1. < Caregivers: Dementia

I just discovered a safety blanket—and it's free!

Posted by bclane @bclane, Mar 23 12:30pm

I happened to come across an article about an app called Snug. The website is: https://www.snugsafe.com/. It downloads to a smart phone (either OS or Android) and you set up emergency contacts and a time to get a text that checks on you. It sends reminders ahead of the time, and if you don't check in within a reasonable amount of time after the time you set, it sends texts to your emergency contacts. There is also a paid version that does phone calls instead of texts and allows you to set up more than one daily check-in time.

The tragedy with Gene Hackman and his wife made me start thinking about what would happen if I suddenly had a stroke, heart attack, fall down the stairs, etc. My husband is far enough along in his dementia that he would not know what to do. We live inside a forest with no neighbors right next door so it's not like anyone would notice right away. Probably most of us who are caring for our spouses are old, too, so this seems like a great thing to have. My first check-in day was today, and it went great. I set up three emergency contacts, but I don't know if there's a limit. I do plan on running a test one day where I don't check in and see how fast it notifies my emergency contacts (but I will warn them ahead of time not to send the cavalry unless they don't hear from me!).

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Caregivers: Dementia Support Group.

dbamos1945 | @dbamos1945 | Mar 23 2:22pm

@bclane: Wow! This sounds like a service that could help every caregiver have peace of mind! Thank you for sharing, and kudos for the ingenuity that provides this service!

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Teri | @tsc | Mar 24 3:33pm

Hi @bclane,
Thank you for your excellent post. I'm with you.
The tragic deaths of Betsy Arwakawa and Gene Hackman have weighed on me heavily. We are in the same situation you are.
I did set up a daily text with a close friend who lives quite a distance away and my next step is to get some emergency contacts she could call who live nearby if I don't check in. I have to get over my reluctance to impose on people and ask for help.
Meanwhile, I will check out snugsafe.
I attended a Caregiver's Conference Friday given by the Alzheimer's Association here and one of the presenters said that women caregivers get outside help less frequently than men caregivers do. Apparently, women think they have to do it all.
Betsy was taking care of Gene by herself. I wonder if their celebrity status made her reluctant to get outside help, fearing what would be posted about them on social media. (That's just a thought).
I plan to call a social worker at our HMO and ask for help with a plan. What if I'm incapacitated and can't take care of my husband? What can I have in place to make sure he gets placed into a care home? Who could iniiate that for me?
Anyway, I'll post about this if I have something useful to offer.
Take care.

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bclane | @bclane | Mar 24 4:15pm

You might be right about Betsy Arwakawa wanting to keep their lives private. Their house was fairly large, I believe, and I was surprised she didn't have help taking care of it (other than the yard work, I mean). I would assume they could have afforded housekeepers and even a nurse, but who knows?

My husband has adult children from his first marriage, and I know if something happened to me, they would see he got into a good care home. Their mother's second husband died of Covid during the worst of the pandemic, and he was her caregiver. The kids (funny to call them that since they're old people, too!) saw that she got into a good place. I never had children, so if my husband goes before me, I will figure out something for myself that makes sense.

I'll be interested to hear what you find out.

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1 reply
Teri | @tsc | Mar 25 1:35pm
In reply to @bclane "You might be right about Betsy Arwakawa wanting to keep their lives private. Their house was..." + (show)
@bclane

You might be right about Betsy Arwakawa wanting to keep their lives private. Their house was fairly large, I believe, and I was surprised she didn't have help taking care of it (other than the yard work, I mean). I would assume they could have afforded housekeepers and even a nurse, but who knows?

My husband has adult children from his first marriage, and I know if something happened to me, they would see he got into a good care home. Their mother's second husband died of Covid during the worst of the pandemic, and he was her caregiver. The kids (funny to call them that since they're old people, too!) saw that she got into a good place. I never had children, so if my husband goes before me, I will figure out something for myself that makes sense.

I'll be interested to hear what you find out.

Jump to this post

Hi @bclane, I'll post when I have some information, hopefully useful.
You're fortunate to have supportive family members.

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vivi75 | @vivi75 | Mar 27 7:10pm

Thank you so much for sharing this. So many of us just need a little "Peace Of Mind!"

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