Program ICE Numbers in Parent's Phones

By now you may all know about programming "ICE" in your cell phones, but have you also done something similar for your elderly parents?

Just in case you don't know what ICE is, this was an idea that was pushed in some parts of the country several years ago. The idea is that if you are ever sick or injured, rescue personnel usually check your cell phone for someone to contact, many of the bigger cities emergency responders automatically check for ICE - which means "In Case Of Emergency". If you program the people you want called under the category of ICE, they will know to call that number.

For example, I programmed my phone with: ICE-Matt (husband), then added my husband's phone numbers. I also have my daughter listed. Since I spend a long time in the summer in Arizona at my mom's, I also have her programmed as: ICE-Mom(AZ#), so she will be the 1st one called if something happens while I'm out there. I've also programmed my husband's and kid's cell phones the same.

Then it dawned on me a few years ago that while my mom and mother-in-law both used cell phones, neither one of them could even access their voice mail, let alone program a number into it. So the next time I went to visit, I programmed both of their cell phones with "ICE" contacts of both family and in-town friends. A couple of years ago when my step-dad passed away, I went through my mom's home telephone and added ICE numbers to that also.

If anything happens to her (if she is becomes ill, falls, etc.), emergency responders and neighbors will be able to easily contact us. My father-in-law passed away this fall, so when I go out to visit this summer I plan to program my mother-in-law's home phone with emergency numbers also.

This gives me a little peace of mind knowing that if something happens to either one of them, it will be easier for someone to contact me.

By Judy = Oklahoma from Tulsa, OK