlert records, and they arrived at the hospital ahead of him in the ambulance.
Thanks to his MedicAlert Emblem, the paramedics arrived at the hospital with more information than they had expected, and were able to notify Accident & Emergency doctors of his MedicAlert bracelet, medical condition and relay important medical information.
