Independence with security of my old parents.

Gosblessyou, I know what you are going through. My aging parents are in their mid-90's and still live home alone, it's their choice. Every time the telephone rings and I see their caller ID, I freeze, my heart starts to pound, and I can barely say hello. Both parents are of clear mind with some very minor memory issues.

I tried to get Dad to subscribe to one of those emergency alert systems but he said no, maybe in a couple of years.... sigh, guess he wants to wait until he is 100 before getting one :P Plus he didn't want to pay the monthly fee.

What would put me at ease and let me sleep through the night is if my parents would sell that darn house and move into a retirement community. But none of their siblings ever did that, everyone clung to their home until they were carried out to live in a nursing home or final days in a hospital. Don't our parents understand what they are putting us through? Or is it they are in denial?

My mom subscribed to Lifeline for years. She wore a pendant and help was available at the push of a button. One thing I liked was that she had to check in every month, it got her used to pushing the button and talking to the switchboard so she would be more apt to use it if needed. Fortunately for us she never needed to, but gave us all peace of mind as she live alone on the farm and we were not close enough to check on her every day. Think of it like insurance, you hope you won't need it but you invest in it in case you do. It was pricey at $40 a month, but there are lots of other options out there today as the technology advances. Just be aware, some folks on this site have reported that their loved one used it to manipulate their family and kept them running to help constantly, so you have to take into consideration your mom's personality when you choose an alert system.

Hey! Thanks for sharing!
I am ready to invest 40 dollars per month in it, but can you really force your parents to wear something like this? I have seen some emergency wristbands on the internet, my concerned is, if she can use actually use this in the case of emergency. What do you think?

You can't force your parents to wear anything anymore than you can force any adult to wear something.

My step-brother never bought his dad anything like that until he was finally willing to wear it.

In one of our monthly caregiving, one caregiver said that there's a website that sells a watch with a GPS in it. The watch is a bit tricky to take off. Once it's put on, it stays on. She found the website from the alzheimer's website. She gave us the website but .... I misplaced my notes. FYI, my dad is 86 years old and bedridden. He still wears his watch every day.

... I went to the Alz website and searched watch gps... I found from their site a gps company: Revolutionary Tracker. Google the name, maybe give them a call and ask for their monthly rates. They have pretty watches. And it even gives out a tamper alert by email, etc...

Hi Bookluvr, Thanks a lot for your reply. Pls do not take me wrong, but in case your dad cannot take that watch off easily, would he be able to trigger it in case of emergency?

Dear Cmagnum,
Yes you are right in this case! I even told my mom dat I will get this band done in a jewellery, as she was not ready to wear it and she replied that she doesnt wear one piece of jewellery everyday. It is very difficult to get a combination of good design+ price competitive+ user acceptance and technology that we want.

But if I will gift her, and she thinks a lot about my money, I know she will wear it.
What do you think?

cwillie, can you please share with me the link where this this discussion happened, in case you remember. Thankyou!

Sorry, I was thinking more of Wandering. Not of medical alert - if they fell. The watch with gps is if they tend to walk out of the home and get lost. From what I've seen,

Have you tried checking the ad on this site. I just noticed the one on the right of this comment box. MEDICAL GUARDIAN. I clicked on it - and you fill out the info and I think they will send you more info. On the ad is the box alert, the necklace and the watch. Coincidence?

Gosblessyou, use the search this site box on the upper right with "fall detection". There are lots of threads and aging care articles.

Godblessyou,
In our case my mil lived out of state at the time and she resisted the topic of getting one for awhile after my fil passed. Being alone and with no family in her state her 3 sons kept the topic in our conversations everytime we called on the worry that something might happen and how would she get help. She finally gave within a few months and one of the boys set it up for
her. She had it about a year when she fell late one night and broke her hip, granted she still didn't press the button for a couple hours but finally realized the pain was to great and she couldn't move so she did finally.
They got the EMS there and called all of
us and the 2 sons that could were there the next day. She was thankful for it then and to have us there to help her find the rehab facility she needed for her extended
care.
She has moved to our state and now lives close by us but alone in a senior living apt and it was one thing she demanded she have with our relief. When she fell this time right outside her apt door she still stubbornly didnt press the button right away but had someone that found her call us and waited until we arrived and I did.

They don't want to acknowledge the need for help or lose their independence but she knows it is there if we can't come to her aid right away.
Keep the conversation going in a loving and caring way on how important her safety is when you are not with her and accidents happen. In Michigan her ADT system cost $30 but they now have a new one that uses 3g and it also had fall detection incase they are unable to press the button and sends help, that one cost
more but it would be worth it.

Goodluck.

Oh! Thankyou so much for the valuable information. I will also follow the threads that you just mentioned. I thought when I will post this thread there will a lot of people with the suggestions. It seems are people are somehow not so convinced with this technology! Or ?

Hey Pleasant! my good wishes for your Mom! Is it 30 dollars per month?

We'd love for my FIL to use a fall alert system - he's resisting due to price. The one I'd like him to get has a sensor that triggers if there's a sudden drop in elevation (ie a fall) so he wouldn't have to trigger it manually. When my mom fell at her AL, she had blacked out which caused the fall and so, wasn't to press her wrist alarm.

Godblessyou,

Sorry I wasn't more specific. Yes the standard ADT life alert system is $30 a month, and I checked my notes and the 3g with fall detection system is $49.99 a
month.
We had it set up to be paid by auto deduct so ask if you may get a better rate going that way, some companies do. My brother in law set it up initially, so I don't know for sure if they do.

Also since moms last fall and broken hip, she had a lengthy recovery and ended up needed to sign up for Medicaid while at the nh/rehab facility. She is now back home to her apt, and is on waivered services program. We recieved lots of help and assistance from the SW assigned from Division on Aging in our area, and medicaid is paying for the
system she has now.

Hope this helps :)

Nice! That you all got lucky and got the aid. This is a good idea! Let me see if some insurance companies are offering alarm systems in the price of Insurance, maybe I get lucky and get a good deal. I know I am really sneaky at the moment with the price and the device but there are so many devices in the market and the bad part is I cannot predict the situation she will be into in future....hmmm, actually I am looking for 3 important features:

- SOS calling
- GPS, to track her
- and a app in my phone which will let me know, if she leaves a particular area.