I’m a member of the Sandwich Generation. This membership places me in the middle of the family order. On one side, I love, cherish, and worry about our children and their children. It’s only natural. On the other side, I love, cherish, and worry about the elder parent side. It’s only natural.

As a family grows, so does the love…and the worry. My step-mother is now 90, a young 90. She drives, travels, and exercises. Her age is beginning to catch up with her, which also is only natural. I spoke with her last night. She has a virus and is confined to her home. There is a support system in place where she and her neighbors check on each other regularly. There is also a security system in her apartment consisting of a pull-chord in the bathroom and one in the kitchen, but that is minimal. She’d have to be in the room to use it.

I worry about her. What if she became weak and collapsed, slipped and fell in the shower, tripped on the rug in her bedroom or in her living room, or went for some fresh air outside and fell down the stairs -  away from the two pull-chords? She may not be able to call for help or too ill to do so.

During lunch today at school, I expressed my concerns with other teachers who also have elder parents. I learned that some of them have the ADT Personal Emergency Response System. With this senior citizen security, one teacher’s parent wears a waterproof pendant and one wears a waterproof wristband. If they have a medical emergency, all they have to do is press a button. By pressing the button, the signal goes through the phone line and ADT home security is contacted.

I visited their website and read up on ADT and their senior citizen security system. ADT is the #1 security company in America. I found they are offering AARP members 50% off installation and $2.00 off monthly monitoring which is a total of $74 AARP savings on the first year.

I’m going to contact them for their free home evaluation. With a medical security system in place, I’ll worry less knowing she’ll be monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by a company that has always had a respectable reputation. 

Have you used ADT for home or medical alert security? If yes, let me know your opinion.