Mom fell in the bathroom last night. How to convince her to carry her phone with her?

Phones are hard for many elderly to use in a healthy, normal sense. My mom can't make calls, nor answer, so while she carries one, she can't use it.

The fall alert pendant, while not perfect, has worked better. Just makes sure they actually wear it.

Your Mum has already broken one hip. You know she is a fall risk. A phone is not the answer, what if she hits her head on the way down, or breaks an arm?

A fall alert pendant can help, if she is willing to wear it.

It may be time when she can no longer be left alone. If she falls when you are not home, who do you expect her to call if she is capable of making a call?

My Dad is a fall risk. His answer at the cottage was to carry his car keys all the time. he figured he could set off his car alarm to get help. Yeah right a rural property and the closest neighbour worked all day. He also thought that inside, he could use the furniture to help himself back up. He did not consider that he could just as easily hit his head on the way down.

I talked to my brother, POA and Dad lives with him, about an alert system. They complained that it was too expensive at $50 per month. I asked my brother how much it costs him to take a day off work to take Dad to the hospital. It put the cost in perspective, but they still do not have one.

A woman in my church was diligent about carrying her phone everywhere she went. No one ever considered what would happen if she fell on the phone and could not get to it. So sad that she was found dead with a phone in her pocket, under her body.

Fall alert buttons that detect falls and automatically respond are a must in certain situations. Your mom's being one.

Do you carry your phone with you into the bathroom at 3AM? If it is not attached to you, would you even think of it the minute you woke out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night? If your bladder is calling, do you automatically reach for your phone? The elderly are not used to having electronic "gadgets" with them every minute. Of course, she "doesn't think of it"!
Try to find an easier, safer, way for her to get to the bathroom. Or would a sturdy bedside commode work? Add sturdy hand rails within reach of her toilet, shower and sink. Sounds like she could perhaps use a "shower chair" for bathing... sturdy, comfortable and quite convenient, but hand-held shower at chair height would be needed. (Also make sure shower floor is really slip proof)
Talk to a home health care nurse or agency...not to hire them...just to get suggestions. You will have to do the planning for her, but don't expect her rely on her phone.

At her age, falling is a serious issue. It's easy to break a bone or hip and if that happens, many elderly experience a sudden decline in health and an early demise. Start looking at assisted living facilities. Her wellbeing will be monitored and you will feel a sense of relief and freedom.

Even if she carries her phone, she might not be able to get to it if she falls.
My mom fell last year; thankfully we were home and heard it. But she was on the floor, she had hit her head against the wall when she fell and her phone was about 5 feet from where she was lying; and she was in such a daze I doubt it even would have been able to operate the phone.

We got my mom a Life Alert system, and she has used it. It's easier for her to get hold of the pendant than to drag her phone out of her pocket and try to remember how it works.

She needs a life alert type pendant to wear. My dad wore one from Great Call with much success. Your mother isn’t going to change except to get worse, sorry that’s the sad reality of aging, so she can’t be expected to remember her phone.