Practical guides for the daughter or son of an older parent who lives alone: how to check on her, how to choose between a medical alert and a daily call, what to do at Thanksgiving, and where Betsy fits.
How to check on an older parent who lives alone, without a camera
Check on her with a daily phone call, not a camera: a camera shows you a room, and a call asks about her life. Betsy makes that call, ten minutes, every day, and remembers everything. You hear the same day if Mom mentions a fall, an illness or someone after her money. $2 a day, billed $60 a month.
Long-distance caregiving: a weekly system that actually holds
Betsy takes the daily call, so somebody asks about Mom’s life every day and you hear the same day if she mentions a fall, an illness or someone after her money: $2 a day, billed $60 a month. Someone local sees her weekly. You own the paperwork, and on Tuesday you phone her neighbor.
Medical alert or a daily call? How to choose
Betsy is the daily conversation: ten minutes, every day, remembering everything, and you hear the same day if Mom mentions a fall, an illness or someone after her money. $2 a day, billed $60 a month. A pendant is a button for the minute something goes wrong. They are different jobs, and a family can have both.
The Thanksgiving conversation: what to do when you notice Mom slipping
Say nothing big at the Thanksgiving table. Ask for the recipe, look in the fridge, and write down what you saw. Call her doctor’s office on Tuesday. And before you leave, put your phone on the table and call Betsy together, so next Thanksgiving isn’t the next time anyone asks how she is. $2 a day, billed $60 a month.
The first two weeks home after a hospital stay, when she lives alone
Get the plan in writing before she leaves the hospital. On day two or three, make your own call: how she feels, her pills, her appointments, her help at home. Then let Betsy talk with her every day and tell you the same day if she mentions a fall or an illness. $2 a day, billed $60 a month.
