Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly Mom)

Bazza

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Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly Mom)

Mom at 95 is still living in her own home, driving, and independent, amazingly enough. But last week she had a fall and suffered a contusion on her back, which we are in the process of treating.

The home health nurse came by today and told me I should consider getting something she can have on her person she could use to summon help, in case of another fall.

At some point - we will probably have to move her into some kind of assisted living.

For now though, any feedback on something to use for emergencies would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
 

bama579

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Had the Philips version of if for my mom during her last several 90+ years. The call center had phone numbers for 3 same-street neighbors and several others in same small town in addition to me.

Used it for real only once - a fall with only bruises. The peace of mind for mom was more than worth the price.
 

Bazza

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Had the Philips version of if for my mom during her last several 90+ years. The call center had phone numbers for 3 same-street neighbors and several others in same small town in addition to me.

Used it for real only once - a fall with only bruises. The peace of mind for mom was more than worth the price.
Thanks for the input, 579!

I did a little snooping around on the Internet today and found a system I think might work for us.

No call center and no monthly fee. Button is pushed and calls are made in sequence to up to 4 contacts. Redials as needed automatically until a call is picked up and confirmation signal sent. 2 way speaker on the device so Mom will be able to speak to whoever answers.

On Amazon, they are approx. $250 new.....but I found one on eBay for $60 so just placed the order. Should be here by Thursday.

Here's the product description from the Amazon site:
The LogicMark freedom alert emergency pendant communicator allows instant 2-way speaker phone communication through your mini wearable pendant to family, friends, or neighbors - anytime from anywhere - in or around the home. If your programmed contacts are unreachable at the moment, the system can default to contact a 911 emergency operator. Fully portable for use in homes with land lines. Includes lanyard, wrist/wheelchair strap holder. Also includes belt clip and 2 rechargeable batteries.
And a video:

The hardest part will be getting Mom to wear this or keep it with her. I have to do something if she insists on living alone.

Will update thread later as appropriate. Thank you again for your post!
 

bama579

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Mom at 95 is still living in her own home, driving, and independent, amazingly enough. But last week she had a fall and suffered a contusion on her back, which we are in the process of treating.

The home health nurse came by today and told me I should consider getting something she can have on her person she could use to summon help, in case of another fall.

At some point - we will probably have to move her into some kind of assisted living.

For now though, any feedback on something to use for emergencies would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
95 yrs old and still going as strong as you said . .. Blessings beyond any common definition.
 

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Mom at 95 is still living in her own home, driving, and independent, amazingly enough. But last week she had a fall and suffered a contusion on her back, which we are in the process of treating.

The home health nurse came by today and told me I should consider getting something she can have on her person she could use to summon help, in case of another fall.

At some point - we will probably have to move her into some kind of assisted living.

For now though, any feedback on something to use for emergencies would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
I've got basically the same situation with my 91 year old mother.

We have one of those necklaces she can wear, if she should fall it contacts the home company that then takes steps to get help. We've never had it go off yet so I'm not sure exactly how it will go. Hers is routed through her phone system, provided by her tv cable company.

The only problem is she won't wear it.
 

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm going to tell a story that happened with my elderly mother recently.

She has multiple heart problems, and several other conditions. She also does not want to be put in a hospital unless absolutely necessary. She's convinced the only way she would get out of the hospital is when she passes away there.

I had her at her regular doctors office getting blood work, everything was good. Halfway home, we got a call from her doctor to come back in. The doctor explained her heart rate was way too slow, they had missed it until after she left. He had called her heart doctor in Huntsville, 30 miles away. Our instructions were to proceed directly to the emergency room in Huntsville Hospital.

Gut check time.

I told the doctor mother had been with me for an hour or more that morning and she seemed as good as ever, my concern was the strain of the emergency room, and a several day stay in the hospital would do her in. I opted to take her home. The doctor was floored.

Several days later, we had an appointment and went to the heart doctor at his office in a non-emergency situation. He checked her out, her heart had actually improved since the prior visit a year before. Her regular doctor somehow had misinterpreted the heart rate reading, and had been basically sending us to the emergency room based on his mistake. I guess I'd rather he be over cautious than the opposite, but good grief.

If anybody is still reading this I'm going to bring it back on topic...bear with me.

My custom is to phone my mother each morning (to make sure she's ok and hasn't fallen or whatever) and I will say, the morning I called her after declining the doctor's advice to put her in the hospital, I was especially relieved when she answered the phone.
 

Bazza

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Quick update for those interested.......

The unit finally arrived today. Was supposed to be here last Thursday. (?) Anywhoo.......I just hooked it up to my own phone and tested it and it works. In fact....I inadvertently set it in "Friends and 911" mode and it dialed 911 so I was "given the opportunity" to explain what happened to the 911 operator. She was actually very friendly and understanding. Like she said...at least we know it does have the capacity to dial 911...ha.

Tomorrow when I go to Mom's I will take it with me and hook it up over there and give it a proper test drive.

So far I really like the features and benefits of this device.

Obviously it remains to be seen if Mom will be able to use it properly - that's the bottom line, right?

Will keep you posted.....
 

TIDE-HSV

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

My former next door neighbor, whom I've mentioned before, passed two days ago at age 97. Apparently no pain. She just called her daughter and said she was having trouble breathing. HEMSI beat the daughter there, although the daughter is close, but nothing could be done...
 

Bazza

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

My former next door neighbor, whom I've mentioned before, passed two days ago at age 97. Apparently no pain. She just called her daughter and said she was having trouble breathing. HEMSI beat the daughter there, although the daughter is close, but nothing could be done...
Very sorry to hear this but she did pretty good to get to 97. Spending time with my Mom the past two weeks helping her has really brought the topic of mortality closer to home.
 

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Bazza, it's helpful to see others are dealing with similar aging parent issues. My best to 'y'all and my suggestion is enjoy their company while you can.

My Mom is a die-hard Bama fan. I spoke with her the morning after Jalen won the Georgia game, she couldn't remember who won. I took her a newspaper...she enjoyed reading about the win as much as she had enjoyed watching it the night before.
 

Bazza

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Bazza, it's helpful to see others are dealing with similar aging parent issues. My best to 'y'all and my suggestion is enjoy their company while you can.

My Mom is a die-hard Bama fan. I spoke with her the morning after Jalen won the Georgia game, she couldn't remember who won. I took her a newspaper...she enjoyed reading about the win as much as she had enjoyed watching it the night before.
Thanks, CV.....appreciate your comments and totally agree. There's a bunch of baby boomers going through this right now and that's a lot of elderly parents who need their children to step up and "return the favor".

As I was driving back from my Mom's this evening on the radio there's was an ad for a local business who offers help for assisted living situations and I am going to contact them on Monday and see what happens.

This is their website:
https://assistedlivingmadesimple.com/

On another forum that I frequent (in their off topic forum) we've had a number of threads (16 all together) on how to help elderly parents and I went back and bookmarked all of those and will be re-visiting them as well as it always helps to get input from others.

Best wishes for your Mom - please give her a hug from Baz next time you see her.....:smile:
 

bama579

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

A heads up from personal experience . ..
Noticed my mothers' mental processing fading fast, thought it might be something such as Alzheimers. Had her doc administer the question test and she failed it badly.

We put her on a med that caused bad dreams, so that treatment was halted quickly.

We later found out her kidneys and liver were failing and those caused chemical imbalances that led to the mental decay. Kidney and liver failures got her soon after at 91 yrs old.

Sooooo . . . I encourage you not to assume mental lapses are really mental issues. They may be more physiological.

To those caring for aged parents, it is the most rewarding thing you will ever do . . except maybe for children.
 

NationalTitles18

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

A heads up from personal experience . ..
Noticed my mothers' mental processing fading fast, thought it might be something such as Alzheimers. Had her doc administer the question test and she failed it badly.

We put her on a med that caused bad dreams, so that treatment was halted quickly.

We later found out her kidneys and liver were failing and those caused chemical imbalances that led to the mental decay. Kidney and liver failures got her soon after at 91 yrs old.

Sooooo . . . I encourage you not to assume mental lapses are really mental issues. They may be more physiological.

To those caring for aged parents, it is the most rewarding thing you will ever do . . except maybe for children.
Rule of thumb is to always rule out medical issues first.

Anything from a UTI to thyroid to metabolic issues like your mom had can mimic mental and neurological conditions.

Aricept can cause vivid dreams and other side effects.

Sorry your mom passed but glad she had 91 years.

My mom was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She has been having delusions and hallucinations. We are slowly introducing some new medications to help with those. My dad passed away last year from the same thing so she was pretty upset when she found out this week. I just happened to be visiting on the day of her appt at the Kirkland Clinic. The doctors there mentioned life alert or a similar device would be in order for her. We siblings took it pretty well because we had seen signs going back several years and the stress from everything this past 2 years really made it worse.
 

Bazza

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Rule of thumb is to always rule out medical issues first.

Anything from a UTI to thyroid to metabolic issues like your mom had can mimic mental and neurological conditions.

Aricept can cause vivid dreams and other side effects.

Sorry your mom passed but glad she had 91 years.

My mom was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She has been having delusions and hallucinations. We are slowly introducing some new medications to help with those. My dad passed away last year from the same thing so she was pretty upset when she found out this week. I just happened to be visiting on the day of her appt at the Kirkland Clinic. The doctors there mentioned life alert or a similar device would be in order for her. We siblings took it pretty well because we had seen signs going back several years and the stress from everything this past 2 years really made it worse.
I'm sorry to hear about your Mom, NT17. And for your Dad's passing last year. Glad she has her children to look after her when she needs it the most.

Hoping the medications are helpful.

All the best,
Baz
 

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Re: Anyone have any experience with those "life alert" type devices (for my elderly M

Bazza, bama579 and NT17, I appreciate reading your thoughts and hearing about your experiences with your elderly Mom. They have been helpful to me in dealing with my similar situation.
 

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