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This just occurred to me today after I tripped and fell while pushing my hubby in his wheelchair outside. Fortunately, I wasn't too badly hurt, but it got me thinking. He couldn't get up by himself to phone for help.....what do people do in these situations? TIA

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The mere fact you asked this question means it is definitely time for a notification medallion such as life alert or a like system. Best to you.
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I am only 64 but I sometimes get a little unstable due to past broken ankle and living in the country with an uneven yard. I take my cell phone with me everytime I walk the dog,, or go out in the yard. Hubs may not hear me right away, and he doesnot carry his phone everywhere,, but I still feel like its better than nothing! And I could "phone a friend" who lives nearby.
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Might be worth getting a Life Alert for just such an occasion.
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Just a heads up for everyone counting on and recommending a cell phone.

We had a lady in our church that didn't go anywhere without her cell phone. Fell outside her home, could not move and was laying on her cell phone in her pocket. She died there.

Any vulnerable person should have a medical alert system that notifies of any falls without your participation, because you can not always participate, even to push a button.

This precious woman would not have laid in the heat for who knows how long, had she had one of these systems.
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Both of you need an alert that you wear all the time. A fall can happen to anyone, young or old. Your concern is quite valid - if the caregiver can't get up or get to a phone, there are at least 2 people in trouble.

The best one I found was called 5star/Great Call. You can purchase at Walmart and then register with all the info online. When you push that button, someone immediately answers to see what kind of help you need. The list of contacts you provide online allows them to call 911 or any of the people you listed. So someone that lives close by would be a good contact to list. It is not limited to use only in the home. You can call from anywhere for help and has GPS to provide your location. The price is more reasonable than other devices I checked on - about $23 a month. Well worth the feeling of security.

Also, you can use the alert to ask for help other than medical. If you were driving and car broke down you can use it as notification that you need help. (In case you couldn't use phone or get to the phone)
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A Medic Alert or Guardian Angel Alert would help in those cases. It can be worn as a necklace or bracelet.
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beejay3: You, the caregiver and the patient should always carry ID on your person, which should include emergency contact person(s) as well as a cellular phone.
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There's a phone app called Snug that reminds you to check in daily (or multiple times a day). If you fail to check in, it messages (or a human calls) your emergency contact. I'm 76 and use it to help my son keep tabs on my wife and me. Also, we have inexpensive Wyze webcams. My wife and I both wear Apple watches that have fall detection (calls 911) and you can tell Siri to call for help. I also wear a medical dog tag on my neck that lists emergency contacts and the location of medical info (an ICE sheet in my wallet). Even so, it's a work in progress and I'll read the comments here for more tips. Good luck.
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I remember the time when my mother slipped between the wall and her bed and was pinned there till I arrived in the morning. I could hear a feeble “help” coming from the wall. Pulled the bed away, gently slid her to the floor and called 911.
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I am researching a "personal security device" right now for myself, because my husband who has Alzheimer's can't be relied on to call for help.

Years ago my SIL got one because she lived on acreage and my brother worked away from home and only came home on weekends. She said if she fell (she was 55 and healthy) no one would hear her call for help.
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Though there are some high tech solutions, my sense is that part of the beauty of the pendant alert systems is that they are very very simple to use. They may have accidental alarms in your sleep...and the company can work with you to get a different type of necklace or pendant..
.my mom always insisted on her portable phone after her husband died. 10 years later, she can still answer it (even when she shouldn't) but has no idea how to make a call, usually can't hear the person who is calling, etc. And now forgets to charge it..
Explaining to an elder why wearing a pendant will help family members not worry so much can help with motivation.
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my2cents Apr 2022
My mom recharged hers on the nightstand next to her bed. Never had an accidental bump in the night. Plus she knew where it was located all during the night if she woke up needing help.
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Is you husband capable of using a cell phone? A lot of people still have never used one or wouldn't know what to do.

But if I was in your situation, even with a cell phone on me, I agree with what others have said, invest in a Life Alert type of emergency system with pendants for *both* of you so hubby can call for help if you can't.
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https://www.best10medicalalertsystems.com
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Get a lifeline to wear around his neck
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When I was working I always thought of my cell phone as part of my work paraphernalia and it usually lived in my briefcase or purse. In a discussion with my sons when I was approaching retirement changed all that. They wanted me to start acquiring the habit of wearing the phone and keeping it with me so that if I was ever in a tight spot I could call someone. It took years to get used to it, but I now have the phone in the pocket of my robe before I get dressed in the morning and in a pocket in my clothes during the day. At night it lives in a drawer beside the bed. It took my husband even longer to get into the habit, but he also has his phone with him all the time. I am especially careful to have it when I am gardening as our lot has some very steep places and I am pulling out long-established ivy and blackberry vines.

At any time that either of us has need of anyone or anything, we just use the phones. We have become so used to this that we even use them inside the house. If I am on my main floor office and my husband is in his top floor office instead of going to the stairway and yelling up a question, I just pick up the phone and call him. And vice versa. Of course, I am also aware that I have the phone in my pocket when I take the trash down the driveway to the street at the bottom of the hill. If I were to slip and fall, I would call my husband or 911, whichever seemed right for the situation.

Our learned habits of relying on the cell phones after 50 years of nothing but landlines has been a great relief to our sons and to each other as well as a comfort to us. Neither of us is ever alone, we have our phones. One time one of my sisters got home late at night, alone. She had one of those senseless fear attacks that most of us get once in a while confronting an empty and dark house. She called me and told me that she was frightened. We agreed that she would go inside, check out the house, and call me back. If she did not call back, I would call her local police with the information. Of course, she was fine, but it was a really good thing that we both knew that we could repeat this scenario any time one of us felt frightened. Both of us always have our phones.

I would suggest that you and your husband each get phones. You can get really inexpensive phones and cheap plans if you do not think you would use them much, but you might be surprised at how easily you may come to depend on that phone for a sense of safety and greater independence.
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GAinPA Apr 2022
So glad to hear your story about your journey and gradual acceptance of new technology. I have to “bite my tongue” when I hear my generation (73) boasting about their rejection of all “new fangled” devices. Why should all the kids have the good stuff? I want sit at the kids table and have them explain EVERYTHING they know about my new phone.
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I am wearing a slimline runner's fanny pack (amazon) just big enough for my phone.

I recently had a mild stroke and have a heart procedure scheduled.

This gives me comfort without holding a phone all the time.
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Jasmina Apr 2022
Thats a really good idea, but if the phone is kept in a pocket it can fall out. I had mine in my pocket and was mowing. Fell out and I didn't know it. It can also tumble out and fall several feet away from you. Had that happen as well. Fanny pack great idea.
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Best to obtain one of those emergency notification devices that you wear around your neck. I can’t remember the name.
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InFamilyService Apr 2022
Life alert is one kind. My mom uses it.
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A family I know got Life Alert for their elderly grandma (lifealert.com). I was there the day a company serviceman delivered and set it up, and I was very impressed with the system. The problem with it, though, was the grandma because she didn't like wearing the pendant around her neck 24/7 and just kept it in her walker basket. Not much help if she had "fallen and can't get up," although the system did have voice activation, too. But what if she fell while everyone was at work, was unconscious and unable to call out for help?
For me, I bought an Apple Watch for myself because I was a long-distance caregiver and became frustrated with always holding my iPhone in my hand everywhere I went, even in the house. One day I left the phone in the living room while I went to the bathroom and of course when I got back there was a phone call from a medical provider. That frustration inspired me to buy an Apple Watch with cell service. (Apple Watches also come without cell service so you have to select which technology you want.) This way my "phone" is on my wrist. The watch also has fall detection (as someone described above) so if I fall and am unable to speak, it will call 911 for me and give them the precise location of the watch which is on my wrist (GPS lat/long). The watch also has A-Fib detection, and a host of other features that are customizable. Of course you need an iPhone for the Apple Watch to work, as they work in tandem. However, an Apple Watch with cell service works even if you've forgotten your phone at home and are away from it because it actually has its own phone number. Plus, it has Siri, so if you have Siri turned on, all you have to do is say, "Hey Siri..." and ask your question or give your command such as "call 911." And, if you have fallen (the watch detected a hard impact to the watch), the Apple Watch will buzz your wrist "I detected a fall - are you ok?" and you select yes, or no, but if you don't respond it will escalate the questions until after a few seconds it will call 911 and give your GPS coordinates to emergency. My husband (70) rides his bike and now he has an Apple Watch after he experienced a hard crash while alone on a remote trail except for a GoPro camera I gave him as a gift to record his adventures. Instead it recorded his crash and voice as he lay moaning in pain until he could get up. He doesn't ride that trail anymore and now he has an Apple iWatch, too.
For your circumstance, you need to research what technology is best for you, because if you don't wear it, like the grandma refused to, what good is it? I wish you success in finding something you feel comfortable with using. Just keep in mind, what will work for you if you are unable to speak or press the button? Perhaps you and your husband could get different technologies according to each of your abilities?
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Countrymouse Apr 2022
I have a tip which sometimes helps with this problem.

Lots of people take their pendant off before they go to bed, because they're afraid of strangling themselves on the bedpost (whether or not they even have a bedpost).

On the commonest models, if you look at the cord, there's a plastic fastener which snaps open when you pull on it (and you just clip it shut again). It's a safety device to make it virtually impossible to do yourself any harm if the cord catches.

I say virtually because people have been known to knot the cord to make it shorter, sigh...

Nothing in this world solves everything.
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Everything everyone has said is fantastic. If you want to go the cheap route, there is a way too:
1. Give your trusted neighbors(s) a key, in case they need to let in the police or ambulance;
2. Buy a wristband for you and your husband that allows you to inscribe what to do in cases of emergency. The one I buy is called “Road ID.” It is just a simple plastic band with a metal plate that allows 5 lines of inscription. On mine, I have:
Line 1. my name and birth date
2. Address
3. Emergency contact 1
4. Emergency contact 2
5. Condition of my husband (“Husband has dementia.”)

This way, if I am in a car accident and unconscious, authorities know who to call and that they should look into my husband’s condition at home too.

On my husband’s band, it says pretty much the same thing, except that it also say, “I have dementia.”

Not foolproof, but does its job cheaply.
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Live247 Apr 2022
Yes! I bought RoadID for my bike-riding husband after he had a bad crash while riding alone. They are lightweight, attractive, easily wearable, not expensive. They offer so many different items besides a bracelet that there is something for everyone to wear. Makes a great gift!
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Always carry your cell phone. Make sure it is always charged and on your person not a bag or purse that you may put down out of reach. There are other devices like life alert that can also call for help. Arrange far a friend to check in on you every few hours.
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Ppersonal alert device for yourself. I have one for the same reason.
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The Apple Watch has a fall detection app (other devices have something similar). This does not require you to press any button to request help. The app assesses a potential fall and will ask if you are ok. You press "I am ok" if you are ok. If there is no response, the watch tries by bleeping and tapping your wrist. If no response after 30 seconds, the watch send out an SOS signal those you program to contact. If you just wear the device, it does the work for you. And the SOS can ping others as to where you are. Obviously, it needs to be charged. Same thing on an iPhone but you could drop the phone and trip it, so potential for more false alarms.
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My mum has the cord that you wear round your neck so that if she falls you just press for assistance
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dear OP,
:)

many on this website mentioned nest cameras, or nest home speakers. that's also an option, besides falls alarms around the neck. for example google nest speaker: it works from quite a distance. your LO yells at the speaker, "google, call X". your LO must be conscious to yell, but it's a good option to have.
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I'm glad you thought of this before anything irreversible happened :)

Falls alarms are an item on our daily checklist, and when a client doesn't have one we generally ask if they've given it thought.

I've lost count of the number of couples who say "oh, DH/DW is always here, I don't need one." Now I never want to be a little thundercloud on anyone's horizon, but what occurred to you is *exactly* what we have to point out as tactfully as possible. If your other half falls down the stairs or trips over the dog or knocks himself out on the cupboard door (or God forbid has a stroke or a heart attack, though I never say that), how does that make you any more able to get to the phone?

So: option 1, get a falls alarm. Option 2, make sure that your cellphone or cordless landline phone is *always* in your pocket, or get an iWatch. The point is, you never want to be without the means of summoning help whether you are the cared-for person or the caregiver.
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I have a Versa 3 watch with the Alexa app and the Alexa “Show Me” device on the second floor hallway. The Alexa app allows you to designate an emergency call # that can be dialed by saying “Alexa help me”. It responds with “do you need to place an emergency call?”
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A life alert button he wears all the time so that when he pushes the button, it calls for emergency help. A smart watch, I have an Apple series 7. It can be set up to alert someone if I fall. My LO also wears one and I can track his walks and am alerted if he falls. We can call each other from our watches. The watches connect us with each other’s phones and can be worn while swimming or showering. Expensive but a lot of peace of mind.
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I am a bit of a Luddite and so I avoid the "smart phones" but I do have a dumb one. A little jitterbug I am very fond of. Keep it in my jeans pocket and it goes with me everywhere. It has a little STAR on it you can get activated so that it is as good as pushing a star when you need 911 help. But of course you can also just call 911 on it. It's pretty much with me wherever I go. At 80 I could do down the stairs the hard way just with getting out in the a.m. in my kimono to feed the squirrels!
A bigger question is-------how are you doing overall?
Are you thinking you are coming up against the wall of your own limitations at all?
Or is this just this one very specific question.
My best to you. I worry you may injure yourself taxing your own strength at this point.
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If I could find a portable submarine "ooga" /dive horn, I'd get one.  

Another option is a very  loud whistle, but it needs to be really loud.  

I fell 3x one day this week, and the issue of being stranded and w/o help became very real.   Getting a medic alert is now high on my priority.
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The alert bottons I think now work when you are outdoors.
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