topic Re: So THIS Happened in Community Chat

So THIS Happened

Anonymous032819 — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:12:52 GMT

I was using my weed eater to clean up my front yard today. When I had finished, I was wrapping up the cord (it's an electric weed eater), when my foot caught on the cement walkway.

I could feel myself starting to go down. When I realized that I couldn't stop the fall, I told myself to not fight it.

It was like it happened in slow motion. First my knees hit, then my torso, then my hands.

There I was on the ground, flat on my stomach. Being 50, I took a quick assessment. Nothing was painful, but I did skin the heal of my left hand.

Other than that, I'm fine. But maybe from now on I'll call someone to do the yard work.😏

Re: So THIS Happened

gidgetgh — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:16:23 GMT

I had a horrible fall in 2012. Really horrible. It felt like it took me forever to fall. Extreme slow motion. I asked my husband why he didn't stop my fall and he said that it happened so FAST that he couldn't.

Re: So THIS Happened

dulwich — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:23:03 GMT

@Anonymous032819 A sensation you do not need to experience again ! Glad you are o.k. But not a nice happening.

Re: So THIS Happened

Boomernichols — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:35:44 GMT

@Anonymous032819 Glad to know you are ok after this ordeal. Falls can really put the hurt on one. My mother fell and broke her arm and leg on the same side in one night....

Re: So THIS Happened

SouthernBee — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 22:02:42 GMT

@Anonymous032819 : Relieved that you are ok and no major injury. Yes- cheaper and less painful to hire someone else.

Re: So THIS Happened

catter70 — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 22:52:46 GMT

Well, I'm so glad you didn't hurt yourself, though you may be sore tomorrow. Be careful out there.

Re: So THIS Happened

grandma petes — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 23:03:58 GMT

So glad to hear you're okay. I took a nasty fall like that two weeks ago and ended up breaking my elbow and had to have surgery to put screws and a plate put in to stabilize the bone. Take care and I hope you're not too sore.

Re: So THIS Happened

Annabellethecat66 — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 23:29:49 GMT

First and more importantly, I'm glad you are not seriously hurt.

The way you described your fall reminded me of March...last year; at the height of COVID.

I was standing in the foyer, my front door partially opened. My friend was on the outside. We'd been talking for about 10 minutes when Bill the cat decided he was going to run outside!

He is an inside cat. He's never tried to get outside.

I bent down to grab him and his body slipped through my hands. There he was with his feet moving but he was not going anywhere. I had a hold of his tail.

Before I knew it...my feet slipped on the rug and..trying to get my feet under me...I propelled my body up against the steps. The minute my back hit the step and my head hit the step above it.

The pain was terrible. When I was I8 I fractured 3 vertebrae. It healed but as arthritis set in (I'm 74); the back pain even before this accident was terrible. I was being treated for the pain.

At that time we were being told to stay away from hospitals. I have a blood disease where I have very little immunity so I had no choice but to stay away.

I laid in bed for 2 weeks in severe pain. My back Drs office had closed down because several people there had COVID.

My daughter kept calling. She lives in Colorado. She hopped on a plane. She took over my care. She found one of my back Dr's offices and made appointment for me to see his associate. She found a place where I could get an MRI done.

My vertebra had been fractured into 2 pieces. But it had started healing incorrectly. Finally, I went to an associate in his office. She took large and small mallets and a chisel. She broke it open, poured cement into it.

It has been healing but I'm still left it severe pain 24/7. Because of where the bone is affected, there hasn't been much I can do...until now. I did a Skype appointment with my PA and she said there's a brand new procedure that might be something that would relieve some of my pain.

I think most Drs would all agree that falls are one of the worst things that can happen to seniors.

I'm so happy that you aren't hurt badly. I hope everyone is careful.

Re: So THIS Happened

Pooky1 — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 23:46:11 GMT

I know how you feel. I was pulling weeds today and then I pulled my pool robot out of the pool and I was walking across the patio and I lost my balance and robot when flying to. I'm ok and I'm allso 50. Hope you continue to feel good. Sometimes the next morning you feel it.

Re: So THIS Happened

LizzieInSRQ — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:59:43 GMT

I think you'll be sore tomorrow. Glad you didn't break anything.

Re: So THIS Happened

Jk9 — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 03:19:30 GMT

So glad you are ok @Anonymous032819 . Seems several of us have hit the ground recently. I was weedeating a ditch last weekend and my boots were slipping around. I felt myself start to fall and I just let go and fell on my back . Not resisting seemed to help me land better. Was quite stoved up for days but think it cold have been a lot worse.

Re: So THIS Happened

Carol Diane — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 03:35:23 GMT

I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate cords. Last summer my husband didn't put our pool's filter cord under the mat and I was carrying food outside and didn't see it. My foot got caught and I went down. Horrible feeling being stuck under the cord and falling forward. I skinned my knee and was sore for a few days. THEN... about 3 months later, again I was carrying something and my foot got caught under another cord. This from someone who hasn't fallen in about 12 years. This time I broke my wrist on carpeting....I put my hand out to break the fall. It's been a nightmare since. I had a plate and screws put in. Seven months later I had it removed because it was irritating. I also had a neuroma taken care of. Now the internal scar is painful and my dr told me it takes time together better. Moral of the story - beware of cords. I swear at the fan cord I tripped over everytime I see it. It feels like I've been dealing with this forever.

Re: So THIS Happened

Lindsays Grandma — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 05:12:50 GMT

@Anonymous032819 ... I am so glad that you didn't get hurt and believe me I know that awful feeling when you are going down and can't stop it. The main thing is that you are okay and you have given yourself some very good advice. Are there any High School kids in your neighborhood who would like to get paid for a few hours of work? Stay safe...

Re: So THIS Happened

hckynut — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 06:34:37 GMT

@Anonymous032819

As one that has done a lot of falling, over decades, even rather recently! Your experience is nothing like the hundreds of falls I have taken on ice skates. It is just the opposite, and that is why you learn how to fall as a skater, even practicing.

I have told my experiences to many ice skaters, the were not hockey players or proficient figure skaters. As a hockey Ref, you are at times, at the mercy of the ice conditions. A hole here/a rut there, and so on.

Many times during games you have to go from forward to backwards(always facing the play). Flipping directions is not a problem for those proficient at ice skating. It's the unknowns that are the problem. Like the ruts I mentioned.

You are skating at a high speed frontwards and flip to go backwards.The next thing you see are the lights on the Arena ceiling. No slow motion, or time to think. It's an automatic reaction of how to fall with the fewest bumps/bruises or worse.

Glad you didn't get badly hurt and at my age, being 50, is a plus. Hope you don't have any delayed reactions to your fall, they do happen.

hckynut

Re: So THIS Happened

shy bobcat — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 18:10:19 GMT

@hckynut Can you share a few tips on how best to fall to avoid injury?

Re: So THIS Happened

shy bobcat — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 18:12:11 GMT

@Anonymous032819 What a scare! So glad you"re ok!

Re: So THIS Happened

Anonymous032819 — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 18:25:09 GMT

@shy bobcat wrote:
@hckynut Can you share a few tips on how best to fall to avoid injury?

@shy bobcat

Back in 1980 - 1981, my mom took Aikido lessons. She told me that if you are falling, you relax, don't tense up and try to fight it.

Ever notice how when a drink driver gets into an accident they have very few, if any injuries, while the one that they hit, has severe injuries?

Ever wonder why that is?

It's because the drunk person is in a relaxed state, whereas the victim tensed up.

So, if you are falling, just relax, and go with the momentum, try not to tense up.

Re: So THIS Happened

hckynut — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 22:52:42 GMT

@shy bobcat wrote:
@hckynut Can you share a few tips on how best to fall to avoid injury?

@shy bobcat

Falling backwards, in general, the looser(more relaxed) the better. Ice skating, if a good skater, the only reason you fall backwards is the reason I described in my first post. This is related to hockey, not figure skating. For that you might ask "icegodess(not sure that is exact nic)".

Falling frontwards is much easier because your feet are behind your. You have your arms/forearms/wrists and fingers to help break your fall. You might sprain or break a bone, but it is much better than falling backwards, because for many the 1st thing to hit the ice might be the back of your head.

Learning to skate young is the best. You are close to the ice and weigh much less. Learning as an adult? If you are afraid of falling? I would not even attempt it. Anyone that skates often is going to fall, regardless of their skill level.

Unlike a smooth basketball court, ice is not even close. Good maintenance is paramount, but in all my decades of skating, perfect ice is a rarity. From up in the stands it looks as smooth as glass. Skating on it nothing close to perfectly smooth, thus the chances of falling.

I have fell many times when not skating, but have had, at worst, bone bruises. Muscle and tissue bruises, but those heal up much quicker.

Bone bruises, at times, don't even show up for weeks, but you know they are there. When they do show they are much darker in colors than tissue bruises, and don't go away for a long time.

Please try not to fall, but if you decide to inline(roller blade)skate, or ice skate? Read what I said above if it is your 1st time, and if you are afraid? DON'T!

hckynut