I ordered Lifeline for Maggie, my next door neighbor, after her recent fall. We found her alive on the kitchen floor. A true miracle after lying on the floor for several days. Taken to the hospital, diagnosed with low sodium, she was later transferred to a rehab center and discharged back home. It seemed a practical idea to order Lifeline to call for help if she fell again.
I read the instructions and plugged the unit into the wall and waited until a voice announced “we received your message, please wait.” So we wait a minute, then five, another five. What gives? If someone fell, I would assume they would get a response immediately. I call customer service and told that ‘their lines are busy.”
Seems odd that if you fell you would expect an immediate response. The customer service agent asked: “ Are there any bars showing on the back of the unit.” This is the signal that the unit is connected to the cell towers. After a few minutes, two green bars appear. The agent says that’s good but makes the comment the signal is weak, trying plugging the unit near a window. Once again, I find an outlet near a window, point the unit north out the window and no “green bars.” The agent suggests try another window, this time the unit is facing East and after a few minutes two green bars show up. Now the chaos begins.
While I am on my cell phone with customer service, I am getting calls from the Bethany fire chief, at the same time my wife calls to say that she got a call from 911 that there is an emergency and the ambulance is being deployed. WHAT’S GOING ON!!!
The agent has no clue, but I contact 911 to say we are only testing the Lifeline unit and there is no emergency. The ambulance is called back, but there is a knock at the front door and it is a volunteer fireman responding to the emergency call. We assure the young man that Maggie is fine, but the Lifeline unit is “sick.”
I shared what happened with the Lifeline agent and they have “no clue” what happened and suggested to wait five minutes and she would call for a reset on the unit. Then she asked, “does the house have a metal roof?” Why yes. Maggie’s roof was leaking 10 years ago, she had no money, and I found an agricultural grant to replace her leaking roof with a 50 year metal roof. The agent reports, “ATT signals do not work in a house with a metal roof.” Does she have a land line and the answer is no. She uses cell service to save money. The solution, send the unit back to Lifeline for a refund.
It's good to know that when you need God, your prayers will be answered despite whatever material you have on your roof, even a metal roof.
Lord,. I pray for all my Sonshine Friends to keep them safe. If they can’t use Lifeline where they live, I pray they have good neighbors to check on them to make sure they are safe. Maggie’s sister promised to call her daily to check and she has my number to call anytime for an emergency. However, if you know a solution, please contact me.
