Why Companion 24/7 Is Better for Safety

After experiencing a fall where she could not easily get help, Lillian talks about the advantages of the Companion 24/7 system.

My name is Lillian Gergely. I am 86 years old. I grew up in Wilson, Pennsylvania.

This is my husband and myself. The day we were married were married April 24th, 1954. We were childhood sweethearts. So we went to school together, and every time we came home from school, and in those days we walked down, you know, so I got all my school books carried for me because he would carry my school books. He was a very loving man and he was a good man, and he loved his children. He loved his grandchildren. And he was always happy. And we had, like I said, we had a good life together, you know. We would have been married 66 years to say for him had he lived. When he passed away, we were married 63 years and we had many good years together.

He had some health problems toward the end. But he always said to me, I'm so glad you're here for me. And it makes you feel sad. And you just wish that, well, I always wish he would have been there. But one reason I always wanted to make sure that I would be there to take care of him. So I always prayed that if one of us had to go, it would be him first so that I would still be there for him, you know.

We got the call that one morning, I think it was about 5:30 that he wasn't doing well. And all the girls and some of the family went over and he passed away not too long after that. It was quite a shock because I didn't really expect it to happen, you know. At least he didn't lay and suffered. So that was a good thing, you know. Even now, today, sometimes I'll wake up in bed and I think he's lying next to me. I look over and he's not there. And I don't like being alone. I never did. So I do get lonely sometimes.

The one time I fell getting out of the bed, and still to this day, I'm not sure how this all happened, but I fractured one of my ribs. I think I just waited until the morning because I didn't want to bother anybody. I just sat on the floor and waited. And I think I scooted myself into the living room and I got the phone and I called somebody.

I really don't like the pendants. Say like if I'm doing chores and I hit it up against the dryer, it goes off. And then at night, if you put it on, if you would go to sleep and you roll over, it comes on. You know, and my children holler at me because I don't wear it all the time. But sometimes I just forget it. And other times, I just don't want to wear it, you know.

Her Daughter:

Yeah. When I heard that she sat there all night, I said, Mom, why did you do that? Well, what was I supposed to do? Well, of course, my response is, well, if you didn't have that button sitting on the bedpost and it was around your neck, it would have gone off.

We found out about Alexa through my daughter-in-law. Kate had heard about it, and she thought it was a great possibility that would make Nanna feel better about being at home by herself and would make all of us be able to go to work and not worry about her as much while we were gone during the day or at night. That if she needed something, it was just in essence a phone call away. And she didn't have to do anything.

All she had to do was just, you know, call Alexa and say, hey, I need help or, you know, I need Donna or Kate or Debbie or Linda. And that we were just... We'd be there for her.

https://vimeo.com/410285824

Lillian:

Makes me feel more comfortable. And I know that that's there, and all I have to do is tell Alexa, call one of my children. They'll be there.

Her Daughter:

I feel that since we've had the Alexa speaker installed, my mom feels a lot safer. And I feel so much better because at least I have peace of mind knowing that if she needs something that she can call. Makes you feel more comfortable and more secure in your home, that at all times you're just able to tell Alexa to call somebody and you know, you're gonna get those people on the phone.

No one could ask for a better mother than her and a grandmother and great grandmother because she just... She loves... She always has doted on everybody and she still does to this day as well as she can.