Elderly parent safety question [View all]
Looking for advice/personal experience, please.
My mom is 94 and lives by herself about 700 miles from me. Very stubborn and very independent. She is also deaf as a stone. She does have hearing aids, but, of, course, does not wear them 24/7. No relatives within a useful distance. One very watchful and devoted friend right across the street, and another couple about 15 minutes away. These folks, unbeknownst to my mom, have keys to her house in case of a true emergency. Knowing that would piss her off enormously, but I needed the peace of mind of someone being able to get in to her without having to break a window, and they have taken a vow of secrecy.
Happily, my mom is still sharp as the proverbial tack cognitively, so I have no concerns in that regard. Some mobility challenges from arthritic knees, and has intermittent atrial fibrillation. Not bad, all in all, for 94.
My mother is flying to us today, for a 2 week holiday visit. At 5:20 this morning, the across the street neighbor called, in near panic, to report that she had been calling my mom numerous times, as they had arranged, to be sure she was awake for her taxi. No answer. She finally braved the cold and trudged across the street with a bamboo stick and pounded on my mom's bedroom window (one story house - fortunately).
I was about 2 minutes away from calling her local police department.
Does anyone have experience with any of the Life Alert type devices? Helpful/ not helpful/ good ones/ bad ones/ total scam?
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