Married almost 30 years, when Ron Virgin started to see signs of his wife's decline, he was devastated.
“As it progressed, as her disease more (tears up)...it was just getting to the point where I couldn't, we couldn't go anywhere,” he said.
Diagnosed with Alzheimer's 8 years ago, he started to notice her taking walks and completely blanking. That's when he knew he had to do something.
“She doesn't wander, but I guess I'm trying to prepare myself when and if she does," Virgin expressed.
He invested in the Project Lifesaver tracking system and now calls it his saving grace.
“It gave me peace of mind I guess," he said.
The tracking device is from the group Project Lifesaver and is currently used by the Erie and Lorain County Sheriff’s Offices.
“The average time with the receiver is less than 30 minutes," said Deputy Ron Schittker, with the Erie County Sheriff's Office.
Found in many states across the country, what makes this one so special, is if Virgin's wife gets lost, MetroHealth's LifeFlight chopper will be there to assist.
“It's a transmitter, it's a radiofrequency and each of our clients have their own frequency assigned to them... Now you got service from the air to help track over the different terrains," Schittker said.
New to this 30-year-old program, it’s the only addition right now of its kind in Northeast Ohio and one of the few in the U.S.
Here's how it works, if someone with autism or Alzheimer's wanders off, the tracking device, worn on their wrist, will sound the alarm for both on the ground and air search crews.
“By taking one of those operators in the air and a helicopter now we can narrow that focus really down to a small sector... And our hope is will be able to cut the search time way down and be able to find a client that much quicker and get them to medical care if necessary," explained Bryan Bly, Head Pilot of MetroHealth’s Life Flight program.
Something Ron Virgin said is why he chose to get one.
“Anybody that can use it should use it, gee whiz you wouldn't realize until it happens to you," he said.
Now since the Life Flight addition to project life saver just launched this week, they haven't had to use it yet, but they tell me pilots are ready to go in an instant when needed.
