Our Why

In the blink of an eye, we can find ourselves in an emergency where we may not be able to advocate for ourselves, or a loved one may not be able to express what is happening. I created ICE-MED to help others provide potentially life saving information and plan for the future. 

This is my story - on what started as a normal sunny August morning, I got a call, one that every parent dreads. It was my eldest son trying his best to utter 4 words - “Mom, I need help!” That was all I could understand as my son could barely speak clearly. Thankfully, he was able to text me his GPS location so I could get to him (thank goodness for technology).

I finally found my son parked on the side of a road. I got out of my car and went to him, but it was not my healthy, 27 year old son, who I had seen just days before. In front of me was a young man with full body tremors, struggling to stand or even form clear words.

I had no idea what had happened to cause this, nor could he tell me. I rushed him to the hospital and along the way I asked him questions I knew the emergency staff would need to know; Health card number? Family doctor? Any new allergies? Medications? How long has this been happening? Has this happened before? 

I felt so helpless that I did not know the answers that I, as a mother, felt I should know. My son used every bit of his strength and energy to type out the answers on his phone with his trembling hands. It was terrifying and neither of us knew what was going on or why this was happening to him. My otherwise perfectly healthy 27-year-old son could not advocate for himself and he could only follow and understand short sentences without too much confusion. 

Over the course of the next few months, we kept notes on his symptoms, any subsequent trips to the ER, tests they’d done and family meetings to try and figure out any causes of my son’s current state. We talked to several doctors about family history, work environment, personal/home environment, anything that could have caused this. In order to gain any perspective or understanding, we had to access many different resources. Once my son was back to his usual self, this experience really stuck with me. It was a very emotionally, mentally and in some ways physically draining time for everyone involved, I felt the need to try and help others to feel a little more prepared should they find themselves in this situation.