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In my life, I happened to care for several relatives who needed my support. At this stage, I am taking care of my middle-aged sister, who is suffering from a mental disorder. My sister lives alone and is entirely self-sufficient in terms of everyday needs. I see her 1-2 times a week. In the current phase, she has just a few contacts with people.


A month ago, something happened that worried me a lot. My sister suffered back pain, so she stayed in bed without food or water for two whole days until she could get on the phone to alert me to go for help.


While I do not communicate with her every day, I am worried if she is well. Because I'm a techie and I'm trying to automate everything, I've thought of making a simple device that shows me that my sister is well.


The technological solution will include a device that will be placed in my sister's house and an application that will be installed on my smartphone.


The device will detect human movement. If it detects movement in the morning, it means that my sister has gotten out of bed and is following her daily schedule. If it does not detect motion, it means that something is wrong. On the other hand, a simple application on my cell phone will notify me if there is a problem so I can contact my sister directly. So without tire you out with technical details, the basis of my idea is to be able to have the answer to the question if my sister is well today.


I would like to listen to your opinion if you find my idea useful and safe or if you know of existing solutions in the market?


Thank you

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Wouldn't a Fit Bit do that? I think it is a great idea. Maybe an app for Alexa? As long as it could be marketed at low cost. There are many devices that would accomplish this that are quite costly.
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Thank you for your comment. Fitbit is a great idea. I use one, and my fitness has improved. I'm afraid my sister is not very receptive to change.  Even if she wears it, based on previous experience, she won't charge it when the battery will be empty.  I don't have Alexa, but I think It should use external sensors. The cost will be below $30 with open source hardware.
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Yep, it's called a phone.

You pick it up every morning and call to say hi and check in.

Sorry, but I don't believe you are who you claim. If you have had these issues with your sister you would be giving her a quick call everyday.

This forum attracts people using us as a research resource without being honest about their intentions. Sounds like you are one of them.
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Yes I'm doing my research. I'm going to put some effort to build this solution. Let's say 2 weeks with testing. It sounds good idea to me but I want to know what others think. And yes there is a phone. But my sister and I are not so close like typical brothers and sisters.  She is 50 and I am 45 and we don't talk on the phone every day.  Just one or maybe two times in a week for a minute. And I have other siblings who are not interested at all. So I'm looking to find a way to alert me if something is going wrong without breaking her privacy. Already tried another solution for the past year but it didn't work out for the last incident.
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Does your sister use any sort of a Smartphone? There is an app called Mandown that will signal someone if the phone has not been handled at preset intervals. It was developed to add safety backup to workers who may work alone- like security guards or lineman.

If she doesn't have a Smartphone, you might consider something like Alexa that she would be able to say "Alexa, call Techie." if she were down.

There are motion detectors that will send an email or text when they see motion. Maybe something like that mounted on the bedroom doorjamb (or somewhere where it wouldn't constantly be going off). would alert you that she's up and moving around?

https://www.amazon.com/Proteus-M5-Motion-Sensor-Alerts/dp/B00FGA1E8G
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Thank you for your suggestions. I gave her a smartphone, but she is not using it often. I tried to explain to her the benefits of using the smartphone but no success at the moment. I think the same will happen with Alexa, but it is still a good emergency solution.

Regarding the door sensor, I already tried to use a smart door sensor from Xiaomi the past year, which triggers a smart lamp in my home. Still, the problem is that this solution alerts me when there is no problem, when there is motion. There is also an option for detecting "no motion" but for up to 30'. I need a device that does the opposite, to alert me when there is no motion in specific hours or something like that.
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The platform is FB.
The only reason I go there at all is to check on family.
By following friends and family on FB, one can see if at least they are posting. And, determine their moods a bit by what they are posting.
Maybe you can agree with your sister to meet on FB each morning before starting your day.
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Pick up the phone each morning. Call and say hi. Easy. Requires little to no effort. No need for anything special. A friend and I have done this for over 30 years. We’ve never missed a day.
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Thanks Bridger26164 I will give it a try to put a reminder in my calendar.
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Techie- the Proteus says it can be set to notify people if there has been NO movement for a certain period of time. I haven't tried it myself. I just have it in mind if my mother ever agrees to be "monitored like a criminal." haha

She will agree to it right after she spends 20 hours on the floor. That's how she rolls.
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Alicew234, thanks for pointing me to this. It seems that Proteus is doing the job I want: "or when no motion is detected for a time period". I would also like to thank all of you for the valuable advice. You helped me think more clearly about the problem and its solutions. The last time I cared for my elderly father for years, I tried to find all the answers myself, and that was wrong.
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