Mom's rooms are downstairs. Art and I have our bedroom and office upstairs. It affords all of us a measure of privacy. We gave mom a bell to call us from the bottom of the stairs if she needs us however, we couldn't hear the bell from the other side of the house.
Now that she's fallen and something could happen where we can't hear her we've been trying to figure out what kind of option would work.
We thought about an intercom system, but it has too many buttons. Mom is not technologically savvy.
Ummmm.... She's a genius at history and language arts, but anything with buttons mystifies/terrifies her.
Our next plan was to get her a walkie talkie.
But..... hmmmm.... Would she be able to remember how to use this?
My brother suggested just using our house cordless phone's intercom.
We'd never tried using that.
Soooo... I tried to show mom how to press the Push to Talk button, talk, and let go to hear the response.
Oh my gosh....
Somehow it flustered her so much that she wanted nothing to do with it.
Art was talking to his sister in California when she mentioned the buzzer they used to have at their restaurant to signal when they needed more help.
We looked up wireless doorbells.
And what do you know...
We can put the doorbell in mom's area or she can even just carry it with her. She won't.... but she could.
The two receiver chimes can be plugged in wherever you want them. In our case, we'd put them in our bedroom and office.
This is sounding more and more like the best solution. Our son-in-law found this
Sado Tech Model for a mere $19.99 on Amazon. It's on sale! AND it's got 4.7 out of 5 stars.
We shall see how it works.
POSTSCRIPT:
What a coincidence!
The doorbells arrived. I made a mistake though. It was TWO doorbells and one receiver chime. And they work!
I've put one in the bedroom and one in her family room. Those two small button things were the doorbells (transmitter). That bigger thing is the receiver and you can make it really loud.
I've plugged the receiver in our hallway and we can hear it everywhere. Our neighbors say they will plug the receiver into their house when we're gone. Yay!
Problem solved.
Now that she's fallen and something could happen where we can't hear her we've been trying to figure out what kind of option would work.
Ummmm.... She's a genius at history and language arts, but anything with buttons mystifies/terrifies her.
But..... hmmmm.... Would she be able to remember how to use this?
We'd never tried using that.
Soooo... I tried to show mom how to press the Push to Talk button, talk, and let go to hear the response.
Oh my gosh....
Somehow it flustered her so much that she wanted nothing to do with it.
We looked up wireless doorbells.
And what do you know...
We can put the doorbell in mom's area or she can even just carry it with her. She won't.... but she could.
The two receiver chimes can be plugged in wherever you want them. In our case, we'd put them in our bedroom and office.
This is sounding more and more like the best solution. Our son-in-law found this
Sado Tech Model for a mere $19.99 on Amazon. It's on sale! AND it's got 4.7 out of 5 stars.
We shall see how it works.
POSTSCRIPT:
What a coincidence!
I've put one in the bedroom and one in her family room. Those two small button things were the doorbells (transmitter). That bigger thing is the receiver and you can make it really loud.
I've plugged the receiver in our hallway and we can hear it everywhere. Our neighbors say they will plug the receiver into their house when we're gone. Yay!
Problem solved.
"Necessity - the mother of invention". sounds like a great solution.
ReplyDeleteWhen Sue's grandparents passed away, she inherited their room, and there was a buzzer right by the bed. Sometimes old ideas are the most useful ideas.
ReplyDeleteMy mm in law wears a lifeline button around her neck as she lives alone but pays a monthly subscription for the service.
ReplyDeleteKay and Art, the problem solvers of the world:-) Way to go.
ReplyDeleteI cared for my Mom for a bit, she is now living with my sister. She took a few falls, it is bloody scary. The cordless phone only confused here, but a flip phone didn't and she did use to call me if she fell. I also found that if she was on the verge of a bladder infection she was stumble and be a bit confused, I learned very quickly to know what to look for.I got her test strips and we were able to head things off the pass. I went over the whole deck early in the morning banging down nails, couldn't see them in the afternoon, needed to be when sun was low and created shadows. She started to shuffle thinking that would keep her safe, it was the opposite her rubber sole shoes caught on things. Other than making a suit and helmet out of bubble wrap there is not more we can do, right? She doing great with me sister, we talk alot over the phone.Lol, just had a vision of me Mom in a bubble suit!
ReplyDeleteHi Wenda! Thank you so much for your comment. I'm on the verge of putting mom is a bubble suit. That would have helped my son who spent more time at the ER than I care to remember. By the time he left for the Peace Corps into a 3rd world village, I could take it in my stride (sort of). With mom though... I worry she wouldn't be able to bounce back as easily.
DeleteThis looks like it will work! I look forward to hearing about how it all plays out. :-)
ReplyDeletealways something to deal with...sounds like you are on your way to solutions...
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I wonder if there's a way to put an additional bell on a strap that your mom could wear around her neck or waist, similar to the safety pendants they use in assisted living centers.
ReplyDeleteMom would never wear it. Her sister had one of those too and left it on the dresser until the battery ran out when she really needed it. Then she called us to ask for help.
DeleteWe love mom!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know they existed. My house is one floor, and you can typically hear anyone from any point in the house.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had two bedrooms on the bottom floor, but alas, there's only one. It was one reason we had to build the addition on top of the first. Not ideal, but it was the best we could do.
DeleteCan you convince her to carry it with her? Sounds like a great idea, but what if you aren't home?
ReplyDeleteWe're having our neighbors hold the receivers when we're on a trip. Other than that, we're not gone from home for long.
DeleteYou two are genius'! What a great solution!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great and easy to use solution.
ReplyDeleteCrossing fingers!
ReplyDeleteA very good solution is a baby monitor,which has a speaking function. You can hear everything..she doesnt have to do anything . Plus you can speak to her using the speaker function.Its been very useful znd user friendly.
ReplyDeleteM.Nakamura
Hello M. I'm sorry I forgot to answer you. Thank you so much for your suggestion. My sister-in-law also suggested that. I liked the idea at first, but we weren't keen on constantly having that monitor on and listening to absolutely everything throughout the day. Still... it's something I might consider yet if things get worse. Right now, mom balks at losing her privacy too.
DeleteThat looks like the perfect solution. Simple and effective. Let us know how your Mom likes it. The baby monitor idea above also seems like a doable and easy solution if the buzzer fails.
ReplyDeletehope it all works out!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a good solution. It seems as though you are entering a new phase of caring for your mom. Wishing you all well.
ReplyDeletemy mom once gave me a little gold whistle on a gold chain, when I was going to night school, and called it my 'rape whistle.' Maybe you can find something similar? (or I can did, and see if I still have it and could mail it to you...)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your offer, but we've found the doorbell solution does work beautifully. She can even carry it with her in a little pouch I've made, but I know she won't wear it. Sigh...
DeleteSometimes simple problems have a difficult solution.
ReplyDeleteLots of good ideas. It's so nice that your neighbors are willing to help.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard when one's elder can't work technology, can't handle buttons, and yet won't wear devices or use precautions. I have had some experience with this.
ReplyDeleteYou have signed on to allowing your mother to live out her life under your care. It sounds like you have found some good solutions. Please just know that you can't prevent everything, and you do still have lives to live.
Hooray! Sounds like a plan for now. (Yep, I hated that VTech kind of phone: I couldn't figure out how to make a call or answer it!)
ReplyDeleteThe son of one patient actually attached the doorbell to a piece of wood about 8 inches long, 1 inch wide by 3/4 inch thick. The confused elderly patient wouldn't lose the little button. They also put velcro on the back of the wood, and with strong adhesive placed the other half of the velcro ontop of the wide arm of the recliner, so the button was rarely lost or fallen.
Thanks for taking her to the doc. SOOO glad her lungs are clear. (Hard to use my stethoscope via Skype.) That means the back injury isn't diminishing her normal depth of breathing causing congestion or fluid in the lungs.
The most informative data would be blood pressure readings before and after getting up from sitting. This tells us if she has orthostatic hypotension = blood pressure that drops when she stands up. We check by taking a person's blood pressure when lying down, then again when sitting on the edge of the bed, then when standing up. When it drops enough, she could become dizzy, light=headed, faint, or pass out, causing a fall. Folks with heart history have similar symptoms when their heart just skips 2 beats or less.
Ding Dong! Buzz! Time to check on Mom. At least with an intercom system, she could call out for some ice cream!
We installed a secondary wireless doorbell for my Mom, which had a coordinating strobe light. She could hear if someone was really at the door. That model malfunctioned as it's battery weakened by ringing at weird times, confusing everybody!
Linda in Kansas
She did call me tonight using the buzzer which was great. I think she was surprised that it worked so well. She now has me at her beck and call. Too funny!
DeleteAmazon has a lotta great stuff for elderly care. I used a baby monitor at first - the cheapest and easiest, but then mom would fall outside where I couldn't hear her. Luckily she stopped going out so I bought a nanny cam (no longer avail) that had a camera and it's own screen. I didn't want to use my smart phone to monitor her like most systems. I kept the screen right by my computer and t.v. so I could always keep an eye on her.It had sound too but she watched Japanese tv all day so I turned it low. She had dementia so she wouldn't listen or remember to use her cane or other aides. BB
ReplyDeleteSigh... It's very hard. The buzzer is working great for now.... for two days anyway. We already have a security camera installed and she was really upset about that. I told her I rarely check my cellphone to check in on her. She doesn't want us possibly spying on her all the time. She really wants her privacy and I can't blame her.
DeleteJust catching up and finding out about another of Aunty's falls. So glad that you and Art are proactive and continue to work towards keeping her as safe and happy as possible. Hugs to you all, Holly
ReplyDeleteHi Holly! According to Lorna, I could really use your help/organization at the doctor's appointments. :- ) Mom does seem better today as far as her cold is concerned. I guess we'll have to wait another 5 weeks for the pain to be relieved. She is getting quite a kick out of using the doorbell buzzer now.
Delete