Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Good neighbor

Monday evening a bit before 11:00 PM, the police were summoned to a south Lincoln home by a mighty good neighbor. He hadn't seen the 91 year old next door in a few days, and had noticed three newspapers at her front door. Her car was visible through the window of her locked garage. Thinking this highly unusual, he called 911.

Assessing the circumstances, The Southeast Team officers who responded had an uncomfortable feeling, and made the decision to force entry. They were able to do so with minimal damage to a screen door, and a little nifty work with a lock pick set. It's a good thing: the resident had fallen and was on the floor, unable to get up. Lincoln Fire & Rescue was summoned, and she was transported to the hospital in good condition.

It is quite posssible that her neighbor saved her life. Thank God he was acquainted with her and alert to the unusual circumstances. Had it not been so, she may have suffered in agony alone. She is blessed to have a such a good neighbor. I wonder how many other elderly Lincoln residents, living independently, are so fortunate.

If you happen to have a single senior citizen next door or across the street, this evening would be a great time to make sure you strike up an acquaintance, and put yourself in the position to be the ultimate good neighbor.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

As A single senior citizen I thank you, Tom. Not all of us can afford those expensive alarms.58

Clean said...

Don't forget Meals on Wheels. Besides delivering food each day (which many independent-living seniors can't provide well for themselves) the drivers who deliver the meals get to know their "customers" and know when something isn't right.

Anonymous said...

When I think of how many times in a 28 year career I've been called to 'check welfare' calls like this and they thankfully turned out to be nothing.

It was worth it though for the few that turned out to be legit calls. I couldn't imagine sitting there unable to move wondering if help will ever come.

Anonymous said...

This doesn't apply only to senior citizens, but anyone who lives alone could find themselves in a situation where they have fallen and can't get to their phone.