by Heidi Nestor, Writer and Editor,
Life Alert
Granny shivered when the booming October thunder
shook her home. The heavy rain rapped on the roof while the moisture
tapped on her bones. She shook it off and continued to open the boxes she
retrieved from her attic. Regardless of how tired she was, nothing was
going to stop her from decorating for the season.
After all, the neighborhood
expected it since she had a large Victorian Style house located at the
end of the street which was the last stop of the night for the
trick-or-treaters.
Her aged home creaked, just like she did, and was
the oldest structure on the block, a moniker Granny was proud of since
she too felt she was one of the same.
It was even rumored to be haunted.
The creaks, drafts and upkeep didn’t bother Granny as much as it
did her adult children who insisted she sell the place and move into a
nice retirement community.
“I will not move into a retirement community,”
declared Granny when her son brought over pamphlets from senior living
complexes. “This is my home,
where I raised my children, tend to my garden, and know everyone who
lives around me.” As far as
Granny was concerned, the subject was closed.
Granny went back to decorating when thunder boomed
again, she winched and told the sky to be quiet as she opened a box and
pulled out framed photos.
Snickers, Granny’s calico cat, had called it a night from his compulsive
curiosity that made him jump in and out of the boxes, but Granny wanted
to get as much done as possible before retiring herself.
She had the perfect spot to hang the pictures and
went to the utility closet to get her tool box.
When she opened the closet door Granny froze as if seeing a
ghost; thunder roared again shaking the roof as a dramatic emphasis to
her abrupt halt.
A poltergeist it was not; but what Granny saw was a
red and white box sitting on the closet shelf with large letters
reading, “Help, I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up!” Granny suddenly
remembered that it was the middle of the month and what her first
priority should be.
She went to the corner of her living room where a
two-way monitor sat on a table next to a plug and telephone jack.
She recalled how easy it was to set up her Life Alert system. Her
son had simply plugged the AC adapter into the outlet and placed the
phone line into the wall jack.
Granny pressed the emergency pendant button she
always wore around her neck, and a kind and confident voice came over
the monitor, “This is Life Alert, do you have an emergency?”
“No,” answered Granny.
“I’m just doing my monthly testing of my emergency button.”
After a short exchange of pleasantries and a positive confirmed
test, Granny went back to decorating. Halloween was only a few days away
and she had to get everything set and ready for the kids to come over.
“Now about those pictures,” she murmured to
herself. Granny climbed up
her step stool and went to work. The
first photo to go up was of the old, creepy, cemetery, that when you
titled your head ever so slightly you could see a superimposed image of
a hand coming out of grave.
The next couple of pictures were of the standard goblins, ghouls,
vampires and monsters.
When finished, Granny stepped down off her
stepstool only to barely miss squishing Snickers, who had just awaken
and ran into the living room looking for Granny. Down Granny went.
Luckily, she landed in a box of
Egyptian cotton Mummy wrap, which cushioned her fall.
She wasn’t hurt but try as she might she couldn’t seem to get
herself up and out of the box.
“I’ve heard of a Jack-in-the-box, but a
Granny-in-the-box?” She told
Snickers as she tried one more time to lift herself out to no avail.
Thankful she had her Life Alert, she pressed her button and once again
heard a confronting voice say, “This is Life Alert, do you have an
emergency?”
“Help!” Granny yelled.
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
Life Alert’s emergency dispatcher assessed Granny’s situation,
and sent help fast which reassured her the reason why she had become a
Life Alert family member.
She liked that Life Alert wasn’t just a medical alert system but had
different protection packages for her and her home.
There was the monitored CO Gas alarm that would
warn Granny of high levels of the poisonous gas, and send help any time
of day or night if CO gas is detected.
Knowing that her hard laboring furnace was the ghostly moans the
neighbors heard escaping from her cellar, Granny opted to go for that.
But she also liked the fact Life Alert offered a
monitor smoke alarm too, which she added to her protection package after
that time she had gone to the store forgetting she had something cooking
on the stove. While her
standard smoke alarm went off, no one heard it but neighbors did see
white smoke coming out of Granny’s kitchen window giving them cause to
wonder if Granny had appointed a new Pope. Although Granny wasn’t home
at the time, Snickers was, and it could have been a bad day for her
Calico and her home if it wasn’t for Granny's neighbors checking in on
her. After that incident, Granny ordered the monitored smoke alarm and
felt a lot safer. She thinks
Snickers did too.
But more importantly, getting Life Alert protection
was the happy agreement with all of her children and it allowed Granny
to stay in her own home while giving everyone peace of mind.
Before Snickers had the chance to pounce on a ball
of Mummy wrap, the fire department arrive and helped Granny up, but now
she felt a bit tired from all the excitement and decided to put off the
decorating until tomorrow.
As she fell asleep with her cat taking up most of
her pillow, Granny rested peacefully and gratefully knowing that she and
Snickers were safe and secure with Life Alert Protection in the house.
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For more information about
Life Alert and its many services and benefits for seniors – available in
New York, California, Florida, and other states nationwide -- please visit the following websites:
http://www.lifealert.net
http://www.seniorprotection.com
http://www.lifealertnewyork.com
