NEWPORT NEWS, VA — It's an accessory that could be lifesaving.
Recently, the Newport News Sheriff's Office received a grant to buy special equipment for families of senior citizens with Alzheimer's and dementia. With the help of a small gadget, loved ones of individuals who tend to wander off are provided a sense of relief. Once they wear one of these, they can then be tracked a quarter-mile circumference away.
Inside the home of Barbara and Kenneth Mello, there are many clocks, however, time hasn't been on the side of this married couple of 47 years.
Barbara Mello said her husband suffers from Alzheimer's Disease.
"It seemed to just happen overtime during the start of the pandemic. Everything changed. It's like they [Alzheimer's patients] fall off a cliff and it was just shocking. It was just really hard to watch because I've known him for over 50 years and it's just not him," said Mello.
Barbara's husband was once a well-known endodontist, but his neurological disease has hindered his ability to do much of what he loves and even communicate with his family.
"He has aphasia so he can't speak anymore," adds Mello.
Mello says the biggest challenge has been ensuring his safety because about two years ago, he caused quite a scare for his family.
"I had run outside to do an errand and he was wandering down the street until a neighbor found him. "That was the first time he has done that, he just walked out the front door," says Mello.
Even at night the family has to almost sleep with one eye open and have had to get special locks on their doors in case Kenneth wonders at night, which he has done before.
"When it first started happening and I didn't have the locks I didn't get any sleep. Every couple of hours I was up," says Mello.
Mello says she now has an anklet, offered by Project Lifesaver through the Newport News Sheriff's Office, which is used as a search and rescue tool in case he does wander off.
Captain Gross, of the Newport News Sheriff's Office, said a recent $6,000 grant from the Alzheimer's Foundation of America has come through to offer bracelets and anklets to more people, helping to track them and bring them home and out of harm's way.
With the help of a receiver, the devices are able to pick someone up a mile away or within a quarter-mile radius.
Captain Gross says these bracelets are free for people in Newport News who need them, so families like the Mellos can rest easy.
To learn more about the program, you can click the link here.
