Tracking Bracelets Rescue Alzheimer's Patients Who Wander

In the evening she suddenly said she was going home, opened the door, and took off at a rapid walk for downtown.  It was after dark, cold and raining. 

I caught up with an umbrella, and tried to persuade her to return home. I called for emergency help on my cell phone.  Someone with a car came and we persuaded her to get in so we could take her home.  We were soaked and cold.

At my client's house I slept on a couch next to the door so I would wake up in the night if she tried to leave again.  At about 2 am she got up, tried on several outfits, and got ready to go home again. 

I had to let her keep trying on outfits to wear to "go home," and talking about making a trip, until she got tired.  We discussed each outfit in detail while I hoped she would get sleepy again. Then she decided to wait until morning to leave.  

Because she knew how to unlock the front door I could rest but only doze lightly, not sleep.  After three days of this another caregiver had to replace me to give me some relief, and I went home to mostly sleep for two days. 

Then I was back for several more days.  We rotated caregivers for three weeks, until an Alzheimer's facility near her adult children was found that had room for her.  A tracking bracelet would have been a good safety precaution for her, as she continued to leave at odd times day or night.

In another instance of wandering, a lady with Alzheimer's slipped out of a skilled nursing facility with 110 residents where I worked.  She probably walked out with a group of visitors.  The doors were locked and a receptionist would "buzz" the door to open it.

When she was discovered missing police began search and rescue, but hours went by without finding her.  Then a call came in from a family who lived several blocks away. 

They had returned to their unlocked home to find an elderly lady taking a nap on their sofa.  She was wearing a wrist bracelet that identified her as a resident at the skilled nursing facility.

These stories highlight the need for safety for Alzheimer's patients who wander.  A tracking bracelet would be a good safety measure.  If someone has not previously wandered that does not mean he or she will not suddenly take off one day.

For example, the gentleman with Alzheimer's, who rode a bike 20 miles from home, was found within only hours because he wore a tracking bracelet. 

By that night he was safe in his own home again.  His family and friends could breathe a sigh of relief. 

When I arrived to care for the lady who had wandered downtown previously, there should have already been some additional safety precautions in place, such as a door alarm, and a tracking bracelet.

The lady who slipped out of the skilled nursing facility and wandered shows that even living in a locked facility is not totally secure.