On 9/13/2011 6:27 PM, Robert Green wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 9/13/2011 2:00 PM, Robert Green wrote:

stuff snipped

I'm thinking if you live alone, one of those "Help, I've fallen and I
can't get up" panic buttons is a good idea. Think they cost about
$30/month and have the receiver on your phone line. In this case he
could have sent for help when stranded in the lift.

All kinds of things could happen besides the situation you describe.
If my father had had one, his stroke may not have put him in a nursing
home as it went unnoticed for several hours and immediate treatment
could have prevented his dementia. I know of someone else that used it
when a burglar broke into their house.

Ironically, he had one of those pendants but didn't use it when the lift
failed because he didn't want the fire department coming and axing down his
front door!!! Go figure. He's probably alive for having one because once
he was crumpled up at the bottom of the stairs, he didn't care so much about
the door (which turned out to be unlocked).

Sorry to hear about your dad. From what I know, he's not alone in having
that happen. Plenty of stroke victims living alone aren't discovered until
they are dead. Living alone gets to be dangerous as you get older. I've
had some nasty spills, so did both my parents when they were still alive.
My wife's first husband banged his head after falling off a ladder and was
never the same afterward. His loss, my gain. (-:

--
Bobby G.



Good grief! The gadget ideas are generous, but it is time to face
it...the elderly gentleman should not have stairs navigate if he cannot
do it safely! Either needs to have more suitable living arrangement or
consider assisted living facility. If he is anything like elders I have
known, he would fight it kicking and screaming....it is time to at least
have the conversation, especially if there is no family close at hand.
The argument, with elders I have known, is "I don't want to give up my
independence", but they actually have a great deal more security and
freedom in assisted living. I've known elders who, on their death bed,
would not let their driver's license lapse; being that tough and ornery
is probably, in part, why they lived very long lives )