Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!
That was a line from a commercial that aired when I was a young girl. It was the butt of many jokes when I was a teen. I guess it’s how it was portrayed in the commercial more so than the line it’s self. The truth of the matter is that it’s no joke. It’s a serious matter when someone falls or gets ill when there is no one around to help them. We would be grateful for medical alert services.
My mother in law had a medical alert service when she was still alive. She suffered from heart ailments as well as pancreatic cancer. She was not well in the months leading up to her passing. She didn’t like her children fawning over her all the time. She wanted to remain as independent as possible. To help ease everyone’s worries about her she was set up with a medical alert service.
Some people assume that alert systems are ONLY for seniors. While it’s true that many clients are elderly, these special alert systems are for anyone, young and old, who might require assistance. Take for example our downstairs neighbor. He was not that old at all (early 50’s). He was Diabetic and suffered with Diabetes for many years. One night his blood sugar levels dropped while he was sleeping. He tried to get out of bed to get some juice but he fell and couldn’t get up. He went into a Diabetic coma. Luckily his girlfriend came over shortly there after (unbeknown to her that he had fell and went into a coma). She was able to get him help.
A few months later he returned home only to have another incident with this Diabetes. His family was fearful that he would slip into another coma and had him put into a convalescent home. We have not seen him on almost 3 years, nor have we seen anyone from his family. His condo was taken over by our condo complex and has been vacant for the past 3 years. All of his personal items are still in the condo. 🙁 We wish we know if he was alive or if something bad happened to him.
In a situation such as our neighbor’s having a medical alert system would have helped him not to fall into a coma. He could have alerted the service that he needed help and the Police and ambulance could have been here in minutes. In fact our fire house is across the street!
I would think a medical alert service would be great to have even if you have a child at home with a severe medical condition. If your child falls ill you might freak out too much and be unable to call 911. Many of these medical alert systems require only the press of a button to call for help. In a time of great stress and chaos simply pressing a button is a lot easier than locating your cell phone and dialing 911.
If you or a loved one has medical conditions, or if your parent or grandparent are just getting up there in years and you worry about their safety and well being, a medical alert system might be right for you.
Do you (or a loved one) have a medical alert system? What kind do you have? How did you chose the company? What other services (if any) do they provide? Feel free to comment and tell me more about it.
Kimberly
Rosie says
I don’t have a loved one with a medical alert. I do know that it would need to be a very distant second to people at least calling and checking on the person. However, I have a relative that bristles at the thought of someone calling to make sure she hadn’t “fallen and can’t get up” syndrome like the advertisement. Many ppl if they are getting woozy or fading out aren’t going to be thinking of the medical alert. This past generation had gotten away from the idea of being there for their parents, but now people are starting to go back to trying to care more for their parents – but it isn’t easy. I would say to anyone to try a medical alert, but don’t depend on the person using it when they really need it, whether they are younger or older.
ANN*H says
Never used one of these people for anyone but just recently got one for my mother in law. They usually say no I dont need it but she feel 3 times in one month so we got one. She has not used it tho. She calls us if she needs us.