Where Do You Plan to Fall
Confessions of a Pendant Nazi
Three years ago, when we arrived at the Admiral, we were each given an alarm pendant to wear that would bring help if we fell and were unable to get up. I promptly set them aside. After all we had an Amazon Echo Smart Speaker; we could always call the concierge for help. I now realize that implicitly we were committing to fall in our apartment within the voice reach of the Echo.
A few months ago, I saw a sturdy Admiral resident, whom I had considered quite sturdy, in a wheel chair. His knee had just given out and he was getting therapy. That set me thinking; I use the stairs a lot. My Echo wouldn’t hear me in the stairwell or in the hallway.
So, I began to wear the pendant in the daytime but not without some startup hassles. In the first week, I had four failures. Twice the pendant fell off my neck because the necklace broke. Twice there were false alarms. The pendant called for help when I had not squeezed it. The second time brought Jennifer to the Gathering Room in rescue mode but she came to rescue Mary not me. Turns out my pendant was programmed for Mary not me and Jennifer confiscated it.
Jonathan issued me a new pendant and a new necklace and I began to wear it every day taking it off only when I removed my name badge and set my phone to charging for the night. I had now modified my plan for falling; could be anywhere in the building during the daytime.
Like many males of my age, a nocturnal trip to the bathroom is to be expected and I sometimes take a side trip to my computer. Furthermore, I usually go to the bathroom that lacks an alarm cord. Somehow it occurred to me that there was a gap in my plan to fall only in the daytime!
It will come as no surprise to you that I am now wearing my pendant 23.8/7. It only comes off when I take my shower and that is within reach of the pull-cord. I hope that I don’t execute my falling plan, but I feel much better knowing that I have been able to include all of the Admiral at the Lake in my plan.
--Harris McKee, May 5, 2020
Where do you plan to fall?