I was wrong. Fortunately for me, it wasn't I who found this out the hard way.
Last year, my favorite ex-sister-in-law, who also lives alone, did exactly what I'd always feared I would do - she climbed on a chair to kill a bug on the ceiling, then fell off as she tried to climb down. She landed wrong, which broke her upper arm, and there she was. On the floor. And, she couldn't get up. She's in decent shape, but that didn't matter. She thought about it, she tried. But every time she moved or rolled a bit or attempted to stabilize her arm so she could get up, her body just said, "nope!" End of discussion.
Fortunately for Christie, she has an Alexa speaker. Once she recovered from her shock enough to think, she asked Alexa to call 911. Alexa said she couldn't do that. Hmmm... THAT wasn't what Christie wanted to hear. It took a bit longer, but she managed to collect her thoughts enough to have Alexa call her brother, who, long story short, came over and got her the help she needed. *whew*
I took her story as a warning. I don't have Alexa hanging out with me, and there are weeks where I don't see or talk to anyone for 2-3 days running. That's a long time to be lying on the floor in pain, should I fall at the exact wrong time. I don't even want to think about it. So, I looked into my options.
I thought about going the smart speaker route, but I have three levels in my house, work outside a lot, and also have a workshop in the garage. That's a lot of ground to try to cover.
Next, since I have an Apple phone, I looked at the Apple watch. I hadn't been interested in them before. I'd seen the hype, but figured they were expensive, glorified, step-counters, and I'd been there, tried that. While it's nice to have data showing me if I'm reaching my exercise goals, it's never proven to be necessary.
Despite my skepticism, it didn't take a lot of digging to decide the watch was the best option for me. I CAN use it to call 911, as long as my phone is somewhere on the same wifi network or nearby. Not only that, the latest version, which I have, will theoretically call for help - unless I tell it not to - if I fall off a ladder and manage to not destroy the watch upon landing. (You just know that part of me would really like to test this, however, so far, I've listened to my more rational side, which says to just trust the advertising.)
Now, I haven't worn a watch for several years, and haven't missed it. Fortunately, my new call-for-help button has a bunch of other bells and whistles, which motivate me to actually wear the thing. It measures my exercise levels, and reminds me to stand up and move once an hour. It checks my heart rate while exercising, and can even do an ECG and check blood oxygen levels.
And, bonus, it does the Dick Tracy thing. Yup, I can talk to my watch. It even replies! I feel like I've landed in the future every time I answer a call that way. It makes me laugh!
A fancy step-counter, indeed. Much classier than the 'I've fallen and I can't get up' necklaces, don't you think?
God willing, I'll never need to use it to call in an emergency, but I must admit, it does make me feel a little less vulnerable when I'm alone. And I'll take all the less-vulnerableness I can get these days.
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