Useful Templates
Below are some links to useful templates that may help you with life with chronic illness. They're things that have helped me on my journey, and so I'm sharing them on here (for free of course!) to hopefully help you.
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All of the templates are each a google doc, so all you have to do is go to simply click
File -- Make a Copy and it will duplicate the template ready for you to edit!
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Then print them out, and for the templates that are cards, you could laminate them to make them more hardwearing. PS: You don't need a fancy laminator, simply wrap sellotape around the pieces of paper until it's completely covering them!
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This card may be useful during travel to reiterate the need for ambulatory mobility assistance or support. Especially if you experience symptoms that inhibit communication, this card could be useful to get the help when you need it.
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In addition to carrying a doctor's letter with you, you may like to create a card with your conditions and how they affect you. If you experience a symptom that affects communication or loss of consciousness, you may find this useful.
You could wear a bracelet that explains the medical information card is in your wallet (and/or on your phone's medical ID section). You may also try to ensure the card is to hand when you start to experience any warning symptoms and hand it to someone around you to ask for help via the card.
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If you have lots of allergies, you may find creating cards with the foods you're allergic to may help to communicate when eating out. I've found adding images makes the cards more 'universal'. If you're travelling to a country where they don't speak your native language you may want to create some cards that are translated too.
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If you have lots of allergies, you may find that creating a card with a list of foods that you CAN eat may help. Again, adding images to make the foods as easy to communicate as possible.
Preparation for Medical Appointments ​
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I've written a whole section to explain this one so tap the link below to find out more, but in a nutshell, this document is to help you prepare for any upcoming new doctor appointments in as much detail as possible. You can email it in advance to give the practitioner as much information about your case as possible.
Ehlers Danlos Information Card​
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I've recently discovered this extremely useful card from the Ehlers Danlos Society that can be super useful to carry around with you if you have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome in case of a medical emergency. Not all medical professionals are educated well on EDS, so this card is a hugely important resource that may help you and urge them to care for you with caution and adequate EDS awareness in any unforseen medical situations.
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You can find the link to their printable wallet card by tapping the button below
I hope these templates can help YOU with life or travel and chronic illness.
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If you have any suggestions for additional templates to add to this section that could help others, or suggested amendments or improvements to the templates, please let me know by getting in touch!