I have been so thankful that my LW has never wander off thinking how lucky I was. That ended Sunday morning at 1:00 am in Daytona beach. I now know exactly how it feels and it doesn't feel at all good. If it hadn't been for the quick thinking of a couple of gentlemen that work for the hotel and an EMT medic with the Daytona Beach fire dept. It could have been really bad. I don't think I could live with myself if something had happened to Kathryn because I fell asleep and let her down when it really counted.
Below is a copy of the email I sent to the Marriott Hotel chain offices when I got home today:
On Saturday morning my wife and I went to Daytona to pick up some stuff and stayed in the Marriott Courtyard on Richard Petty Blvd. We checked in at about 3:00 pm or so and putt our stuff in our room and went out to dinner with some friends. We returned to our room about 7:30pm and was relaxing watching some TV when I fell asleep.
My wife has advanced Alzheimer's Disease so I locked all the locks and place our suit cases in front of the door so she would not be able to open the door without moving it all and figuring out the locks. This has always worked in the past but normally I put her in bed before I go to sleep and she sleeps though the night.
Saturday night I feel asleep with her still awake. While I was asleep, she for the very first time wandered away and was able to open the door and get out of the room. At about 1:00 am my phone rung. I didn't make it to the phone in time but when I didn't see Kathryn in bed I quickly looked around the rest of the room and she wasn't there. I dressed as fast as I could and headed out the door to find her just has Ken the gentleman working the front desk and a coup[le of security guards were approaching my room. They told me that Kathryn was in the lobby and when we got there she was sitting on the sofa being checked out by medics. Either Ken or Bradley had called them.
As Kathryn was headed out the front door of the hotel they said good evening to her and asked if they could do anything for her and when she wasn't able to talk to them realized something was wrong. My wife could not tell them her name of who she was with or her room number. They called the medics to help her and one of the medics knew the black band on her arm was an EMSeeker which is used for people that get lost. He removed the band got the number off the back of it and called the company that monitors it and they gave him Kathryn's name and from that Ken was able to find my room.
So many people today don't want to get involved and Ken and Bradley felt that way the end result could have been much different. About 50% of people with Alzheimer's that wander off and get lost are not found in time. They are either found by people that are not nice. Hit by a car or die from the cold or something else. Ken and Bradley's action and willingness to get involved may very well have saved my wife's life. The Marriott Hotel's can be very proud of both these men. Their actions will never be forgotten I promise you that. I will be telling everybody I know about them and the Marriott hotels for the rest of my life. The Merriott, Ken and Bradley are now a part of my life and always will be.
I want to say Thank You to Ken, Bradley and the Marriott Courtyard in Daytona Beach.
Oh what a terrible experience - for both of you! How great that you had the band for them to call. We have the Medic Alert bracelets that do that too. I am so happy for the great personnel who took the time to do the "above and beyond".
How wonderul your terrible experience turned out good. We all need to take notice of how strong and clever they can be a sometimes to get out of the room. I probably would have not given it a thought that she could have figured out how to do that. Glad all ended well.
It shouldn't have happened but I hadn't been well the lst few nights. I had only been sleeping between two and three hours a night the last few nights and was overly tire. We will not be doing any more traveling where have to stay over night any more. I simply isn't worth the risk.
Anchor....I think there are special locks you can get for your room that you put up high on the door so kids can't get out of the room You might want to check that out. We are going on what probably will be our last trip for two weeks and I am going to get one of those braclets for my dh. We are going on a cruise. The last cruise we took I got on the elevator in front of my dh and when I turned around the door was closing and he didn't get on. I was so upset. I went back to the room and was ready to call the desk when in he walks...he had a little piece of paper in his hand with our room number on it that someone had given him. That was a year ago and I am going to have to be more careful this time. Especially when we get off the ship.
jim i am thankful as well it had a happy ending. we have been preaching here how it can happen when you think you are safe. isnt it alarming that they can manage to escape on their own and the ability to find their way out doors and elevators SO quickly?? yes it does come a time we think the traveling is just not worth it. i lost mine once in a mexican resort on a large hotel complex. i got off the elevator and he didnt. he got off with others and it was cat/mouse tracking him down frantically with hotel personnel. i swore then never again as well. i still have dreams of losing him in a foreign country where nobody understands your desperate screams of losing them.
We used to be Marriott Reward Members, have owned time share with them, and have traveled extensively using only Marriott. Only once in 10 years did we have a less than stellar experience. I am so happy to know that they are on the ball and accomodating when it comes to a situation like you described. What a scary experience.
Anchor20, I lost mine in a casino once. He used to have such a good time when we would go to Wheeling Downs in W. Va. that I thought I would take him there and have the buffet. I was so panicked!!! Thank God, it didn't take long to find him or I think I may have had a coronary. Lloyd is so fast and so slick and at times he really does still believe he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. I will never stay in a hotel or motel until I find the perfect security device to keep that door closed. We have all fallen asleep when they are still awake, I think. I know that I have. Caring for them is exhausting even when our own health is tip-top!