You'd be amazed at how many home visits start off just that way. Making the rounds to our patients is never dull and each person has their own story to tell. This one-day I arrived at the home of an elderly gent who lives alone and that was my greeting "Did you hear what happened to me this week?" I replied, "No, I sure didn't. Why don't you tell me about it." "You know that Life-Line that I didn't want to get?" I certainly did. I had begged, pleaded and cajoled with him for months to get hooked up with the system that responds when you've "fallen and can't get up". He reluctantly agreed to "try" it for a month and it had been installed last week. "Well Friday evening I went out to the kitchen to heat up my Meals on Wheels. I don't know what happened but I lost my balance and fell backwards," he said seriously. "Now I didn't get hurt or nothing but no matter what I did I couldn't get up. I was just like a big June bug spinnin' on my back there on the kitchen floor." I had to hold back my laughter from the imagery. It was obvious by looking at him that he hadn't sustained any serious injury so I let him continue with his story. "So you know what I did? I pushed that alarm button I was wearin' and next thing you know those boys from the Rescue Squad came in and picked me up!" "You know, it made me think. I didn't get any phone calls or visitors the rest of that day, all day Saturday or all day Sunday. You're the first person to come by since I fell. Without this button, I'd still be on the floor now. I guess I'll keep it." We may not be able to predict the future but risk assessment and resource coordination continue to be vital to keeping our patients safe in their homes. ~J.R.