One of our active threads reminded me of the medical i.d. question, something I've not yet done. Jeff and I have been doing a fair amount of traveling this year, mostly to visit children in college, but we'll also be taking a trip by Amtrak next month.
Of course my goal is to never lose sight of him (fortunately he doesn't wander,) but you can't plan for every eventuality.
I think I could GET him to wear a medical i.d. but he wouldn't love the idea. What he does want is a watch with a big digital readout (even though he can't always read it, he likes having one. He can't read analog AT ALL.)
I just discovered that a company called Cadex makes clunky mens' watches, of exactly the type he'd wear, which are designed with medication reminder alarms (which we don't need,) but also with an "alert" button at the bottom which will cause the medical condition and contact person info to scroll across the face.
Here is a link to one of the watches on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000YXUW6/ref=s9_simh_gw_p364_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=07SAY2ECCKRJWPX8H7W5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
One point of hesitancy for me is that I'm not SURE that, under the circumstances which would require it, people would necessarily pay attention to the watch, and notice the alert button, whereas a medical i.d. bracelet is usually recognized for what it is?
Well...now I know I need something. He wandered off (probably followed the wrong head) when I was focused on the credit card reader at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Took me 10 minutes to find him, outside the parking garage, down one flight of stairs at street level. Just waiting.
emily alz.org has the safe return bracelets. without actually breaking the stainless steel band they cant get them off. its a challenge to get it off by anyone. hah. i would recommend this as its a universal sign and recognizable by most ER/police/fire// my DH didnt want to wear it either but once on it didnt come off for MANY yrs. i just took it off now he cant go out anymore. its a good thing to convince them to use. and yes they can get away from you faster than lightning. scary isnt it? the stainless can be be showered for yrs and stay looking the same. i would recommend handsdown. like many things we have to go thru dramas with our spouses but this is a must for their own safety as always. divvi
I just recently saw that 'watch' alert recently. I think it was in the AARP Bulletin. Isn't it connected with the Lifeline system?
Claude wore a "Medic Alert" medallion around his neck for years with all his medical conditions/meds listed. All of a sudden, he realized he could take it off.......
I ordered a bracelet with all the info on it and put it on his right wrist. He was definitely right handed so he couldn't get it off...not for lack of trying tho. LOL
All emergency personnel are trained to look for some type of medallion or bracelet.
Emily - if you have traveled Amtrak before you are aware of this, but if not, the trains tend to be very cold. My brother and his wife took one from VA to OR and nearly froze. It was the middle of summer so did not have a lot of warm clothing with them. There was no way to adjust or turn the AC off. They bought some sweaters to wear on their return trip. My brother took the train from WA to Oakland and he found the same thing - cold. I have spoken with others too and they have the same complaint - cold and no way to turn it off in the coach or sleepers.
I got my husband a watch with the medic alert symbol and he wears it but it is not connected with the Safe Return medic alert. I got him one last year and I wear one too, I has his id no on it and carries his history etc. It is important for a caregiver to wear one too as it will assist getting the LO looked after if the caregiver is hurt or ill..the medics will look at that and get assist from medic alert as to whom to call etc. Go with The Alz Assn Safe Return program and keep the data up to date.
Oh, DH won't wear his bracelet. You can get dog tags but he wont wear that either so I just put it on his loop on his trousers..he can't figure out how to get it off...that works. He has a medic alert card in his wallet.
Emily--another good feature of Safe Return is that they have bracelets/necklaces for the caregiver to wear as well. So for instance, if something would happen to me while Steve is at daycare, the info on my bracelet (800#) would allow them to track down my brother and notify him. BTW, if your husband balks at wearing the ID bracelet/necklace, an idea is to tell him it's for organ donation. After wearing it for a little while, that's what my husband said his was for (he's great at confabulation)!
That's a good idea. I did not yet enroll myself, but I've enrolled Jeff. I probably should. Give me time. I chose a black "sports band" which has the look and feel of a mesh watch band, which shouldn't bother him much. I'm sure I can think of a good excuse that will convince him it's good to wear it. The organ donor thing might do the trick.
My husband wears a safe return dog tag. I had a problem getting him to wear it at the beginning but my dad wears a medical id (not a safe return one) and he showed it to my husband. After that he wears it without any complaint. I should sign myself up for it too. I haven't done it yet.
I checked AT&T's FamilyMap service. According to postings in the forum on AT&T's own site, the service is pretty crappy and inaccurate. I also checked out the Brickhouse child locator on Amazon. Appalling reviews as well. I don't think GPS personal locators, as available, are quite ready for primetime yet. Safe Return seems like the best option.
My DH doesn't wander, but we have become separated when one of us hasn't paid attention. I think I will check into the program. It also sounds like the answer to a question that has just started to bother me about what would he do if something happened to me & I couldn't communicate.
i read the newer statistics said if persons arent found within 24hrs the odds are against finding them alive. almost 98+% of safe alert victims have been found within 4hrs plus/minus. thats a huge rate of success. if you havent enrolled your spouses please checkinto it asap. it only takes one time to get lost. divvi
What I need is something with a GPS so he can be located. ANy experience with these? I see them on line but am wondering how to get him to keep it with him. Sewing it into his jacket? (He is very attached to his jacket)
Jeanette...I am not sure any of the GPS devices currently available have a good track record for functionality. I'm reading lots of bad reviews, which is a discouragement given that these things generally have a monthly subscription fee. That's what I feel I really need also, but I don't think it exists, reliably. If someone knows otherwise, I'm interested.
A social worker once told me that GPS isn't really good for finding lost people w/dementia, that they generally tend to hide somewhere and then the satellite tracking doesn't work.
Jeff wouldn't hide though. If he were lost it wouldn't be on purpose, it would be because he lost sight of me or followed the wrong person. Fortunately, when I did lose him briefly he knew (boy scout training, he said) to stay put in plain view and wait for me.
Because my husband wanders all the time, I have looked into the gps systems. They are not as reliable as we need. If the weather is cloudy, or if you are in a wooded area, the reception is not good. There is a program that is out there called Project Lifesaver that is available in many areas. It is not in Southwest Louisiana so I am out of luck here. The find rate is within an hour. It is I will get the information and post it. As far as my husband wandering all we do is put a chime on the doors to alert us that he is going outside. Within 10-15 minutes if he is not back, he takes the dog with him most of the time, we go looking for him. He normally remembers how to get back home because he only goes across the street to the other side of the facility where we live, but he has also been gone for almost 6 hours and that was horrible. Hopefully this won't last long with him wandering, but he loves to go walking so who knows. We are moving to the back end of our facility to make it harder for him to get to the main road tho. That combined with the chimes I think will help a lot. When we go shopping that is another story. I have to keep him right with me because he gets lost from one isle to the next. No solution to that one yet, except maybe a collar with sounds.....lol.......not really........just a thought.....
mammie - do like with children and put a harness with a leash on him. Or you can do a wrist to wrist bracelet,. If you shopping you can connect it to the shopping cart. Get creative because wandering can be very dangerous.