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For in the home and shower. Mom is alone, but has lost a lot of mobility and strength being locked in during the pandemic. She has a cell phone and a landline, although sometimes forgets to hang them up. She is visiting me and I see her decline. She is stubborn and won’t admit she needs help. She fell last nite off a chair while getting undressed for bed.
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My dad has had Great Call and it’s been good
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I had a good experience several years ago with this type of product. I believe it was Philips Life Alert that I used. I held off for a long time with getting it because I didn't believe elder would actually wear it and it does no good sitting on the dresser or put away in a drawer. I eventually got it anyway and it did alert the authorities when the lady had an unwitnessed fall (with likely loss of consciousness). She was highly disoriented when the squad got there and would not have been able to operate a phone on her own to call for help. Whatever you decide or whatever brand you get, make sure it's waterproof such that elder has no reason at all to make an excuse to take it off. Also, at the time, not all of these devices had the "falls detection" feature so I had to be sure that I requested that. I would also make it clear that your elder sometimes leaves the phone off the hook and make sure it will not interfere with the functioning of this alert device if the phone is off the hook. Also, make sure you do a test run with the equipment as soon as you get it to make sure it works.
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Kathybol Jun 2020
Thank you
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I can't offer any suggestions, but, if you feel it's safe to rely on these things, I'd explore one that works even if she is not able to press a button. They go off automatically, if the person goes into a flat position.

You say that she forgets to hang the phone up a lot. It's common for people who have dementia to fall and even if the alert button is on their body, they forget to press it. Or if the phone is by their side, they lay there for hours, because, they don't have the initiative to call for help. I've seem it him happen with more than a handful of seniors that I know personally. One lady that we know fell last week and laid they until the next day when someone just dropped by and found her. She didn't make it. This is why I am so concerned when a senior who has dementia relies on these devices. They just aren't able to use them well and they don't really protect the senior from many other types of risks, life fire, letting strangers in, etc.
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Kathybol Jun 2020
Thank you. She is ok for the most part. It’s not dementia , just having some minor short term issues , she understands she needs to wear it all the time, although I guess unless we get invasive cameras installed we really won’t know unless something god forbid happens
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