What happens if you live alone and have a stroke.

[Joedee]

Hi, I live alone. I've spent quite a while looking online for what happens if you have a stroke and there's no one with you. Would you be unable to get help for your self, or wouldn't you stand a chance ? There's no information for people who live alone. Nobody calls me regularly, or visits regularly. What would i do my father died from a stroke. He wasn't alone and my Mum knew exactly what to do.

[OzLynda]

I'm in Australia and had a similar worry. With no close friends and relatives it could be a week or so before anyone realised I had a problem (stroke, broken leg, whatever) Then I found Telecross, an initiative of the Red Cross. Someone phones me now every morning to check I'm ok, and if no answer they contact some people I've nominated who can come and check on me.

I don't know if you can find a similar services in the UK or US. I hope so, as it's been a great relief to me and I'm finally sleeping a lot better not having the niggling worry about it.

[Joedee in reply to OzLynda]

Hi, thand you so much , I will check this out.

[Hidden]

Joedee, you would probably find it reassuring to subscribe to something like the Saga SOS alarm system whereby you are able to summon help by means of pressing a button on a disc which you wear at all times.

My mother lived alone but had one of these alarm systems. She had a mini stroke at age 82 but was able to summon help.

[Stephanietee]

I also live alone and have a lot of health problems. Alarm systems are ok if you are still conscious! I find I worry a lot about the maintenance of my house and heating etc etc. It is all very hard and I dread the future with the state of the health and support services.

Stephanietee

[Hidden in reply to Stephanietee]

Is there some sort of medical social worker who can help you coordinate solutions to your concerns? In the US, these workers are available through medical facilities, senior centers, disability advocates, senior/disabled housing, etc.

[P0rtnahapp1e]

If you're really concerned could you maybe look at one of the systems like MediAlert? It's just worn around your neck and if you press it someone at headquarters speaks to you via a phone line through a speaker. If you don't reply they send help and ring the contacts whom you have previously listed. My Mum had one and it gave her great comfort.

[Steve112]

My father has an alarm worn around his neck and was supplied by his local council services... there is of course a cost but the peace of mind he has is Immeasurable even though we are in contact every day.....make sure you also have a key in a key safe just in case people/neighbours need to access your property they will of course need to know the security code...unfortunately whether you are young or old if you are alone with no people who regularly check on you then there is no answer..my late father in law ran a team within social services some time ago and this story of finding elderly people who had long since passed away was all to common ...

[P0rtnahapp1e in reply to Steve112]

Steve112 You just failed your application to join the Diplomatic Corps. 😉

[Steve112 in reply to P0rtnahapp1e]

You wouldn't be the first person to tell me that...I apologise if I have offended anyone..maybe I just need to stick to posting Sanjay Gupta's Vlogs ...

[P0rtnahapp1e in reply to Steve112]

Steve112 Gosh no, it made me smile, and by the reaction it seemed to amuse others also. Every group needs someone who tells it as it is!

[Hidden in reply to Steve112]

No, is was reassuring that other well-intentioned folks sometimes misspeak, thanks for your efforts

[Hidden]

Difficult problem even if you're not alone as such, it could be a long time before anyone finds you. Bit like me working alone as a farmer; have an accident and if it knocked me out no-one would know for possibly a long time.

My father-in-law wears an alarm which when pressed calls up to three people which you pre-program. Got it off the internet. It came with a neck-hung button and also a wrist watch type thing. The neck alarm was a nightmare as every time he leaned on something like the kitchen table and in bed, he would make an alarm call. We got really fed up with that as you can imagine, at 2 a.m. etc !!! Anyhow, he changed over to the watch version and we haven't had a call since 😀......but is he wearing it 🤔? Ah ha......I bet he isn't, but we'll check today, so thanks for the reminder.

Koll

[P0rtnahapp1e in reply to Hidden]

@Koll, you just reminded me . . . My mother was a great "hugger". I lost track of the number of times that we got calls to check on her when she had just been greeting or saying Goodbye to someone.

[PeterWh]

Unfortunately there is no definitive answer!!!

Contact your local council and charities like age concern who may very well be able to provide alert services cheaper than other providers. A misconception is that you don't have to be on benefits or have to have significant disabilities to use some of the council's services it's just that you will have to pay for them. What is available varies quite considerably as does even if you don't have to pay.

Another option would be to arrange with a friend if relative to send a text or email twice a day at say by 10.00 am and 9.00pm. Get the other person to acknowledge your text. So for instance you could just say good morning and they could text back good morning or ok. That way in the unlikely event of a serious fall or unconsciousness the max is around 12 hours.

[Rellim296]

This is a concern to everyone because we can all be on our own for hours and sometimes in a hotel miles from home.

If you have a really big stroke and your time is up, it could be said that one would do better alone at home than being whisked to hospital to be kept alive to linger in a dire condition for who knows how long. If you can't summon help, perhaps it would only be a hindrance anyway.

The thing is, we none of us know what sort of stroke we might have. They are as varied as cooked eggs and there's no telling at first how things will turn out.

[Roseyuk]

My husband has Parkinson's and has a fall alarm, he wears all the time, around his neck and also one on his wrist,

Where's a realise if you should suffer a stroke, whilst sitting or in bed,

You would have to be able to recognise at least one on the symptoms!

And be able to press the button on you're alarm..which is connected to a speaker from you're phone land line

It is connected to a fast response centre, and will send ambulance very quickly,

You also have to have an outside key holder, with a code which is given to the attended paramedics,

The name of the company that install these is called Sanctuary,

If you this would make you feel less concerned contact me again I will pass the number onto you, unless you want to try a google search,

It has been a great comfort to me, as I can go out and not worry if my husband has a fall. At home.

Best wishes to you

PS I also suffer from AF and would use this myself if necessary to get help for me .

[PeterWh in reply to Roseyuk]

There are quite a few different providers of similar services.

As usual you need to shop around because the cost differential a few years back was over 4 times and the most expensive wasn't the best. Also need to look where their service base and response is because Sime claim national but very few in a particular area.

[Elaine1951]

Impossible to predict as with any illness accident or incident or age of person. Others have given some contacts which will relieve your worrying too much. Often the things we worry about most don't happen but wise to have strategies. Good luck x

[jeanjeannie50]

That's a good question Joedee.

Aged 88 my father lay on the floor for three days after having a stroke and my brother finally broke into his house and found him. He died in hospital a month later from pneumonia.

My aunt fell onto the glass in her greenhouse, she could have bled to death if my niece hadn't found her. She spent weeks in hospital.

Some good advice by other forum members has been given re your post. I think pride comes a little into not wanting to wear a call for help button. I'm 65, live on my own, am very active and would feel really old wearing one of these devices! I have two daughters who live fairly local, but if they rang me and I didn't answer, they'd think, 'Oh mums never in'. My eldest often says, 'I've given up trying to call you'.

If I become housebound, or perhaps in my late 70's and 80's, then yes I'd consider wearing one.

I also have a slight worry when I go up into the attic and think what if I fall when coming down. I always tell a neighbour I'm going up and will text her, I'm down and ok.

I think if my neighbours saw my curtains still drawn mid morning, they would spring into action. One has a key to my house.

Jean

[Buffafly in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Another fail!

The curtains thing was the old alarm system! If you didn't draw your curtains by the usual time a neighbour would be round to check on you. I asked my Mum to ring ME every morning which meant there was no question that she was OK - or not.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Buffafly]

Have never been part of the Diplomatic Corps and speak as I find.

Jean

[Joedee in reply to jeanjeannie50]

I've never heard of the diplomatic corps

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Joedee]

Hi Joedee

It's bit of a joke really, like I'm not very diplomatic.

If in a fitting room in a shop and a lady asked me what a dress looked like on her I would give my honest opinion and would say (kindly) if I thought it didn't look right. Other people may respond with what they think she would want to hear, something that keeps her happy. They would not want to say that the dress didn't suit her for fear of upsetting her. They would then be being diplomatic.

Hope this is clear.

Jean

[Joedee in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Hi Jean, I haven't lived here long and don't know my neighbours. my daughters are both married and have 2 children. I can't go into why they don't care about me, it would take too long. I see the youngest one most weeks , but she has a death phobia and won't let me rack about an illnesses. She doest even want to be my next of kin when i go into hospital. I look after her boys whom I adore, but only allowed to see them at mine. I wold wear the thing around my neck, it wouldn't bother me to be hones But i couldn't afford to pay for one.

[PeterWh in reply to Joedee]

Contact social services and age concern.

[PeterWh in reply to Joedee]

Is there e someone else you could text twice a day to say you are all right?

[RichMert]

I was age 49 when I had my first PAF attack. I live on my own and one of the dilemmas I had was wondering each time whether I should call an ambulance 'while I could'. The Ambulance service told me not to feel bad about calling an ambulance for any heart concerns. I had all the same worries about Heart Attack or Stroke but to be honest I got to point of accepting that if it happens it happens. I agree with all the comments regarding the emergency alarms. I would consider one of these if I was in a remote location or if I had a serious condition. PAF was cured by ablation 3 years ago.

[Hidden]

It depends on the severity of the stroke whether you would be able to raise an alarm. From personal experience, there will be no warning, you will be disorientated and may not be able to get up from the floor. You need to reach a phone, be able to dial 999 and to understand and answer questions. In my case, the well known symptoms of stroke were not apparent. There's little point in worrying about what may happen. You could be stopped in a Motorway queue and get hit hard from behind, such is life.

I had a stroke at 69 with a CHADVASC of 1 or between 1 and 2 depending on which EP I spoke to. All my health stats and level of exercise were excellent - AF could occur in hard work in the gym but wasn't a problem - and I have a healthy diet. I was one of the 25% of unexplained strokes.

[Thomas45]

I lived alone for decades, my nearest relatives are 80 miles away. Email gave me peace of mind. We have a system where we email each other in the morning. If we've not heard by 1pm it's a reminder email and a 'phone call. If no contact is made it would be a case of them contacting a neighbour. True if something untowards happens to you after you've exchanged emails it's a wait until next morning. I always have my mobile phone to hand. I'm 71 but not old.

[Grannycake]

I am linked into central system via my telephone connection,I wear an alarm on my wrist and if anything happens then I press the button. It costs £1.50 a week

[Joedee in reply to Grannycake]

Very good, I will look into this

[shropshirestar in reply to Grannycake]

hi what is the name of the company looked at a few but they seem very expensive thanks in advance

[Beancounter Volunteer]

A popular question and an interesting discussion, I too live alone, but then as I usually leave my front door at around 7am, and get back in often at 10pm or later I spend very little time there.

But nevertheless I have not really thought through what would happen if I had a stroke at home. At work, I actually teach all the staff FAST, to the point that with new staff sometimes I worry they are staring at me waiting for a facial change or whatever, but to be honest it's comforting and I would be really happy if someone just says are you OK can you lift your arms? as I know they are thinking of my welfare.

I feel far too young and active to have any form of watch based reporting or alarm system (probably wrongly and probably also vainly) Perhaps this is a road I need to think through, someone posted £1.50 a week? that's a very small price to pay for some piece of mind, does it work anywhere? when I am out and about or is there a base station.

You have me thinking

Be well

Ian

[Joedee in reply to Beancounter]

Hi, yes, I feel very young to have an alarm. I work and look after my grandchildren in a weekly basis. That has also became a worry as they're only 7 and 3.5. So i think I will look into the wrist alarm. £ 1.50 a week is very little for peace of mind.

[Buffafly in reply to Joedee]

I also worry about looking after grandchildren, or I did when they were younger because I began to have near blackouts because of heart pauses and there was the worry that I might have a cardiac arrest (nobody bother to tell me how unlikely that was, it is easy to let your imagination run when you are in charge of such precious peeps). Anyway now I am 'cured' I don't worry (about that at least). But I do have a strategy for anxiety which is to imagine a 'worst case scenario' and plan as best I can for that, so I asked my daughter if the children were aware of 999, which they were. Anybody can have an accident or sudden illness and children should be taught as early as possible how to get help. There have been cases of 2 year olds calling 999 appropriately.

Jodie_Scott22

Can't delete name above, try again, Joedee maybe you could teach your grandchildren a little basic First Aid and use of 999, or 111 if that is too extreme?

[Paddinton]

You can get a emergency system installed, where you where a button and have a base unit connected to a phone. The more expensive buttons can detect a fall. Age Concern sell one (it's a subscription), there is one called Lifeline. You may be able to get them to check on you regularly as well. Not sure about that though. They keep numbers to call in an emergency, and can call the ambulance etc if needed.

[7Helena]

How does the alarm connect to the phone? I may be stupid but I don't understand this.