At the very least, it seems that the Alaska State Troopers need to review their procedures when a person inside a home is thought to be incapacitated.

In addition, this story serves as a reminder of the value of the Lifeline emergency call system.

Hardy, 83, was in her house at Anchor Point that day when she fell and was unable to get up and answer the phone, her daughter Mary Tony says.

Tony has written to the governor and all 60 legislators detailing what happened to her mom. She says she never wants this to happen to anyone else.

Tony, who lives in Fairbanks, said she called the Troopers in Homer on the Tuesday after Halloween when Tony and her siblings were unable to contact their mother on the phone.

She said a trooper went to the house, but would not go inside. The house was dark and her car was in the driveway.

She said she begged the trooper to break down the door because she was sure something had happened to her mom.

After a series of calls to Tony and her siblings, the trooper told her a locksmith would have to come by in the morning, she said.

“I was deeply upset and begged him in tears to just break the door or window down and see if my mother was lying on the floor in need of help. He staunchly refused because his superior would not allow him,” she said.

 ”The next day, I was able to contact a family friend, Madelaine Pruitt, who immediately went over, found the door unlocked and went in to find my mother still alive on the floor in the pantry. She said the trooper must not have tried the door handle very hard because it opened easily for her.”

Hardy remains in the hospital, where she is recovering slowly, her daughter said.

“It is a miracle she survived and a testament to the strength and spirit of the pioneers of our state,” Tony said.

“My mother is a registered nurse, she came to Alaska in 1948 and served as a nurse to hospitals in Kodiak, Anchorage, Juneau, Dillingham, and Fairbanks. She was a community health aide in St. Marys for a brief time. She cared for children of the TB epidemic, chronic inebriates at alcohol treatment centers, and the mentally ill who were hospitalized. She raised and homeschooled her four children as a single mother in a remote log cabin she built.

“Three of those four children have college degrees. People would come to our cabin for medical care or to bring letters for her to read to help them understand and she would type letters of reply for them. She helped organize the native village during the ANSCA by serving as a secretary at the meetings. She grew up in Maine and is hardworking, independent, cares deeply for others and is of great faith,” Tony said.

 ”In her retirement, she has devoted herself to concern for the emergency services personnel—troopers, coast guard, and emts, and has spent her days praying for their safety on calls. She refused a lifeline call button because she was afraid she would accidentally push it and the EMTs would have to come on icy roads and be put in danger. She has spent her life in service of others. She does not deserve to be treated like she was by the troopers and left to lie on her floor without food or water,” she wrote.

 ”My sister and I live in Fairbanks, one brother lives in Anchorage and one brother in Nikolai. We are unable to afford to go to stay at the hospital in Homer to be near her during her recovery and we are trying to get her moved to Denali Center in Fairbanks where we can visit her until she is well enough to leave the hospital,” Tony said.

 ”Let me end with this: the way my mother raised me and the way the spirit of Alaska is for me-if each of your mothers was injured, lying alone on the floor in the dark of her house, I would not hesitate to break the door down if you called me to check on her," she said.

"The Alaska I grew up in was a place we took care of each other.”

The governor’s office is looking into the matter. So is the head of the Alaska State Troopers. They didn’t want to comment until their inquiries are completed.

Rep. John Harris included the gist of the letter in his latest newsletter. He says that Alaska is still a place where people show care for each other. Harris said he intends to follow up on the situation.

I hope that Hardy gets well soon.