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With her furry friend Pebbles by her side, Emmy feels safe and independent in her own home, thanks to a new addition, an innovative smartwatch that detects when she has a fall.
Emmy has an active lifestyle and generously donates her time and skills to others. Often out and about in her local community, she wanted a wearable personal alarm that she could rely on at all times and especially when she has a fall.
Emmy chose a MePACS Solo watch to solve her problem.
“I really needed the MePACS Solo watch because I started to have falls quite frequently,” she said.
“My main risk time has always been at night. Last December, I went to let the dog outside and the next thing I know, I’ve passed out on the ground and hit my head on the corner of the house.”
“I can be a little unstable on my feet in the morning as well, and when I get out of bed, I have to be very careful about how I do it. When I broke my hip, I lost my balance that particular morning and had to drag myself along the floor to find a phone – the one in the kitchen was too high so I dragged myself back to my bedroom with great difficulty to ring for help. That’s a scary situation that sadly many people can relate to.”
Emmy unfortunately had another fall earlier this year and broke her wrist.
“The first thing on my mind was knowing I needed medical assistance. I was in pain but able to call for an ambulance and be taken to hospital. I am still recovering now but am quite lucky to have my family to help around the house and look after me.”
“It made me think about what would happen if I was unconscious or couldn’t talk – how would I tell someone that I needed emergency help? That’s why I have the MePACS Solo now, because it has automatic falls detection and can alert MePACS for me.”
“You don’t know when you’re going to have a fall or medical emergency of course, but it is better to be prepared and safe than sorry.”
Emmy wanted a personal alarm with access to a 24/7 monitoring service after she was the first contact for her own mum.
“My mum used to have an alarm that would call me whenever she pressed it, on purpose or accident. She used to live in a retirement village but I didn’t have a key to her door, so I had to sometimes wake up resident managers to help and obviously that was a bit of nuisance and could take quite a while. I didn’t want that to happen to me.”
“The great thing about MePACS is they can support you 24/7, and they have a professional team in emergency response to assess what level of help you need,” she said.
“If I tell them I want an ambulance, then that is the first priority. I don’t want them to ring my children first if they can’t give the most appropriate help.”
Emmy enjoys keeping up with modern technology and loves that she can adapt the MePACS Solo to suit her needs.
‘I like how it is so discreet that sometimes I don’t even realise I have it on. You just see that you are wearing a watch – it’s very familiar and in a convenient place,” she said.
“I also use the sleep monitoring app to monitor my sleep pattern and see how often I wake up throughout the night.”
She even had the bright idea of changing the watch band to make it easier to wear, so she ordered a magnetic band online.
“For seniors like myself, it can be hard to use the clasp on a normal watch. Samsung Galaxy watches are already in the market so I just researched and found a magnetic band that matches my rose gold MePACS Solo watch. It’s still very secure and effective and the rose gold is a very stylish colour – it goes with everything!”
Emmy is kind and charismatic. She enjoys a bit of craft, visiting family and caring for her 4-year-old Cavoodle Pebbles, who adores her daily walks in the sunshine.
“Usually I don’t spend a lot of time at home, so I’m quite glad that I can wear my device wherever I go. I’d like to stay independent as long as I can,” she said.
“Now I also have the confidence to go for longer walks with Pebbles. I don’t have to worry about how I would get emergency help anymore.”
The MePACS Solo watch was the right choice for Emmy, and MePACS also has a range of personal alarms to suit your needs. We recommend speaking to our friendly team on 1800 685 329 for more information.
My mum has the MeePac Samsung watch and it is fantastic. But…. it keeps going off. As in the button are easily pressed accidentally. eg. in bed when arm in under the doona. In the shower with the water. The sleeve on your jumper. Would anyone have any ideas how to stop this happening? Does anyone else have this problem?
Thanks for your feedback. MePACS are currently looking at ways to reduce accidental presses on the watch, but we are happy to always respond to ensure you are safe. Some clients have told us if they swapped the wrist the watch is on, that has reduced accidental presses.
I have a Mepac alarm and have had it on a chain around my neck for years.na few months ago when my machine had to be replaced I asked the chap about changing it to one that I could wear on my wrist. Unfortunately I’m suffering from a skin condition and have found that it is causes it to be hot and sweaty so I’m wondering if it would be possible to change it back again. I don’t want to cause you any trouble as I’m very grateful for having this as my support in case I have more falls.
Hi Joan,
Yes, that is possible – simply call our team on 1800 451 300 and they will be able to assist you further.
Take care, Alayna from MePACS.