Flashback….”I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”

A friend of mine from Tennessee was talking about her mother-in-law who was living by herself and the subject brought back memories of my brother who was the primary caregiver of mom after dad's death. My brother in 1991 died and I became the primary caregiver. Mom didn't have dementia at the time but she was living alone; although quite capable of living by herself I was still concern because she was 79-years old and alone. We have all seen the commercial with the old lady screaming "I've fallen and I can't get up!"

The objective behind the commercial is that senior citizens like my mom would receive a medical alert pendant that would allow our her to call out (verbally with her voice) to an audio receiving device and talk directly with a dispatch call operator, without the need to reach a telephone. The service was designed to appeal particularly to seniors who lived alone and who might experience a medical emergency, such as a fall in the bathroom, which would leave the parent alert but immobile and unable to reach a phone WRONG...the commercial was designed directly at the adult children whose parent lives at home ALONE.

My mom fought tooth and nail whenever I brought up the subject because she has also seen the "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercial. Mom looked at me with that superior look "I am not old and I can take care of myself" and I said I will hire a live-in caregiver if you don't wear the pendant. She finally relented and said "I will wear the pendant."

Here's an update version of the commercial; http://tiny.cc/cUAM9