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My senior mom is wearing her Lifeline medical alert jewelry a bit more cheerfully. She was less than enthused about this pendant originally as she felt it meant she was giving up some of her independence. After wearing it for a few weeks, though, she's come to realize it doesn't get in the way, is easy to hide, and makes me happy as I stay extra busy juggling the Sandwich Generation issues of caring for the elderly parents – near and far, babysitting grandchildren, and working through the various health issues we have going on for different members of our family this Autumn. Since she is such a giver, making me happy makes her happy too, which is such a blessing for us both. 🙂
I have to tell you how easy it was to set it all up. I called Philips Lifeline and ordered it in a matter of minutes. (With all the research I'd done over the last few years – for my family AND for SandwichINK – I had very few questions for them.) Within two days the medical alarm systems equipment, complete with the emergency pendant, was at my front door. I opened the box, took out the contents, and followed the very simple step-by-step directions.
I do have to add the caveat that, while setting up this emergency medical device equipment was quite easy for me over all, I AM a bit of a geeky baby boomer, having started on computers years ago and now being the "help desk" for half my family's tech needs. One senior relative did set up her own medical alert devices by herself when she was in her early 60s and did a great job. I know, though, that my senior mom (in her late 70s) would not have been able to do it alone. So if you are helping an elderly senior relative long distance as they set this system up, you may need to arrange for someone to come and help them with it.
We did have one glitch during the process – which was our house's "fault." I placed the main box in our living room, plugged it into both the wall jack and the telephone jack and all seemed fine. But when I called Philips Lifeline to finalize the process, the operator was able to monitor it and discovered it wasn't getting the electric power that was required. Apparently, we have a plug that needs fixing. 🙂 The operators (we talked to three or four over the whole process) were wonderful and very patient.
I had one more place I could put it. This time we tried my senior mom's room. We had to do some rearranging but in the end, SUCCESS! I had been concerned that being in her bedroom, its outdoor range would be shorter but it worked just as well as when I had it in the living room. I haven't tested it beyond our front and back yards, as that's our primary need. When she takes walks, she has her super easy to use Jitterbug cell phone for senior citizens that is a big help as well.
I hope and pray we never need to use these Philips Lifeline medical alert devices but if my senior mom has a stroke or falls for another reason, like a beloved friend of mine years ago, I'm so relieved to know she has this extra "cushion" of assistance. My other senior relative has used hers three times over the past few years and it's worked well each time. One of these personal emergency medical alert systems for the elderly, from a reputable company like Philips Lifeline or Lifestation, is definitely at the top of my list of favorite resources for the Sandwich Generation! 🙂
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