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Have you ever called 911 accidentally? I have and feel so bad when it happened. False calls to 911 can mean delayed care to someone else who direly needs emergency services but is delayed getting through because of those false calls.
The first time it happened was with a Blackberry I bought as it was the only phone that would work in a ground floor apartment we were living in temporarily while selling our house.
I discovered that, while the Blackberry did work well in that apartment, it was too easy to call 911 accidentally when carrying it in my jeans pockets (my favorite spot for a cell phone) or in my purse. After 6 months, I had moved and no longer needed the keen reception of the Blackberry. I borrowed a loved one’s iPhone to test drive it, fell in love, and never looked back. But would you believe it, I do still have the Blackberry for dire cell phone emergencies or to loan friends and family.
This past week, I had a whole new iPhone 911 fiasco. I had actually called 911 on purpose to ask for help with a 9 volt battery that was overheating. The fire department’s regular office was closed and their message directed me to call 911 which I did. They helped me and re-routed my call to the fire department who gave me the advice I needed. All was well…till the next day.
As many cell phone users know, calls we make stay in the recent call list. If you aren’t careful, you can accidentally click on and call one of those numbers without meaning to. That’s what I did – only this call was more than a nuisance. It was to 911. I apologized profusely and immediately after hanging up, I deleted that 911 phone number from my recents list.
As caregivers, many of us need to call 911 more than most. But with accidents a regular occurrence on the roads, and various other issues popping up, any or all of us can call 911 at times. So my suggestion is that anytime you may call 911 (or any other number you absolutely do not want to call back for whatever reason), be sure to go into your recents folder and delete that number so you can’t hit it accidentally.
For the iPhone, go to PHONE, RECENTS, EDIT, click the red circle with the minus sign on the left. Then click DELETE. Then be sure to click DONE so you don’t accidentally erase calls you DO want to save.
And if you’re wondering about the 9 volt battery issue that led to my 911 call…click here for the story – it’s a vital one for all of us and especially for grandparents and parents who deal with batteries for senior parents, grandkids, etc. 🙂
LIfe is full of twists, turns, and various crises. But making sure we don’t compound the issues with accidental phone calls to 911 can keep things a tiny bit more peaceful, don’t you think?
