alternative to cell phone?

DHVT

My wife with mid-stage Alz enjoys walking our dog in the neighborhood. However, she sometimes gets lost if she takes an unfamiliar route.

I have been adamant about her taking along her "pouch", which includes a flip phone and a GPS tracker. 

The GPS has been wonderful and gotten her out of trouble several times. However, it's not always easy to interpret. Yesterday, for example, I thought she was stuck on a dirt road because her icon didn't move on the map, but it turned out she was just chatting with the property owner. I went out to get her unnecessarily....better safe than sorry.

The problem is that she has a difficult time making or taking calls on the phone. I guess the buttons are confusing, and with a dog leash in one hand, it's hard to manipulate.

I'm trying to find something that takes little or no ability for the user/wearer, and is reliable. Two possibilities I've found:

A set of walkie-talkies with one left in the always-communicating setting. Then either of us could just speak and be heard by the other. The two problems are that they're fairly big and heavy compared to the phone, and I'm not sure the range would be adequate here in the hilly, wooded county we live in.

The other idea is a medical alert device that, with one push, connects her to a representative at the company. This is primary for emergencies like falling down, but I wonder if it could be used to tell them to let me know she needs finding/picking up. 

So basically I'm looking for the modern equivalent of two tin cans and a string. Simple, direct, foolproof communication when needed. 

Would greatly appreciate any suggestions!

harshedbuzz

It sounds as if you have reached the stage where no electronic device can keep you wife safe and it's time to move onto human supervision. If she's to the point where she can't use her flip phone reliably, then I wouldn't expect her to learn to use a new and novel device. 

A medic alert device or Apple Watch would call EMS without her prompting it in a hard fall, but if it's a false alarm (I had one last week diving into my top-loading washer for a sock) and she can't follow the prompts to let them know she's OK they'll turn up and you could be charged for the call. There is an option to link a senior's device into a family member's iPhone you could look into that but it likely wouldn't offer more peace of mind than the GPS you're already using.

A medic alert bracelet/pendant would require action on her part to get help. If she's to the point where she can't use her flip phone reliably, then I wouldn't expect her to learn to use a new and novel device. The alert pendants are not set up to alert family.

HB

A. Marie

HarshedBuzz is right, I'm afraid. It's optimistic at best to expect any new learning at this point--including learning of unfamiliar technology, no matter how simple it may seem. Bit by bit, we all get to the point where this disease (or group of diseases) sucks away every bit of our LOs' and our own independence. I send solidarity to you and everyone else in this huge rotten boat.

mommyandme (m&m)

It sounds like she’ll need a human, walking companion, unfortunately.  I know that doesn’t really help and I’m very sorry!