Be Prepared! You might fall!

Oh damn! And I thought rain might be the problem. Turns out tennises are the problem! I have no idea how long it must take to recuperate from a broken hip. There is a woman here who tried using lower cabinet shelves as a "step ladder" to reach a high shelf. Of course it dumped her and she has compression fractures in three vertebra several weeks a problem but lots of pain pills! Me? I spend the day sitting. Not so good. This week I finally get back on the treadmill after two months of stupid shoe questions between a podiatrist and a custom shoe guy!

So I hope your wife gets back to the house and tosses out throw rugs and sticky shoes.

Oh my goodness... That is sad to hear. Guess you'll be head spooker for Halloween... How long do they think she will be in the facility? Are they treating her well? 

This link takes some playing with to get you through the home but it shows some potential fall hazzards to watch out for in and around your house.  Nowhere do I see sticky new tennis shoes addressed.

The population of Cottonwood is made up of low-income Seniors. So by definition, must here are very mindful of expenses, and new costs arepronably given lots of thought to weigh the usefulness.

Unfortunately, this puts many here into a situation where a smartphone may seem a bit too much to spend, and the Internet has no place in a home without a computer! So a phone and tv connection are in place. Maybe the phone is a basic flip phone, no fancy stuff but small and wireless, making it easy to carry in a pocket,…but how often does that happen? If this is you, sign up for YANA so you can be found and helped in the morning. Please visit that link.

A little more expense gets a smartphone, bringing lots of usefulness. Maybe some family help to cover the bigger expense, but a smartphone is a big step up to make a person better prepared to deal with an unexpected medical emergency!

With a smartphone in the home, the next few things will add to security and prove their worth: a wi-fi connection for as little as $10 per month, and an Amazon Dot, a.k.a. the Alexa smart speaker ($25, one time purchase.) Here’s how this all works together: People fall down! No bulletin there, but a Senior who falls is not likely to just jump up. In fact, under the best of circumstances, just getting up might be a problem without help. So imagine you get up at night to head for the kitchen. You trip on something and down you go. if you just land a bit hard, ouch! But you could reach out to stop your fall and break a wrist, or land hard and actually break your hip.

If you only have a wired landline, you can’t get to it. If you have a cellphone, you probably don’t have it with you. A flip phone can fit your pocket, but now you wish you had it; no help there.

If you have a smartphone, your night have set it up to listen for a shouted command. An iPhone can listen for “Hey SIRI!” and you can have it call an emergency number. That is half the battle. You also beed to have it set to answer a call hands free! After all, calling out to 911 or other number, you need to have a way to hear what is asked?

Now we find out how wi-fi and a Dot get used: The DOT is always on and listening! It runs on wi-fi. No matter what else, flip phone or no phone, you call out "Hey Alexa! Call 911!” The Dot hears you and connects you to an operator. Help is on the way.

I am told that 911 has a key that will unlock your door. Good news, you are on you're on your way to the ER. Your wi-fi has proven its worth, your Dot is your new favorite piece of technology.