The last thing I want people to think about Life Alert is that it is the lesser of two evils, namely, going into assisted living OR wearing a medical device around their neck, reminding them their bodies are failing them. I understand that neither of these options sounds good. But when you get to a point where some form of protection is a good idea, isn’t it better to stay in your home and wear a small button, instead of having your children tell you they are selling your house?
Fredda from California called in to talk about getting her mom Judy protected. “Mom’s 78, lives alone about four hours away from me, has heart disease, and has fallen,” Fredda explained. “I can’t always take her calls while I’m at work, and I’m just tired of worrying.” I told Fredda that Life Alert’s goal was to protect members as well as provide their families peace of mind. “Well mom needs something because if she’s going to keep on living alone, I need to know she can get help just in case,” Fredda said. “She’s going to be coming home from the hospital in the next few days, and I want her protected soon after.” I asked why Judy was in the hospital and Fredda explained that after her last fall, Judy had injured her leg.
I asked Fredda to look at her brochure, and I began talking about the Life Alert system, discussing what part of the packages I felt would benefit Judy. “Mom can use her Life Alert to call anyone for help, including you and other members of the family,” I explained. “Using her life Alert like that will help her trust us, so that she won’t hesitate to use the button in an emergency.” Fredda particularly liked the fact that Judy could simply use her Life Alert as a remote control for the phone.
I then asked, “Would mom benefit from having Life Alert through her cell phone, so that she is protected while driving as well?” Fredda then told me that she would be taking her mother’s keys away soon, and that her concern was only for home. I then asked if the fact that mom was having her keys taken away AND was getting a Life Alert may be too much of an uphill battle for Fredda. “It doesn’t matter,” Fredda said. “Mom can argue until she’s blue in the face, but once I tell her she can either get a Life Alert or move out of her house, I’m sure she’ll have no problem with getting a button.”
What a good way to think about it.
