Falling

So, on Sunday morning I had finished the Trib's crossword puzzle, finished my internet tasks, written a blog post for Monday, and prepared for SCORE appointments approaching. Went into the kitchen to toss out the newspaper and spotted a coffee spill on the floor. I grabbed a sterile wipe to clean up the small mess. In doing that my right foot slid on the tile. The leg kept sliding out from under me. The tile floor was too slippery for me to regain a standing position. So, I calculated a gentle slide down to the knees and rolled over. This probably took about 20 seconds, but it seemed like 5 minutes.

Once down on the floor I assessed my situation. Rocky was in the bathroom doing his shower, shave and meds, and God only knew when he would be back into the bedroom with hearing aids in, fans off and able to hear my call for assistance!

I was able to move around on my butt, came to know my knees were painful but not injured, nothing wrong with the ankles, but my lower back was strained a bit. Touchy. Growing awareness of strained muscles surrounding 4 failed disks.

I realized I could not stand up on the tile; too slippery. So, I crawled on hands and knees to get to the carpeted hall with a hall runner for increased padding. Knees were not usable on hard surface but padded made movement possible.

Again, I assessed my situation. Again, Rocky could not hear me. I had hall walls and doorways to leverage against, but I still didn’t have bracing to raise up to a half standing position. I reconnoitered options. I noticed dirty floor, dirty carpet, scratched base boards, and other signs of living in this apartment going on 9 years. But then, resting, I got on my knees again, and crawled to a space with the dining room table on my left and Rocky’s recliner on the right. I hoisted myself up a bit. I realized my legs were in position for a push up if my upper body strength was up to it.

It was! I rose to a full standing position.

Again, I assessed my options. I slowly got to my computer where my phone was left, cancelled a dinner engagement with my sister-in-law, and cancelled my SCORE appointments for the day. I will stay close to home and my recliner which is powered to help me sit down into it and to rise to a standing position.

Now, I am 79 years old and moving all too quickly to 80. This is the trouble age brings and best if we prepare for it. I will speed up the search for elder living with assists available when needed. Not sure anything exists like this we can afford, but the look is preparation for working with the County for housing assistance. That might just work out fine. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, this incident produced giggles and guffaws once I was in a better position. I just know this will be a source of humor for years to come. That’s OK. We are both doing as well as you would expect at our respective ages and ailments. Age will not be denied its travails. We need to learn to live with that.

Now, I just have to figure out what calendar items today need to be cancelled or reconfigured.

August 22, 2022