My 80-year-old mother's first time living alone: The 'emergency call button' that gives us peace of mind

Introduction

My 80-year-old mother began living alone this April.

This was due to the sudden passing of her husband, whom she had remarried about 20 years ago, but for my mother, living alone is “the first challenge of her life.” With her physical decline and chronic illnesses, every single aspect of daily life requires her full effort.

I live near my mother's house. There are days when we eat dinner together, and days when I stay over. Even so, at night after I leave, my mother is alone.

If she were to collapse, I wouldn't know when or who would notice.That one thought was something I just couldn't shake.

If you have an elderly parent living alone, you might understand this feeling.

The essence of monitoring through a home safety system

The city where my mother lives has something called the Elderly Home Safety System.

This elderly support program allows an elderly person living alone at home to notify the outside world of a potential emergency in the event of an “unexpected situation.”

Even if something happens while she is at home, the worst-case scenario of being left unnoticed for a long time can be avoided.

This system brings great peace of mind to my elderly mother and to us, her family, who are watching over her.

Emergency call button

The core of this home safety system is this emergency call button. It comes as a set with a stationary base unit and a portable type.

The basic idea is to keep the portable type close at hand and carry it when moving to the bathroom or shower. You never know when a sudden change in health might occur—while sleeping, bathing, or in the restroom.

If my mother is unable to handle a sudden change in her health on her own, she can press the button to send an alert to ALSOK, which you often see in those commercials.

Also, the anxiety for an elderly person living alone regarding things like intruders is immeasurable. As a security measure, the significance of this emergency call button is extremely high.

The process after pressing the emergency call button

✅My mother presses the button
↓
✅ ALSOK contacts my mother's mobile phone (safety check)
↓
✅ Depending on the situation over the phone, ALSOK rushes to the home
↓
✅ Since we have provided a spare key, they enter the home
after obtaining consent from the emergency contact ↓✅ Depending on my mother's condition, they
call for an ambulance ↓✅

Contact the emergency contact

In particular, monitoring in an emergency is something we as a family simply cannot handle on our own.
It is only possible by utilizing services from elderly support programs provided by the city or other external private organizations.

Nothing can guarantee 100% peace of mind or safety. However, the fact that we can reduce that risk even a little leads to emotional stability for both my mother and our family.

Ways to prevent misplacing it

The emergency call button is carried around, such as by wearing it around the neck whenever moving.
If it is not at hand in an emergency, this button cannot fulfill its vital role.

Losing things, misplacing them, forgetfulness—as people age, they become more prone to forgetting various things. This is even more true for my mother in her 80s.

This emergency call button might just save my mother's life.

That is precisely why absolutely, absolutelyI tried to do everything in my power to come up with ways to ensure she doesn't misplace or lose it.

🌼 Always carry it when moving around the house
🌸 Decide on storage locations (5 spots)
🌺 Always put it in those spots, or hang it on a handrail

I had her make these three points a rule, so that they would become a daily habit for her.

While being conscious not to be overbearing, I strongly conveyed these rules to my mother with the nuance that I wanted her to follow them to protect herself.

The desire not to be overbearing and the desire to strongly urge her to protect her life. Finding the perfect balance between these two is truly difficult.

These are the 5 locations I decided on for storage

Basically, it will always be in one of these 5 locations. If the emergency call button cannot be found, the system is that 'it must be in one of these places'.

Summary

There are many elderly people living alone in the world.
If one of them is someone dear to you, I think you yourself often feel anxious and worried.
Even if something happens to them, you cannot rush over immediately.

In such times, the existence of elderly support programs provided by municipalities and the like may help lighten your burden.

Moreover, this is not a long-term care insurance service.

In my mother's case as well, regardless of long-term care insurance certification, she met the city's criteria, such as 'living alone and being over 65,' which allowed her to apply and use it.

This means there is no need to give up just because 'we haven't received long-term care certification yet.'

In an emergency, being able to send an SOS to the outside with the push of a button is a final lifeline for both the person themselves and for us, their family.

I imagine that the municipalities where you live may also offer such programs, so wouldn't it be a good idea to look into them just in case?

By the way, I learned about this system because my mother's care manager brought me the documents. If I hadn't gone looking for it myself, I probably still wouldn't know about it today.

Thank you for reading this far.
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