Living on her own, Te Puna resident Maureen James got a St John Medical Alarm a few years ago. But admittedly, she’d only started wearing the alarm necklace 24/7 about six months ago. And lucky she did.

The 87-year-old had an accident on January 14 that left her on the floor of her home with broken bones and in excruciating pain – and no-one knew that she’d fell.

“I’d just came home and bought my groceries into my island bench.”

There was an unusual helicopter flying nearby – and she wanted to get a photo of it. “It sounds stupid, but I thought: ‘I’ll run inside and get my phone. As I ran inside the corner of my big toe caught the bottom of the aluminium doors.

“It flung me around across to my island bench and I tried to grab hold of it.” She ended up in a heap near the aluminium door and had broken the top of her femur (thigh bone).

“My other leg was up – good job because the one I’d fallen on was broken and flipped me over.”

Left in shock – “things happened so quickly” – James found she couldn’t move. “I couldn’t have got to my phone by myself. The pain was horrendous.

“I just pushed the button [on the St John alarm necklace]. St John talked to me straight away. They said: ‘Maureen, are you alright?’ I said: “I need an ambulance, I can’t move, I’ve had a fall’.

“I asked them to call my son as he works over the shed near my house – but he’d already gone home. He and the ambulance were there in no time!”

James is so glad she no longer removes her alarm necklace. “I don’t why we take them off…it may be a pride thing, but it’s only a silver chain. If you’ve got one, put it on!”

 “I now think it’s best buddy. They are an amazing thing – whether you’re young or old – and you’re on your own,” said James, who thanks St John and Tauranga Hospital after her week-long stay.

To arrange a free in-home demonstration of a St John Medical Alarm or chat through the options, call 0800 50 23 23, visit: stjohnalarms.org.nz or talk to your doctor or nurse.

About one in three people aged 65-plus in New Zealand will have a fall every year, according to Age Concern. To educate seniors on how to avoid falls, Hato Hone St John is hosting three events – in Tauranga, Te Puke and Katikati – in coming weeks. See their advert on this page.