A Medical Alert System is a must for families with Alzheimer’s
A few days ago, I was at an event where a story was shared with me that I would like to share with you so here goes.
My father in-law was called by the police around 5pm informing him they found his wife sitting in a Walgreens nearly 45 minutes from home. It seems she was sitting there for nearly 3 hours before the police were called to offer assistance. Pretty scary!
It seems my father-in-law went to play in his weekly card game – one he’s been playing for many years. And as he has done for many years left my mother-in-law home by herself. She took the keys to the car and drove, to where no one truly knows as they have never been to that Walgreens’.
My father-in-law came home from playing cards around 1 in the afternoon to find his wife not at home. He didn’t think much of it until an hour or so passed and he called his daughter asking if she had seen her mom. Of course the answer was no. The daughter (my wife) rushed over to her dad’s place in an effort to help and keep in calm. The two called a couple of her mom’s friends to see if she was there however no one saw or heard from her.
Now it was getting towards middle of the day and both my wife and father-in-law were getting very concerned and called the police. Since it had only been a few hours the police limited in what they could do but said they would check local places to see if my mother-in-law was there.
They explained that when seniors get lost or disoriented they tend to go to familiar places. After an hour or so of searching – no luck.
No accidents were reported, my mother-in-law was nowhere to be found, she didn’t have a cell phone and panic truly started to set in. It was around this time when the police called and said they found her at a Walgreens nearly 25 miles from home. It seems my mother-in-law became disoriented while driving and simply pulled into a Walgreens – a familiar place. The Walgreens manager, after speaking with my mother-in-law a few times, called the police and reported a found person.
Luckily the story ends well and my mother-in-law was brought home.
At Personal Living Alert we offer products with GEOfencing and Apps allowing you to locate your loved one instantly. By using one of our devices this person could have been found and brought home quickly eliminating the stress she felt and the stress the rest of the family felt as well.
Fabiana can be reached at: fabiana.plalert@gmail.com