CITY FOCUS:Medical bracelets high on style

Melinda Lipinski knows how important it is to have her medical information with her in case of an emergency — she is a three-time breast cancer survivor.

Frustrated with the low-brow look of medical alert bracelets available at local drugstores, Lipinski had stopped wearing them altogether.

Talking over lunch and some margaritas with her friend Janelle Marks at Chimayo’s in downtown Huntington Beach, Lipinski proposed designing a classier bracelet that would spare them the embarrassment of having to wear one.

Lipinski is at risk for lymphedema, a condition that causes lymphatic fluids to build up in the body, usually the arm or leg, resulting in swelling and other complications.

Doctors removed lymph nodes from her right arm as part of her breast cancer treatment. She wears a bracelet to let medical personnel know about it during an emergency.

“It was ugly and turned black on my arm within days,” she said.

Many people suffering from allergies, diabetes or who are taking different medications wear a medical alert bracelet to let paramedics know about their health conditions when they cannot give it themselves, such as in an accident.

When Lipinski decided to start her own business selling custom bracelets, AmedAlert Jewelry was born. And working with a friend as her partner would make it fun, Lipinski said.

Marks and Lipinski, both stay-at-home moms, have been friends for a decade. And while Lipinski was going in and out of rehabilitation during her third battle with breast cancer, Marks was there giving a hand.

The women started out with a simply-designed bracelet in yellow gold decorated with rubies. The bracelet is also available in white gold.

The founders agree they both love jewelry, and AmedAlert was a natural fit.

“It’s like a watch that you could wear on jeans as well as a black-tie outfit without being embarrassed about the bracelet,” Marks sad.

Customers can get their medical information of up to 40 characters engraved on the bracelet.

Newport Beach resident Renée Waller, who bought the bracelet last year, swears by it. Waller is a breast cancer survivor like Lipinski and at risk for lymphedema.

“It gives me tremendous peace of mind knowing that my medical information is always on my wrist,” she said. “Besides being functional, it’s a very pretty bracelet, and I think it’s well made.”

Waller has worn it to several black-tie events.

“This is just perfect, and everyone that I have run in to has admired it,” she said.

A percentage of profits from sales of the bracelets are donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information, visit amedalertjewelry.com.