Okay, this maybe too much information, but I typically get up once in the night to go to the bathroom. Usually around 4 a.m. It's pretty routine. I can do it in my sleep . . . or so I thought.
The other night I got up as usual, stumbled into the bathroom and for some reason I tried to lean against the edge of the shower. I stuck my arm out. Felt my hand bump against the wall. Then it slipped. Next thing I knew, I was keeling over. I hit my head on the edge of the shower.
I caught myself before I fell over completely. So I just banged my head a bit. But, ouch, it hurt! I stood there for a moment. Rubbed my head. I'd only fallen the length of my arm. How bad could it be?
I proceeded to go to the bathroom, then take a drink of water, and go back to bed. I fell right back to sleep.
I popped a couple of Tylenol and went about my day. I did some yardwork, ran through my exercises, read my book, watched TV. To be honest, I felt a little fuzzy, especially toward evening. I probably should have rested for the day instead.
The next day I still felt a little fuzzy, but the soreness had mostly gone away. Ironically, I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon. But it wasn't with my regular doctor, it was with an orthopedist who was checking out my bad knee. He gave me a Cortisone shot, which I've been getting about once a year for the past few years. That seems to be enough to keep the arthritis at bay -- along with the knee exercises I do almost every day for 20 minutes or so.
It was the day after that when I saw on the news some fellow in the Midwest had gotten into a fight. He was knocked down. He struck his head in the parking lot, and he died before he even got to the hospital.
My head was pretty much better by then. Still, the news report gave me the chills. I realized a head injury is nothing to scoff at, nothing to ignore.
And, of course, neither is the prospect of falling. I've fallen a few times. Once in the shower, around 2014 or 2015. I remember I slipped on the slick shower floor. I grabbed for the soap holder, yanked it out of the wall, and took the shower curtain and shower rod down with me as I fell over the bathtub. I ended up with a nasty bruise that ran along my side from the top of my thigh up to my armpit.
I couple of years later I tripped over one of those cement bars in a restaurant parking lot. I scraped up my hands and arms pretty good. Then last year I slipped on a wet railroad tie on a golf course. (See After the Fall.) I got another big bruise from that one. It took about a month to go away.
In case you think I'm clumsy (well, okay, I am)), I'm not the only one. B tripped on the sidewalk last year. For some reason she couldn't get her hands out in front of her, so she went down right on her face. That was pretty ugly . . . although she eventually healed up, no scar. She took another fall this past winter on the walking path in the park -- slipped on a patch of ice.
As I've reported before, every year some 3 million older people are treated in emergency rooms for fall-related injuries. The majority of severe hip fractures are caused by falls.
So now I've learned to be careful in the shower. In the parking lot. On the golf course and now when I go to the bathroom at night. But is that enough?
We've been told to make sure our stairs are well-lit, to keep a light on at night. We get rid of throw rugs and other tripping hazards. Keep our cables and wires neatly stashed away. Watch out for wet tiles in the bathroom and kitchen. But beyond all the obvious things, just please be careful. It always seems to happen when we least expect it.
17 comments:
The older we get, the more our brains shrink and bounce around inside our cranium when we get hit like that. I'm glad you are okay, but a fall that causes us to hit our heads is always a possible danger. It's one reason I decided at 72 to quit skydiving. :-)
I'm so glad you are ok! It's especially harrowing for those of us who live alone. I have motion activated nightlights; this way if I get up at night, my way will be adequately lit. I'm not ready for one of the life lines, but my Apple watch has a fall detection sensor. It works! It you fall, it asks if you are ok. If you say no, or if there is no answer, the watch automatically dials 911 and also your identified emergency contact.
Ouch! I'm glad you're OK but I know how careless we can be with getting medical attention. I didn't know about the Apple watch. Thanks Carole.
One of the major causes of idiotic trips outside is as we age we don't live our feet high enough to avoid those slightly tipped flagstones or cobble stones or little potholes that can catch our shoe. I had a bad smash on a sidewalk in Toronto (in my running days no less!) from a slightly askew flagstone.
XO
WWW
Yikes. So glad you have recovered though those days of fuzziness you had would have had me to the doctor. I am super careful around the tub but have done a face plant like B did on my porch. Not fun nor pretty. We are a lot more fragile these days so a reminder to be careful is always helpful. Thanks.
March 6, 2020. I was washing dishes at our kitchen sink. Next I knew I was laying on the floor yelling for my husband to call 911. Did I slip on a rug, or water, an untied shoe? I have no idea. I looked to my left and my left arm seemed to be lying about 5 feet away from my body. I tried to bring it closer and it did not move. My first ever ambulance ride and I hear him say, "we are running red". Arrived at hospital and the nurse directed "room 1 - trauma". Five hours later sent home packed in ice with a displaced spiral fracture of the left humerus. (Note: don't fall after lunch on Friday. Cant' do anesthesia after eating and by the time it leaves your system, the Friday night fun and games have hit the ER.) A five hour surgery after the weekend with a 7 inch metal rod, nine screws and 27 stitches. 5 months of physical therapy. I am thinking of reflooring the kitchen in those egg carton mattress pads.
Glad you're okay Tom, but ouch this post and some of these comments are making me wince! Living alone and no Apple watch (yet) I feel like an accident is just waiting to happen. This past Sunday I had a pot on the stove, was on my tiptoes rooting around in the cupboard above it, smelled a slight burning smell and a long thread danging from the hem of my t-shirt was orange at the tip and climbing up fast, I must've jumped 5 feet back. I will never get in the cupboard above the stove when there's a pot on the burner again. PS. I get up in the middle of the night too, but I don't "go in the dark" anymore!
Thanks for the reminder... "Please be careful". However, as careful as we try to be, these things seem to happen in a split second. The one time I fell hard, it was on a hotel floor that apparently had just been mopped and no sign put down. I had bruises on both wrists and my side where I hit, but the biggest problem was that it jarred my head and back so much that I had a headache and sore back for days. And I too get up in the dark at least 3 times during the night. Am I awake... not completely. But I do have the sense to move slowly.
I am glad that you and B have not sustained any permanent injuries. I have fallen several times over the past 10 years, too. So we must all be careful.
The first thing to do after a fall is to apply ice; it will relieve pain and reduce /prevent swelling.
Outdoors, it's good to have with you cold spray used by sportsmen - it's called Ice Spray; or approach some kiosk selling ice cream, and ask for some ice from the icebox.
People who use a ladder to do some work, should wear a helmet, even a light one is better than nothing.
For this elderly person, my head hits the ground before my brain knows I'm falling. My last fall was a face plant. As seniors we find it difficult to realize that we are prone to falling in many ways. Our strength and balance isn't what it used to be. Our hand eye coordination is off. Our reaction time has slowed down. Hey, I'm a basket case!
I wonder if we could get that fall detection sensor on an iPhone -- not that it would do me any good in the middle of the night, but otherwise it might be helpful. I think I'll look into that Ice Spray. But at least I have enough sense not to climb a ladder anymore.
Agree with everything. I find with bad knees I don’t pick up my leg/feet enough and shuffle which has increased my risk. Moral of the story-pick up your feet when your walking and always grab on to something if at all possible!
So important to be careful. I watched a good friend go through a broken hip from a fall she took on one of those early morning bathroom trips. I got religion about doing yoga and improving my overall balance because I DO NOT want to go through that!
I'm glad you are ok! I have fallen/tripped more in the last few years than I did in my first 60. I have become overly careful (and hate feeling like a little old lady), which has helped but I still lose my balance now and then when I am not paying enough attention to my surroundings.
I started paying attention to my feet about nine years ago when I tripped and fell twice in six weeks. I used to be able to walk just fine without paying attention.
My husband has spinal stenosis with sciatic pain, and two weeks ago he fell twice. So now we have an "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up" system.
Oh my goodness, Tom! Thank goodness you were OK.
I’ve been known to take a number of falls too. The worst was probably in the Sams Club parking lot where I fell forward like a tree and hit my head on the pavement. Shoppers stopped and told me they actually heard my head hit the concrete. An ambulance came and I was too embarrassed and refused to go with them. They gave me an ice pack though and I had the biggest lump on my forehead. Later, everyone told me I SHOULD have had it checked. Oops! I was OK though. It happened over 5+ years ago and I’m still here so I hope that wasn’t what caused me to lose my sense of smell and taste. Hmmmm....
Ah well... anyway, my husband put up grab bars on all three sides of our bathtub.
Hi Tom! Darn! Sorry to hear about your fall but definitely appreciate the reminder about watching where we step. My balance certainly isn't what it used to be. I haven't "fallen" like you or B lately but I did fall over on my e-bike twice since I got it last August. It is the same brand as my regular bike that I rode for 10 years but with the battery element the balance isn't the same. Then add in the additional speed that comes with the battery and it's requiring some new learning!!! I think I've learned now where and how it is different and how to avoid those same mistakes but you never know do you? I think the best we can all do is to be more mindful AND work on strengthening our balance as much as possible. At least that's my hope! ~Kathy
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