We're having a discussion over on the SSDI board about living independently.

This is part of another member's reply to me:

Oh yeah, there is something called "life alert", but there is one thing that coud be an issue? When your shunt goes down, does it go down without warning or do you normally get gradual signs? This may or may not make a difference as long as you get into surgery ASAP
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I wasn't sure how much help Life Alert could be, since we could have
gradual signs of shunt failure which may go undetected for a while, or
the shunt could fail so quickly, that we may not have time to react.

What do you all think about this? Would Life Alert necklaces be an
option for us?

Shunt malfunction or failure will be different for all of us, depending on what causes it. Last time, as brutal as my symptoms were, I had about 6-8 hours before I lost complete alertness. LifeAlert is a good thing to have for anyone with hydro who lives alone, particularly in the case of falls, seizures, etc.



LIZARD

I checked out the site for LifeAlert and found this:

Home Emergencies

Help, I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up®

In a home fall emergency, or in case of a seizure, heart attack, stroke or other serious illness, a senior usually cannot reach the telephone. She or he may lie on the floor for hours or days, disconnected from any help. This injury can become life threatening.

How can Life Alert® help?

A simple press of a button will instantly activate Life Alert's small base unit located in the house. This unit will immediately communicate with our Monitoring Center, initiating amplified two-way voice communication between the senior and our emergency operators, who will contact neighbors, Paramedics, the Fire Department, Police and/or relatives as needed.
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It mentions being helpful for people with epilepsy, but it only mentions
"seniors". There's no mention about people under the age of 65 with
disabilities or other medical conditions. So, this product is only being
recommended for senior citizens?

If you're really interested, I'd contact them. Seniors, of course, have the greatest risk, due to age and the fact that many of them live alone. It doesn't mean that only seniors can get them.


Good luck...

LIZARD

Hey Liz... Bet you don't know who this is...haha. (that was a hint).

Hey

I think the necklaces would be good for us, I still live at home with my parents, but yes I think they would be a good idea

Here's the Web address for LifeAlert:

www.lifealert.com

What about bracelets??Do they make those too?

According to this page:

http://www.lifealert.net/services/equipment.html

it can be worn around your neck or wrist. But, it doesn't say that it
comes in a necklace (or a bracelet). It just mentions the necklace.
I'm thinking that the strap is adjustable. But, it would have to be
adjusted pretty small and tight to go from a necklace to a bracelet.

Here, anyone who has a health condition or a disability, or is elderly is able to get a "button" which can be worn around the neck, and pushed in case of emergency. When the button is pushed, a signal is sent to a monitoring centre, which then phones the person. Their voice is able to be heard through a special device, so that the person (if they are able) can still speak and be heard by the person at the monitoring centre. If the client does not answer the phone when the centre calls, they assume that the person needs help, and immediately goes to the person's house. Of course, this system depends on the fact that the person is competent enough to push the button. The call centre also calls the person every morning to see if they are up for the day, and if they don't answer the call, the centre assumes they need help. This system works fairly well for people who are still fairly mentally alert (ie, not in the more advanced stages of dementia).

Although my shunt failure symptoms come on fairly quickly, I am still aware of what they are, and therefore call the ambulance immediately, before I become unconscious. So I don't know how useful one of these call buttons would be for me.


Nat.