Three weeks ago 2 ladies came to our front door around 3:20 PM. The elderly one said she was worried because our next door neighbor usually picks her up at 8:00 AM and she hadn't heard from her.

I went over to the house with them and tried the doorbell, knocking then the doors to no avail. As the frustration and fear levels rose we decided to get my husband and ask him if he would jump the fence to try the back door.

Luckily he was able to enter through the back door. As we waited and worried in the front yard we noticed there were no emergency numbers, keys or contacts available for this woman who lives alone.

A few short minutes later my husband appeared at the door and urgently said to call 911. Apparently she had fallen the night before outside and came in to take a warm bath to help her legs.

After a bath she says she must have been weak, very weak because she could not get out of the bath tub.

But it looked as if she had tried to get out of the tub and took a fall, bumping her head. (Bath tubs are pretty unforgiving).
When we found her she had been in the tub for approximately 18 hours.

She was in shock and cold lying with a bath mat over her which she had pulled atop her.

The medics removed the shower doors to get her out and it took 8 of them to get her onto the stretcher.

As she was rolled out she said she had to be getting home because she has a puppy and a husband to care for. She had no idea she was at home and that everything was being taken care of.

But this was where my troubles began. I needed to find emergency telephone numbers, medical and social security information.

We found a list of family and friends Dr.'s and some of her medications which the medics took with them.

I began calling family out of town, friends...anyone who might know her to tell them about her condition. We gladly took the puppy home with us because it would have broken all of our hearts if it had gone to the animal shelter.

Please, if you have health problems, live alone or are elderly do everyone (mainly yourself) who cares a big favor, follow these instructions:

1. Make a list of emergency contacts including family friends, neighbors and include their names and telephone numbers.
2. Entrust a neighbor who is close with a key to your home.
   
3. List who has keys to your home so they will be able to get to you sooner. This way nobody will have to break a window or call a locksmith (Saving your life may depend on this).
4. Make arrangements for your pets.
5. Make arrangements for the meter-reader.
6. Make a list of your medications.
7. Include your real name and social security number, date of birth.
8. Install a first alert system in your home. You know the commercial that says "I have fallen and I can't get up!" (We installed this the day she returned home. It hooks in to the telephone line and uses a notification button which the person wears around her/his neck. This is pretty slick because it is dual purpose. It not only calls 911 but it serves as a speaker so the person on the telephone can hear what is happening inside the home.)

To wrap this up we love our neighborhood and are blessed with some wonderful neighbors who do care. The beauty of a community that cares is together we can make it safer and a better place to live. We watch out for each other which decreases the worry and fears...that's what community is ALL about!

We're glad to have our wonderful neighbor home again. She has been the block watch captain for several decades and now it's our turn to watch out for her!