Medical Alert

My device is okay and I'm fine with the band. But I can’t stand it on the neck. I wear it on my wrist, and it’s okay. I can bathe. I have a walk-in bathtub, and physically, I can take care of myself with washing. But sometimes, when I go to the bathroom and I have to pull up my panties, I lose my balance and I fall back on the toilet seat. I broke my toilet seat and the hinges. I fell back on it. Just this week, I had to hold the button again to make it comforting for myself. And so, it’s okay to have this button to push in case I can’t get up, and I can call them. And sometimes I can go to the box quickly enough to tell them that I’m okay.

The thing is I have a box in my kitchen, and it goes off too often. I haven't been falling and I’ve been doing good. I can’t walk too good and I can’t talk too good anymore. But I did not push the button, and yet that goes off, and then I have to rush to my kitchen to put the button down, and then I do not call them. And sometimes I would be on one end of the house, and that goes off. I had to rush quickly to the box because it’s so far away from me. I would not want someone to come unnecessarily. Medical Alert is good to have because I know I have a way out, and it’s comforting. Whoever wants to have Medical Alert, I would recommend it but only if they would give them decent choices.

I fell again in the house. I wasn't hurt during the times I fell. But when I fall, I can’t get up and that’s why I scooted on the floor. I wanted to scoot where I could get to something heavy like a big chair. I thought I could pull up but now I couldn’t. The last time that I fell, the man that I had on my emergency contact was gone, so an ambulance was sent out. I was sitting on the floor and the people who came got me up. I was in my bedroom and they sat me on the bed. I felt okay. I wasn't hurt but I have been wearing the bracelet ever since.

Medical Alert's response was fast and I didn’t think about them sending an ambulance. My neighbor who lives just across from me came over to see what was going on and if I was hurt. He noticed that my emergency contact who was supposed to come wasn’t there. He told me that since he lives close, I should put him down as an emergency contact person which I did. I got my pastor down too. He lives close enough that it wouldn’t take him any time to get here.

I feel safer with my Medical Alert. I live in a really safe place, but if I fall, then I have the device to push. However, the part that says trouble on that box in the middle which I call the little yellow light, blinks. I called Medical Alert and they said the battery was dead on my drop pendant. They sent me one but it was the same thing. The little yellow light kept blinking. I called again and the man who answered was nice about it. But he told me that the battery on the device was doing the same thing. He said it was silly how they send things. I said, “Yes, you sent me a bad one, didn’t you?” We got a laugh out of it. I sent the first device back that they sent me because it was still blinking on my box.

Other than that, the Medical Alert is good. If I’m talking to an older person, I'd tell him to get it even if he might have someone with him. If he should fall and get hurt pretty bad, whoever’s with him may not be able to do much to help him. I just hope Medical Alert doesn’t keep going up in price because I just have that one income and I pay for everything here. When you’re on a fixed income, it’s pretty rough sometimes when you’re paying all the bills.

I had to use the button once for my husband and it was very quick. He had fallen in the shower and I told the Medical Alert people that I needed some help but I didn't wanna leave him to call anybody. So they did it. They called somebody and had the numbers. They sent out an emergency situation for him and they were out here in about 20 minutes because they’re nearby. Aside from that, it had also gone off when I’ve dropped it. But I called them and cancelled it since it was not an accident.

Somebody from Medical Alert called me once though. I have a bracelet and one pendant, but she was trying to sell me another pendant. It was probably because they’re paid from how much they sell. That was the impression I got. She was pressing me just to buy it and saying that I definitely had to have it because it was the latest thing. She gave me the impression that it was much faster acting. I didn't really know I needed that but I got it. Then I realized it wasn't anything different. It was just like my other one. I actually explained it to them when I took it back. I told them that I was a little bit pressed into this situation and that it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. Other than that once instance, they've always been very accommodating.

The only problem with the device is you can't have it for a distance. When I get better, I will take walks and I won’t be able to have that security of being able to press it when I’m away from the house, other than in my yard. That’s the only difference that I feel. But by that time, I’m gonna be strong enough anyway to be able to take care of myself because I carry a cellphone with me. Nonetheless, it’s a vey good service and I’d definitely recommend it.

The first time I got it, I called to cancel but they talked me back into it. I still have it but I don't wear it. I have another button, the original button that came with the unit. It's not that sensitive. I have to actually push it. In fact, that's what I use and I have it on right now. If I take it off, I put it on the table next to me wherever I'm sitting. But most of the time, I wear it around my neck, but not when I'm sleeping because I set it off somehow. So, I take it off at night and put it on my night table. I also don't like wearing it in the shower because once you wet it, the rope around the neck stays wet and I don't like it. I'd recommend Medical Alert to a friend. Anybody who lives alone should have one. It's nice to know that if I press that button, the police will come or when they yell emergency, I could tell them any help that I needed. If I needed a cop, they'll call a cop or if I want them to just send my son, they will send my son.

When my alarm goes off, the Medical Alert people are good about coming on right away and checking on me. They ask about what’s going on, if I've had a fall and if I need help or an ambulance. If there's anything going on and I say yes or if I don't answer, they would notify my family or call an ambulance. My family lives next door. Medical Alert also has a cell phone so they can even call my family on the job. If they can’t get my family, I have a friend that they can call and she can get in touch with whoever she needs to get in touch with.

When the battery ran out on my old one, they sent me a new box and the neckpiece was really sensitive. It was a fall button and I accidentally hit it about 10 times within the first two weeks. It was about to drive me nuts. It’s on a string and pinned on a necklace, and one time, I leaned over and it bumped on the counter. That set it off. Another time, I was sitting in my lift chair and I bumped it. They came on but the box was across the room. By the time I got out of my chairlift and across the room, they had already answered. So it’s very quick. It's probably no more than a minute or two before they’ll come on. Most of the time, it’s been a false alarm and I've always told them that it was an accident and that I had bumped it on something.

But I’ve gotten used to the button now and I’m a little more cautious so I haven’t set it off for a while. My knee is stronger now too, and I haven’t had any falls for two and a half years. But I’ve had Medical Alert for about five years and it has always worked really good for me. I've also recommended it to quite a few of my friends. I told them that it worked and they know it's true because they know all the problems I’ve had.

I tripped and I fell down in the laundry room. I cracked the frame that goes around the Medical Alert wristband. Then, I had another one that it fell out of the wristband. We ordered one and we called them because they were supposed to send it. It has been a while since they took the order and we haven’t heard from them yet. I also had an experience that I didn’t realize I had the bracelet on. I went into the garage to get my car to go to church in the morning, and hit it and didn’t realize it. They ought to give you some type of a vibration on your arm to let you know that you set that off. It doesn’t do anything so you don’t know it. You just go right on your merry way. They called my daughter and my neighbor, then they called the church. She saw me in there so she told my daughter I was in church. So, that was a bad experience. It scared everybody in the block.

Whenever I do mash my button, which I call as my little pager, and then they talk, I have a hard time hearing them. I nearly have to sit on top of the speaker to hear what they’re saying. If I’m a little bit away from it in the room, I can’t hear them. Other than that, Medical Alert is the first one I’ve ever owned and this is the one I’m sticking with. I feel a little more secure since having it. I know I have help at the touch of a button and that’s nice because I’m in a home somewhere between 12 hours a day by myself, so just to know I do have help if I need it, I appreciate that.

I used my device when I got cut. I got my big toe caught in the back door. They came and they got the bleeding to stop, bandaged it up really good for me. I also had to be carried to the hospital. I remember mashing the button and they got me to go to the hospital. I appreciate Medical Alert being there for me if I need somebody. That means a whole lot to me. It makes me feel a lot better.