1-800-916-0138
Many of our medical alert system customers are adult children purchasing the system for their mothers or fathers. They get peace of mind knowing that their parents will be safer in an emergency. Often they feel like they are, in a way, paying their parents back for some of the times that the parents were there for them.
We love to hear the stories and get to know our customers. Whether it is teaching a child to ride a bike, standing proud at a graduation ceremony, or helping install ceiling fans at a new house, the stuff dad does can often go under-appreciated.
With Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, we wanted to show the important role that dad has in being there for his children. We recently reached out to a few of our subscribers and asked them to share a story or two about how their father was there for them at some important point in their lives. Here are a couple of their stories:
The Bike
“I was nine years old when I got a brand new BMX bike for my birthday. It was beautiful. It was fire engine red and had it all. I couldn't wait to get out and ride. That Saturday morning a couple friends rode by on their way to the hilly trails near my house. It was the perfect place to try on the new bike and have a little fun; it was the first Saturday of summer. I grabbed the bike out of the garage, let my mom know where I was going, and I was off. This was back before they made you wear a helmet, and pads that covered most of your body.
The summer air was already heating up, but I was just so excited to be out on my bike. Up and down, crisscrossing the hills near Black Diamond State Park, I rode that bike like it was meant for me. Well, until I crashed that is. I caught some loose rock coming around a turn and slid sideways off the trail and tumbled thirty or forty feet down the side of a steep hill.
When I finally stopped rolling, it took another couple minutes for my head to clear. I must have bumped it something pretty good, but the pain was coming from my ankle. I was sure I had broken it. I was scraped up from head to toe, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my ankle. I tried to work my way to a standing position, but couldn't. It took a couple minutes for my friends to work their way down the hill to get to me, but as soon as they did, they confirmed the worst. There was actually bone sticking out near my ankle.
One of my friends nearly threw up. The other just got on his bike and was pedaling hard as he yelled back that he was going to get help. What seemed like hours, but was probably no more than one, went by before I heard some sounds coming from the direction that was the closest to the park’s parking lot. We were probably six miles in and the park’s trails were too narrow for a truck, but there in the distance, closing the gap quickly, was my dad. I was so relieved to see him.
My whole body hurt, but just seeing him coming up the path made me feel like everything was going to be OK. In no time he had made a makeshift splint, had wrapped my ankle up to stop the bleeding and was carrying me down towards the parking lot. He carried me for almost four miles before we got to where the truck was parked at the base of one of the trails. He took me to the hospital and I had surgery later that day. I didn’t get to ride that bike again until September and I was riding it to school. It sucked to be in a cast for most of the summer, but it could have been so much worse. I am so thankful that my dad was there for me that day. The peace I felt just seeing him come up the trail, I’ll never forget that.” – James R. Antioch, CA
Date with Dad
“I am proud to say that I have always been somewhat of an overachiever in my life. My dad likes to say that it was my stellar upbringing that gave me such a work ethic and he’s probably right. Don’t get me wrong, I was never the smartest person in my class, or the best athlete on my team, certainly not the best dancer, not the best violinist, or the best cook, but I always worked hard at all of it and won plenty of awards simply for trying my best.
Yes, I grew up in the era of try your best and participate and you get an award. The difference between me and the rest of the kids out there was that I was trying my best at everything life had to offer. I was a poet, an archer, a girl scout, an orange belt in karate, a volunteer at the hospital, a forward on the soccer team, a first base-woman on the softball team, a debater on, well, the debate team, and I dabbled in a few other hobbies as well.
After graduating college I started to focus my efforts a little more in a single direction and I finally figured out what I truly care about in life. I started working in education with a goal of making sure the hundreds of hobbies I had in my youth would still be available for the children of today and tomorrow. Budgets get cut, but a well-rounded education helps children to figure out what their passion is.
For me, it was a passion to take in all the life had to offer, but more and more of the kids today simply don’t have the opportunities to try things out for themselves. I launched a program in my state that, put simply, created a schedule of rotating classes from school to school where high school students could sign up as an elective and each week they would dive into something completely new and different. Horticulture, soccer, sushi, punk music, square dancing, and the list went on and on. It was designed to keep students on their toes while exposing them to activities and cultures they may never get an opportunity to check out otherwise.
The pilot program was a huge success and, well, I was getting an award for it. This award, however, was a very big deal. I was being given an award in education by the Governor of the great state of Texas at a formal gala being held at the capitol, and boy was I excited! I had a date, a dress, and a pair of shoes that would knock your socks off.
The odd thing was that I was finally getting an award for something other than trying hard, but I didn't really care. I just wanted the opportunity to talk about the program and hopefully get it some additional funding for the next year. It was about an hour before the limo was going to get to my house to pick me and my date up for the event and as I was in the hurried jumble of getting ready, I got a phone call from my date. He canceled on me. He gave me some lame excuse, said he was sorry and hung up the phone.
Now, of course I still had to go and going by myself wouldn't have been a big deal, but I was stressed out and crying through the mascara I had just put on. I called my best friend who also happened to be my mom and I cried some more. A half hour later, I pulled it together, got ready even with puffy eyes. The doorbell rang and I grabbed my purse. At the door was the limo driver and I said something about a change in plans and that it was just going to be me for the evening. He had a look of confusion in his eyes and said, “But ma’am, I have already picked your date up. He is in the limo now.” Was I going crazy? Did the last hour just not really happen?
I get down to the street and standing by an open door to the limo is my father, dressed in a tuxedo with flowers in his hands. All he said to me was, “Sorry we’re late, honey. I made him stop so I could get you some flowers.” That night my dad was there for me. My mom told him what happened and how stressed out I was. He just went into the bedroom, cleaned up, put on a tuxedo, called the limo company, and was there for me. Best date I have ever had.” – Jillian S. Austin, TX
One Call Alert enables independent living at home for seniors and others with 24/7 medical alert monitoring. One Call Alert is simple to use and reliable. Our No-Installation-Needed system delivers emergency care with just one push of a button. Whether you had a minor slip in your kitchen or you are having a medical emergency, One Call Alert will be there for you.