“I thought I was keeping a good eye on my husband,” Flora* said. “When I looked up from planting the flower bed, the gate was wide open and he was gone. I panicked and ran to the front of the house to look for him. That’s when I saw the police car coming down the street.”
Flora and her husband Bob* were in their backyard when he slipped away without her noticing. He wandered down to the corner drugstore and told a cashier that he was lost. She told him not worry and then she called police. When they arrived, they found Bob’s ID in his pocket and drove him home.
“Could he wander off and get lost again,” Flora asked the Alzheimer’s Association care consultant. “Is there anything I can do to keep him safe?”
Keeping a loved one safe
A person with memory impairment can wander at any time. If wandering has already occurred, it will most likely happen again. The care consultant said that Flora was fortunate that the police returned him home. Next time, this may not be the case.
Flora took notes as the care consultant shared some home safety strategies, such as installing safety locks on windows and gates. Another option for Flora was enrolling her husband in MedicAlert® + Alzheimer's Association Safe Return®.
“I have to get my husband enrolled in MedicAlert + Safe Return,” Flora said. “I want to take as many precautions as I can. Can you help me?” In a matter of minutes, the care consultant had enrolled Flora’s husband into the program.
