Several family members want me to get my mom a fall alert necklace. This is not a viable option for her, as she will not remember to charge it, where she put it, or to put it back on. Before you get one, make sure that it can be properly managed. These devices need daily charging, just like a cell phone.
Both my MIL and mom have fall pendants and both take them off when they shower/bathe. What's the point, then? That's when they've both fallen!
Mom is so bent over, hers whacks the walker as she walks and sets off the alarm. She also has washed it a dozen or more times.
As loud as that in house alarm is, MIL cannot hear it, and more than once has looked up from the TV to see firemen ready to break a window to get in. She just gets so mad. After X many 'no call' calls, they charge her for coming out when 3 family members should have gotten the 'call' and good grief--the alarm sound is deafening!
I have no say in the care of either woman, but I have commented on my daughter's kids 'watches'. She can talk to them at any time. The watches are kind of 'cool' and their whole neighborhood has them.
I have mentioned the watch to DH and he made a face and said "the last thing in the WORLD I want is to be reconnected to my mom like that"....but his SIL would wear one. IDK, each person is different.
Convenient not to have to charge it. Great feature!
The worst for me was that I was taking a bath, had the door open so mom could enter the bathroom if she needed me, mom fell in her room, fireman entered my house with lock box key. Scared the h*ll out of me seeing four firemen walking down my hall.
Hey, fall detection worked on her device!
Hahaha, mom and I laughed about it later.
With our device the provider offered to make phone calls to anyone that I requested to be called. You can supply names and numbers and they do all follow up calls.
(If there is such an age). I was in a great hurry, and needed to slow down as I age. And found that 'protocol' medications for the aging were causing falls in my case. Statins, high blood pressure, and gerd meds were all suspect, (in my case only).
A whistle on my key chain worked to call for help, neighbors heard it, even though it took awhile. They are hard of hearing. Wearing a whistle (loud) around your neck is one solution, even though not perfect.
Once I tripped over rushing the laundry cart home, finding that after physical exertion, it was more likely that I would fall if tired. My husband was nearby, and a neighbor came. But it helped to lie there awhile and recover. I had broken my ankle, but it was not discovered until the next fall a year later, even though I had seen the doctor and they x-rayed my foot, not my ankle.
Another tech thing, is your car alarm. Set it off.
It is important early on to discover the medical reasons for falls, early on. It is not a normal part of aging. My elder was falling frequently at age 82, but once he was better taken care of, the falls stopped.
Hope you find a better solution to meet your Mom's needs, Bolliveb. Bringing this topic up will save some people the expense, as I have often read on here that with dementia or alzheimers, they do not use the necklace.
Yes, the product and services vary. They certainly have advantages and disadvantages.
One really embarrassing thing happened to us. Oh gosh, mom was fidgeting with it when I was in the tub. I left the door open in case mom needed me.
She set the thing off somehow Next thing you know I had four firemen in my house that used the lockbox to let themselves in!
That day I took it away from mom and canceled it! LOL
It wasn't a perfect system, but she did fall on quite a few occasions and the was able to use the pendant.