To worry about dying alone

I once collapsed on the bathroom floor one min I went to the loo the next min I awoke on the cold floor...manage somehow to crawl on hands n knees to bedroom n get my mobile and ring DD it was a virus I had I got better but it did frighten me. Neighbours have a key of mine.

my friends who all lived on the same private row of houses set up a call system...one would ring the other at certain time of the morning the other would then ring the other neighbour (sounds complicated but it worked well) they would give 3 rings on the phone to say all was well...on 2 occasions I and a neighbour had not heard back from one of the people..so we went in with the key and shouted upstairs not reply shouted again no reply...we started panicking only to hear a voice "who is it" ...!! he had overslept...!

This house is like Piccadilly Circus , but I remember my Mum and my MIL both opened the curtains before going to bed so the neighbours wouldn't notice if they had a lie in !

This is a dread for many people as we age. Would it be a good idea to arrange with someone that you will call /text them every morning by say 10 am and if they don't get the call or text they can check up on you or raise the alert.? Most mobiles have free texts nowadays and this will be my plan if I ever find myself living alone. At the moment DH and I are each other's alert.

We have just agreed to curtain watch for a couple of neighbours who live on their own. One just had a thr and it dawned on her that she could have fallen and not been noticed for days!

It is a scary prospect but maybe you could do something like that with your neighbours.

Where do you live Soucerer? Do your neighbours also live alone? Do you have health issues?
Do you get out and about during the day? Can you join a local group doing something you are interested in. It sounds to me like you need to get to know those around you or make some local friends.
Please do chat to us here. There may well be a meet up in your local area where you can get to know more people.

I have a similar worry because I have a cat and the thought of her locked indoors with no food and no way of getting out if I die in my bed is horrendous. At least during the day she can get out via the cat flap but she does not have 24/7 access because I do not want other cats coming indoors.

I do have a cleaner who comes weekly but otherwise it is by invite only. I have no family and friends live many miles away.

The only practical suggestion I have is that you get yourself one of those bracelets which you would wear 24/7 and if eg you fell you could press it and help would come. This does not get around the fact that you or I may die in our sleep. Maybe somebody else will come up with a better suggestion.

I live alone with no family and have the same fear. When I was ill recently I didn't open my curtains for a week and none of my neighbours called to check I was OK - and one of them has a key!