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Senior Praises Life Alert for Saving Her Life after Assault and Robbery in Her Home
Home alone one day, 83-year-old Opal E. was assaulted and robbed, threatened at gunpoint, then hit on the head and shoved in a closet, unconscious. When she awoke, Opal realized there was no phone in her room. She was dazed and injured - making movement difficult - and scared to go to other rooms for fear her attackers might be there and kill her. Luckily, Opal wears a Life Alert pendant, which she pushed while still in the closet; without having to leave her room and risk a fall or another attack, help came in minutes. Opal praises Life Alert for saving her life, as it saved her mother years before.
Encino, CA (PRWEB) July 9, 2006 -- Imagine being 83 years old, home alone, and facing a gun at your forehead. Opal E. had to face this harrowing experience.
One afternoon last month, Opal, who lives alone, was expecting a contractor. When two men happened to come by around the time the contractor was due, she assumed they were working with him.
She was wrong. The men assaulted and robbed the elderly woman. One of them grabbed her and, with a hand on her neck, pushed her to the bedroom. He grabbed her by the shoulder and she got a long look at her attacker. Both his hands were on his gun, pointed squarely at her forehead. “Being a religious woman,” says Opal, “I thought: if he pulls the trigger, it will be a fast death. I will be in a better place.”
Instead, the robber hit Opal’s head, hard, and shoved her into a dark bedroom closet. She estimates she was unconscious 5 to 10 minutes. Upon awakening, Opal realized where she was, and that no phone was nearby – it was in the bathroom across the hall. She knew it may take a long time to get to the phone, since she was dazed and injured - and leaving the room could be dangerous, since her attackers might still be there. “If the robbers had come back and found me alive, I’m convinced they probably would’ve shot me,” she says.
Fortunately, Opal always wears a Life Alert pendant around her neck. Still on the floor of the dark closet, she felt around for her pendant, found it, and pushed it. (This signaled Life Alert dispatchers to send help immediately.) The senior then struggled to pull herself up, and held the closet door closed, afraid the criminals may be present. Once she felt safe, she left the closet, holding onto furniture to struggle across the room to lock the bedroom door. Still frightened for her life, she guarded the door for a few minutes. Finally, she peeked outside the bedroom; feeling the immediate area was now safe, she crossed the hall to the bathroom, locked the door and called 911.
To her relief, 911 said that the police and fire departments, as well as paramedics, had already been contacted by Life Alert; before the 911 call was over, help was already at her home. Thanks to Opal pressing her Life Alert pendant right after waking in the closet, the assistance she needed arrived fast. Paramedics then stayed with the senior for 24 hours in her home. Her grandson was now there, since notifying family after a pendant is pressed is part of Life Alert’s service, so she felt safe and well enough to remain at home.
Opal has had a Life Alert unit for approximately two years now. She swears by it, and recommends it to all seniors. “Life Alert saved my life. They summoned the police and paramedics, who got here just minutes after I pushed my pendant. I’m sold on it.” In fact, Life Alert once rescued another member of her family. “My mom wore one too,” she explains. “In 1989, she fell in the kitchen and would not have been able to contact help without Life Alert. For older people who live alone, it’s worth every penny.”
About Life Alert:
Founded in 1987, Life Alert is (on average) saving a life approximately every 45 minutes, using a unique technology to provide its members with state-of-the-art home monitoring and protection. This service, endorsed by former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, gives seniors the peace of mind to keep living longer in their own homes. In fact, the average Life Alert member enjoys independent home living for an extra six years – and according to ACNielsen Research, 87% of members said the protection provided by Life Alert is a “main or important factor” in their decision to keep living at home, rather than going to a nursing home. Across the nation, seniors living alone rely on Life Alert’s 24/7 response system to ensure their protection against medical, theft, fire or other emergencies.
For more information about Life Alert, and its home monitoring/protection services for seniors, call 1-800-360-0329 or visit the Life Alert website at www.lifealert.com.
Contact:
Dr. Don Rose
Public Relations
Life Alert
1-818-700-7000 x103
www.lifealert.com
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See the original story at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/07/prweb409043.htm
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