Falling All Over the Place

Falling can be a dangerous thing. Over the years this miscalculation of distance, height, ground condition and simple misstep has given me much to reflect on and be thankful for. I did not break a leg, ankle wrist or arm.

My first time at unrehearsed air dancing occurred as I climbed on to our ceramic 50's stove while trying to clean behind the refrigerator beside it. I stepped onto what I thought was a secure step stool. When it collapsed, I tumbled onto the floor, rather gracefully, considering. ... The harshness of this maneuver left 4 scars on my wrist, a reminder of my first foray into skydiving.

From there, I moved onto a more rigorous training program of falling on lightly dusted ice. Not realizing I was walking on thin ice, I soon felt the wrenching pain of my leg muscle as it made contact with the cold, hard ground underneath. Gravity was my enemy. ... Then there was my slip and slide glide down two steps into a room. Gracefully walking into the room, I realized very quickly the ease of a nightgown attaching itself to the inside of a slipper as I carried a small glass of juice. Down I went. The mess was around me but, thankfully, it was not me. The glass remained still clutched in my hand, though half of its contents were spread every which way. The cleanup began.

One morning as I began healing from my two month exposure to the drug Fosamax, (a drug for bone density), I slid down a flight of stairs. It seemed comical at the time. What purpose is served feeling sorry for oneself? It happened. It's over and I'm alive- two things in my favour. As I sat there, I had hoped that nothing was broken. I stood up, grateful for the sensation of pain that was present but did not envelope me. I sat on the floor for awhile before trying to stand up. Everything still worked! With a diagnosis of osteoporosis, many years ago, I wondered that if I moved would something crack under the weight of my body? I waited a bit, laughing again at this latest attempt to fly. Would my body react to my laughing by signalling the brain that this old lady was quackers, laughing and not crying out in pain? I got up, ever so grateful that I was able to move, bend and clean up after our dogs and cat. ... Some things just seem to cry out 'gratitude'.


I worried about bruising. So, I upped the vitamin C 'dose' to include more freshly squeezed grapefruit/orange juice combo. I paid attention to my thoughts. I had read that the body's reaction to illness, pain, old age and injury can, to a certain degree, depend upon how we view these health transgressions at the time of their occurrence and the remedial action taken. Pity parties are self indulgent. So I laughed, hoping my body and brain would join me and send the right 'armies' to help me heal. I think it worked. ...Since that time, I have fallen, tripped here and there, but managed to regain my equilibrium. Am I testing my pain thresh hold? I need to walk slower and continue with my all manner of 'dancing'. Keeping flexible, agile with a positive attitude helps in the healing when any fall occurs.

The greatest health mishap for me, though, occurred several years ago when I slipped in the kitchen while holding a pot of boiling water and pasta. (Did the hot pasta cushion the atrocity as the contents spilled over my upper body?) Aloe Vera 'juice' from a plant, nearby, helped to soothe the pain and the burn's physical assault on my skin. ... A visit to an emergency health clinic the next day was planned. The following day, after a change in my burn's status, I visited the emergency department of our local hospital where treatment was administered to my 2^nd degree burns. Finally, the healing had begun.

Through this latest health mishap, I laughed whenever recalling this dreaded event. That evening, phone calls came from each of our three sons, enquiring about my health status. “Is Freddy Kruger there?' “May I speak to Freddy?” My skin seemed to be wrapped very tightly around my fingers and forearm. These observations seemed to figure into their comical spin on my burn injury. I laughed and laughed. Why not? (The benefits of laughter on mental health and healing are well known.) Our sons' concerns for their mother was quite funny and since I was simply in pain, laughing seemed to be the only treatment option left open to me.