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After reading about a fall and she laid there for 3 days before help arrived I want to remind everyone to be careful at all times. Since I live alone I carry a phone with me all the time. Even if I am only sewing, you never know what can happen. The sooner you get help the better you will feel. Stay safe and carry some communication device with you.

Thanks for the reminder. When I opened this I thought for sure you had sliced off part of your finger or something! I am glad that wasn't the case.

That's a great reminder - thank you. My laundry area is in the basement and my sewing room is on the second floor so I am always going up and down steps. I always try to keep my phone with me, but of course sometimes I forget.

I also make it a point to have my phone with me when I drive anywhere by myself - even if it is only 10 minutes to the grocery store.

ML

The minute I get up, the cordless phone is clipped to my clothes or in my pocket. I feel n a k e d without it.

There are 2 widowed women on my street, and they make a point to call each other every morning to check in. Definitely a good idea for them. They even call each other if they're about to go up in the attic or do something that might result in a tumble. "If you don't hear back from me in 10 minutes, come check!"

I've typed up my medical history, pills taken daily, dr.'s names, and family/neighbor contact information. One copy is in my purse, one copy is in the glove compartment of the car, and another copy is in the kitchen. I already had to use the purse copy when I landed in the ER one night. DH handed the papers to the triage nurse & away they went to do their thing while I was getting checked. The master file is in the computer, so it's easy to update.

I keep a list of DH's pills in my purse too, in case I'd ever need to give someone that info. Can't rely on my memory for that in an emergency. Can't even pronounce one of his pills on a good day!

Well, I did fall Saturday when I checked something on the back of the house. DD#1 was on the other side of the wall and yelled to see if needed help. We had been through a fall years ago when I broke my ankle. This also involved a trip to the ER but I only sprained and pulled muscles. I am starting to walk without limping much but it still hurts a little when I bend it.

I try to remember to carry my phone with me from room-to-room or in my pocket. I did slip on the basement steps several years ago and my DH heard me and came hurrying down to help me. Then 3 yrs ago I again missed a step on the stairs going down to the basement and sprained my ankle and pulled some ligiments in my leg. I sat on the bottom steps and called for DH. He was asleep and couldn't hear me, so I just sat there about 15 min or so until I got over feeling sick and then slowly went back upstairs. After he woke up he said why didn't I call him...duh...I did. In that instance I'm not sure he would have even heard the phone.

Starry, you gave some excellent tips. I do carry a list in my purse of my medications, strength and dosage as well as my alleries. I really need to have the same for DH. Thirty odd years ago when he had his first episode with kidney stones, I wouldn't have been able to tell them about any medications, I was barely able to remember my name. Thank goodness he wasn't on any medications at that time.

I don't take any meds...DH just takes one. But when DM was alive, not only did she carry her list of meds in her purse - I carried a list in mine. (MOF I printed her meds and allergies on address labels so that when she was filling in the paperwork at the clinic or hospital all she had to do was stick the labels on the form.)

What do you do when you don't have a pocket? Well...I once promised myself that I would NEVER be old enough to do this...but I have put my cell phone in my "boob" pocket (bra). eyeroll I'm STILL not old enough to do that though!

LOL at Sherry. My mom used to do tbat with money. I have thought about making me a portable pocket for when I wear something without a pocket. Doesn't happen often since I lost enough weight to buy jeans - went from 22 to 16. (I haven't gained it back since I retired)

I always carry a phone with me but since I graduated from a flip phone, my new Samsung S II is too big to fit in pockets. And the portable pockets I'd made for my old phone aren't big enough. So I guess I'll have to make a new one.

I should try to make it a habit to carry my phone...it is NEVER where I am I put parents' med list on an index card for them to carry - it has come in handy. I should do it for my own instead of filling it all out again when I have an annual physical. (this year I was fed up and just put a note on the piece of paper: Nothing has changed see last year's paperwork

You even need to think about this while driving. If you are in an isolated area, alone, and have an accident. Where is your phone? In your purse? In the cup holder? Thrown in the floor to the far right out of your reach? In the back floor? I have tucked my phone in my - ahem - boobie pocket while driving.

I keep a current list of DH's meds in my purse, he has on in his wallet and there's one in the basket with his meds. There's way too many of them to try to remember what they are and the doses. They're on the computer and I can easily update them, which has to be done regularly.

I usually carry my cell phone in my purse but have been making a conscious effort to have it on my person instead. I live in a split level and am constantly going up and down stairs. Two days ago I slipped on a wet patch in the local laundromat which is unattended. I was the only one in there. Luckily I was unhurt but it scares you when you realize that things happen so fast. A local senior lady went out back of her house to clear the back steps and fell. She was hidden from view from the road and it took quite a while for anyone to find her. She almost died. I remember laughing at the "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials but things look different when you get older.

For the longest time I carried my car keys in my pocket so I could hit the panic button if help was needed. I even kept them by my bed at night. Since I've gotten the house alarms, I've given that up but you know....I can't always get to the alarm system. Better rethink things.

When I had my heart surgery and was gifted with more than aspirin for medications, I made up a list of my meds and kept it with me. I like the car idea. Mine is also on the computer so it's easy to update when needed which I need to do because we just changed one of them.

I like the medication sticker idea. I carry address labels for the same reason. What I really should do, lollll, is make up a sticker with the surgeries I've had. lollll

Good tips here, thank you.

I forgot to mention -- on the back of my driver's license, in tiny computer print, is a note I taped, informing someone to look for the medical info in my purse or glove compartment in case of an emergency. I figure maybe someone would be checking who that was blue & on the ground while they were waiting for an ambulance!

Edit -- And the front of the license has a little note that says See Other Side. I hope the person who finds me has bifocals!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: StarrySky,

Like many, my Dad used his cell phone as his emergency link. Remember to keep the ICE (in case of emergency) contact number up to date. I kept his meds on the computer along with the dosages. I had them listed one at a time going down the paper. After printing them out, I took my rotary cutter and trimmed the paper to a smidge less than a dollar bill. He had it tucked in his wallet and I had my copy in mine along with his DPOA for health. Our VNA has plastic pockets with a magnet to stick on the fridge and the ambulance people go there for more info.

piney

What a lot of good ideas for those of us who are slipping on the down side of middle age.

A few years ago back in PA I went out front to pick up the Sunday paper, stepped on the top concrete step (which was covered in black ice!) slipped and fell down the steps into the snow. Laid there for a while to get my breath back. When I went back inside and told DH what had happened, his reply was "I wondered what was taking you so long." Some help he was!

bluesnail, it is always a good idea to just mention when you are heading outside no matter the age. A slip on the ice can happen at 16 or 96 and in the winter the cold can set in fast.

piney

And always keep that cell phone fully charged!

At the recent quilt show I noticed almost all of the vendors had their phone hanging from their necks...like lanyards with a blinged out pocket at the end to hold the phone.

I always keep my cell phone with me when I'm taking care of my elderly parents. (90 and 95 yrs. old) If I need a phone I want it right there, right now.