European pacemaker identity card - Medtronic
- by LondonAndy
- 2018-07-19 09:59:41
- General Posting
- 1827 views
- 5 comments
Further to Electric Elise's post a few days ago on the surprisingly low-tech official European Pacemaker identity cards, as I am also in the UK, as suggested by Ian MC I phoned Medtronic's UK office yesterday. They are the manufacturers of my pacemaker, fitted September 2014.
Having navigated my way through the automated phone system to Heart Devices, I only spoke to one person, who was really helpful. He took down a few details, including my device's serial number, and the cred-card size ID card arrived the next day! Excellent.
You can see the card in the Members' Gallery, at https://www.pacemakerclub.com/gallery-items/Medtronic%20ID%20card%20-%20redacted.jpg
A couple of points:
1. The card does not contain all the details that the paper form does, and you will see that their letter says you should still carry the paper one.
2. The reverse of the card shows my name and address, and the name and phone number of the hospital where it was implanted.
5 Comments
That quick?!
by Electric Elise - 2018-07-19 13:49:28
LondonAndy, what great news, i’m so glad they helped you out! I actually spoke to the Watford branch as well, but sadly, because my pacer was implanted in RO, they basically couldn’t give a hoot. Which is a shame, as the RO branch couldn’t give multiple hoots, so i feel i might be stuck with the card-of-shame for now. Sigh! However, it’s great that thanks to IAN MC, more people who’ve had their implants in the UK are taking action to get more official looking documents!
cards
by The real Patch - 2018-07-20 18:21:05
I think you'll find Mastercard and Visa are far more beneficial than that little pacemaker card. In 11.5 years I've never had to use one, don't even know where mine is, and I look suspicious...
The Real Patch..
by Electric Elise - 2018-07-20 19:31:05
It’s funny how i’ve only had my pacer for 2 weeks now, yet whenever i mention it to folk, they give me this incredulous look, as if i were pulling their leg. I’m 36 and i look younger, so i guess that plays a part. The waiting room for my 1st post-surgery check-up was pure comedy.
Anyhow, with that in mind, i was dreading the encounters with TSA etc from now on, as i need to fly on a regular basis.. and so i developed somewhat of an obsession to find a more official-looking document to keep all the potential skeptics happy..
You know you're wired when...
You have a dymo-powered bike.
Member Quotes
We are very lucky to have these devices.
A good result !
by IAN MC - 2018-07-19 11:07:22
Hi Andy I'm glad that ringing Medtronic worked for you too.
You may recall that I posted last year to report that I showed an airport security guy my supermarket loyalty card ( Tesco ) by mistake and he still waved me through.
As an experiment, I've since tried to pay for my groceries using my Medtronic card but they wouldn't accept it !!
Cheers
Ian