Yep - it happened!!! And there I was, sitting on the floor in the middle of my living room. I was maybe 7 feet from my phone and maybe 12 feet from my front door - NEITHER of which could I reach as I wondered what to do next. And then I pushed the button on my ALERT alarm necklace. Had to.
I'm a big girl, a BIG girl, and I know my weight has contributed to the total degradation of my knees (and being a nurse on my feet for 35+ years surely hadn't helped). I need bilateral knee replacements but that's not a possibility at this time. So I am totally dependent on a walker for ambulation - I can use a cane for really short distances. But otherwise, I have to hold onto something for support.
Hadn't had any incidents ever since I got my alarm. In the middle of my living room, on a flat, unobstructed surface my feet tangled? up and zigged while my walker zagged. There's nothing to keep a walker stable on its 4 legs when one is falling. I reached out to break my fall by grabbing on a living-room chair, but it's a recliner and the chair back MOVES. So I went down, forward, on my knees, and then belly flat. The walker smacked my forehead, but as sheer torture, my left knee fell directly on a walker leg (AGONY!).
I flip-rolled myself to sitting upright and determined nothing to be broken or lacerated. But HOW to get up??? I tried twice going back on my knees to boost myself up. But NO WAY!!!
NO WAY in Hades could my knees/legs do it. Even if I shimmied to my phone, whom am I going to call at midnite??? I'm single, by myself, no BF or strong sons to help. And my neighbors are older than I am. And I don't want to further hurt myself, or anyone else.
So there I am, sitting on the floor. No alternative but to use the ALERT alarm. Emergency help arrived quickly. With a 'one, two, three, LIFT' I was levitated using a canvas poly-vinyl lift sheet (like a draw sheet with heavy duty canvas grips) to a sturdy chair. I grabbed my walker and did a tentative slow walk moving OK, so a trip to the hospital not nec.
Embarrassing, quite.
Purposeof this post - seriously think Emergency Alarm Alert system for any of your at risk grandparents, parents, siblings, spouses, maybe yourselves. I NEVER thought of myself as being SOOOOOO vulnerable, esp as I realized that I was UNABLE to upright myself. Think about it --- really visualize someone you know sitting/laying on the floor - like your overweight in-law who now has been injured. Will s/he be on the floor, unattended for hours? How can they be helped?
I comment that those alarm systems are also used for unwanted intruders, fires, domestic abusers, medical emergencies (think choking, chest pain, seizures, hypoglycemia attacks, etc). There's different models avail. Most seem to cost about $30/month and require a land-line phone. I do direct auto-pay so I don't even think about the cost. I just test it monthly.
I know many will deny the alarm need and even fight you to resist. Try schmoozing them into a 6 month trial/dry run. And do auto -pay. They even make an emergency next-of-kin notification for you.
As much as I'm a strong advocate for nursing malpractice insurance, I strongly encourage the use of an Alert alarm system for those at risk. Even if I never ever need it again, it served its purpose Monday nite. Kind of like Triple A when you get a flat tire only this may be life saving.
OCNRN63, RN
5,979 Posts
My boobs once triggered an alarm, so don't feel like the Lone Ranger, amoLucia.