It’s the tractor that’ll kill you. 
I rolled my old tractor. All 4 wheels in the air, no ROPS. I was very lucky to escape with bumps and bruises.
StG
Yup. I understand that very well. I’ve been running tractors for a long, long time. They can turn from friend to foe in an instant.
I think I’d rather spend my last minutes paralyzed on a tile floor than have to have someone “with me always”.
And I say this as a happily married guy with kids. It’s just that I spend as much time as I can alone, sometimes on trips by myself. Nothing makes me happier than to be poking around little shops in another city and thinking “No one knows I’m here…”
I’m in excellent health, but I’m pushing 70. After reading this thread, I think I need a plan. And maybe some technology…
If you live alone you should get a companion dog. The dog will get upset if you stop moving and may make enough noise to attract help.
A cat will just start eating your face 48 hours after their bowl goes empty.
After my mom realized her cancer might be terminal she signed up for a medical alert button. She chose a cheap service that sent her a button on a scratchy Velcro strap she was to wear around her neck. They thing drove her crazy. She asked me to come over and rig up something more comfortable for her, which I agreed to do at the weekend.
On Thursday night, she got up to pee and fell in the bathroom. Where was the alert button? On her nightstand, because she couldn’t sleep with it itching her skin. Thankfully, my brother got the odd feeling and stopped by before work. She spent a week in the hospital, went home on hospice and passed away the night she got home. She had been much closer to death than she had let on to us.
Now, at 60 and living alone, I am looking at using the same kind of medical alert service because I am a fall risk. But I’m not picking the one with the cheap, scratchy strap.
Hey, I don’t want the cheap, scratchy strap either. But the iPhone has an accelerometer in it; can’t it be set to alert someone if it senses a sharp fall?
This is one of the things the neighbors of my parents watch for. And the disappearance of the newspaper from the front step. I know this because ever so often my parents report that one of their neighbors called them to check up on them.
I’m 50, and I never go on a ladder if someone’s not home (indoor work) or nearby (outside work). Don’t take chances.
Not everything can be prevented, but a 10 minute phone call in the morning/evening, can help somebody keep in touch and give somebody else peace of mind.
Do you wear it to bed?
I haven’t read all the replies, but if they could put this feature in everytime you open the refrigerator door or open the microwave, then that would be really helpful. Of course you’d get 6-10 emails a day in that scenario. maybe just one a day when the microwave or refrigerator is used. If someone didn’t use the stove, fridge or microwave for more than 2 days they’re either on vacation or dead.
I’ve never fallen out of bed, and I think I’d survive that. It’s more falling while out… oh, crap. I really can’t start using any Fall-O-Meter™ til I’m done sliding off mountain bike trails, and getting knocked on my butt playing soccer with kids a third my age, oh, and playing rugby…
I’ve got a couple of my kids listed as friends on the Harry Potter game. We all at least log on and swap gifts every day. I don’t think they’re keeping track of me, but if they got worried, they could.
The point I was making with the example of my mother is that she refused to wear it to bed because itchy. Then she got up in the middle of the night to pee, and didn’t don the alert for the 12 steps it took to get to the toilet where she fell and couldn’t alert anyone. I, too, have fallen during the night when attacked by my usual vertigo. I need something that is comfortable to wear when I sleep to prevent the same problem happening to me.
A smart watch that would allow you to call or text someone if you fell. Lots of choices in Apple watch bands-the only kind my family has experience with. Be sure when you go to sleep that the watch is on your wrist and has a goodly charge.
For about a year I had one of those Medic alert pendants. Horrid useless thing, huge PITA, plus a monthly service charge. I canceled it and shoved the equipment in a drawer.
When I next live alone and need something I will try to coax one of my kids out of their upgraded Apple Watch and go with that.
Since this thread has been revived, I’ll post a better program than Dead Man’s Switch.
Here’s Dead Man Tracker. It’s much more flexible than Switch. I’ve been using the free version for the last year and I’m very happy with it.
It’s interesting. I’d rather reply to a phone text each day. What I want is for someone to find me so I do not pass away. Thinking on it.
Several people on this Fitbit community talk about how good it would be if the Fitbit had an alarm function like this. I started wearing a Fitbit a year ago and it is really comfortable and convenient, even pleasant to wear, and has a lot of useful functions that make it less stigmatizing to wear, so it is not an ugly clunky alarm knob.
Best of all, the FiTBit is waterproof enough to wear in the shower or bath, and that is HUGE, because otherwise the device would lie in my bathroom window sill, instead of being on my wrist. But apparently the FitBit makers cannot be reached about how to solve this need. Maybe that will change as the company has been bought by Google. Fit bit alarm system - Fitbit Community
I got an message from Bobsmom101:
While up in the attic changing the HVAC filter, it occurred to me that I (73 y.o. and live alone) really need a way to call for help to avoid the scenarios in [Dying alone: what safety measures are feasible? ].
I don’t really need the expensive “Life Alert” monitoring systems, just a button to push that calls 911 when the dodgy hip finally gives out. Of course, there is a bewildering array of smartwatches that apparently will fill the bill.
All my gadgets are Android based, so I’m eliminating Apple. I’m looking at models from Garmin, Samsung, and Citizen’s but they all seem to have some serious flaws (short battery life, small print, inadequate documentation, etc) per the Amazon reviews. I’m hoping that some of you on the Board with experience in this technology can recommend a model that has worked for you. Thanks!
I replied that I would post her question here and hope someon shares their insight. It is a topic many people wrestle with and I wonder if the smartwatches that are now on the market, are an actual working solution- they just seem too complicated, too fancy. Smart watches seem designed to be sold at a particular price, rather then to actually help people in our situation.
Thank you @Maastricht, and I apologize. I didn’t intend to call on you specifically. I was trying to start a smartwatch review thread and reference the “Dying Alone” thread.
I’ve got to agree with you w.r.t. smartwatches in general. I don’t need a heart monitor or a thermometer or a calorie counter, just something that will tell time and send an alarm if needed. Yes, it seems FitBit could exploit this market if they wanted.
Here’s one of the review articles I found. The tl;dr is that Apples have a good display and fall detection, ditto Samsungs, but the batteries suck, and Garmins are good, but only if you are exercising. All of them are pricey, but certainly more reasonable than a monitored Life Alert type system.
Do any Dopers who own smartwatches have any insights?
It sure can. My son’s 80 yo MIL who lives alone has one on her wrist that questions her if it senses a sharp acceleration. She once swatted a fly and the wrist phone asked if she had fallen. She said “No” and it subsided. Had she not, the service she subscribes to would have sent someone to investigate. She had to change the lock in her apartment to one that the service could open. If I lived alone I would look into this.
I had a colleague who had a stroke in his apartment and was paralyzed. He eventually managed to get to a phone to call 9-1-1, but he could not drag himself far enough to unlock the door. I think he managed to call his ex who came right over. He has since partially recovered his mobility.
I’m 76, and six weeks ago I took a nasty fall from which I’m still recovering. Unfortunately I was home alone at the time. I landed on my knees and somehow wound up flat on my back, unable to get back up for about a half hour. It was a while before I noticed the deep gash on my leg, which didn’t hurt at the time. But I did notice that there was blood on the floor.
I’m not alone all the time, but enough that I worry about falling, for various reasons. I’m getting an Apple Watch 7.