Another fall

I got up early to do my Sunday chores, make coffee, and let the dogs out/feed the animals. I was finishing up and was about to wake up my friend, and only had to take out the trash, the litter, some reusable shopping bags, and the recyclables. I also had some soda out in the trunk of the car that I was going to bring in so I'd be awake and perky for the Call of Cthulhu game. I was going down the steps of the porch with the first load and had a sudden pain in my right hip area like I'd pulled a muscle, but I made it on down. This was on top of the sciatica I've been having, which has not only been painful, but it's been making me have trouble lifting my right foot completely--something that's already an issue, as that was the foot that was slightly turned in when I was born but corrected as I grew.

I was coming back up and I had to come up with my left foot first, which is my bad side (my bad knee), and it gave out and I somersaulted completely off the porch, thankfully not hitting the concrete or brick as far as I know.I did hit the ground hard and wound up in the front garden on top of the Virginia creeper and a rose bush next to the front porch. I couldn't move at first, and I tried calling my friend (I try to keep my phone on me for this very reason), but he was asleep, and he is very hard to wake up. I tried to sit up, but I was really dizzy. I was contemplating calling 911, but decided to give it another try, and I finally managed to do sit up after the second call. I was skinned up on my right arm (I think that did hit the porch) and pretty much sore all over, especially my right hip and my right shoulder. I called a third time, with no success.

I managed to roll over away from the porch, then crawled over to it and bring myself up. I'd thankfully missed the petunias completely, although I'd fallen on a couple of logs. I went up the couple of smaller stairs with my hands and feet, then carefully went up the bigger step that had been the problem before, all without my sandals on, so I'd be in contact fully with the concrete, and picked up the soda and my shoes, and pulled myself over the step into the threshold by using the wall and post. I then put things down.

I then stopped my arm from seeping blood where it had been skinned up, walked back to my roommate's bedroom, and slapped him on his leg and woke him up, telling him I'd fallen and he'd slept through the whole thing and I hated how deeply he slept. He did apologise, and we talked about how I could have been there all morning, dead for all we knew, and he'd have gone and gotten his coffee, assuming I'd gone somewhere, and he'd be sitting there watching Charmed, and our friend would find me in the front garden next to the porch laid out on the roses.

Anyway, I'm resting now. I don't think I need to go to the ER. I am very sore, especially on my right hip and lower back. My friend told me to make sure not to lie down because I'll just go to sleep and we're not 100% I didn't hit my head, at least on the ground or a log, at least not on the porch, though. The funny thing is it didn't knock my glasses off my head or my earbuds out of my ears. I really did a complete somersault. I was heading towards the door, fell towards the house, and wound up with my feet towards the walkway and my head next to the brick wall, face up, just like I decided to lie down next to the porch for some reason.

I need to invest in some heavy-duty bubble wrap, I think I need to start coming in through the back door. There are two smaller steps and a wall to steady oneself with--but the back gate is really hard to open.

Sigh. If it isn't one thing, it's another.

I guess I won't be going to the pill bottle collection held by one of the UK sororities today. They collect empty, clean bottles to be used in other countries, and collect them today from 1-2 pm at several library locations, but I am not going down those stairs today.

PS My roommate gets to take out the recyclables and cat litter after he has some coffee, wakes up, and maybe before he has his study session online. 🙂

UPDATE:

My roommate has instituted two new very logical house rules:

1. He will take the trash out from now on (he's already taking the bins to the street, as I can no longer do it).
2. I am not to go up and down the stairs without my cane.

In the meantime, there is a temporary rule that I am not to lie down till 10 PM just to be on the safe side in case of concussion. I must admit that while I am not sleepy, I am sore and tired, and I have ice on my butt. It is helping quite a bit.

I scraped up my right arm the worst, plus a little on my right pinky and knee

Again

Well, if you're going to fall on your face, especially on real tile, it's good to have a pillow in one hand that miraculously fell under your face. My right hand, shoulder and elbow are being iced and I've taken an NSAID. I am beginning to think I should start using my cane in the house as well as outside. I almost fell twice afterwards. I just feel unsteady. Definitely sitting down for a while.

UPDATE:

I'm sore all the way down my right side (it's usually left when I fall). I fell on both hands and elbows primarily, but my neck, shoulder, fingers, hip, etc., are all hurting. Time to ask my doctor is this is vestibular or something. My dizziness only happens when I move, including being on elevators or turning my head slightly. :( I don't think it's just ageing. I'm lucky I didn't break something or hit my head on the tile. I fell in a doorway with tile on one side and hardwood on the other, separated by a small, hard ledge. It was a close thing. Thank goodness for that cushion I was carrying. I got it over my face/head just in time. 

NOTE TO SELF: You're off for a few days next week. Call your PCP Monday about being evaluated for a vestibular order. I am so tired of falling, and I want to nip this in the bud before it affects my work or driving.

On Saturday

I took a pretty bad tumble at Kohl's coming out of the store and crossing the curb. It was one of those gradual ones for the carts and was marked, but I kind of stepped on the slanted part and just went down to the ground. A couple of guys came by and made sure I'd gotten hurt and check if I needed steadying as I got up. Fortunately, I didn't fall into traffic or break my glasses (which would have meant that I couldn't have driven home). Also, I was wearing jeans, so while I came down on my right knee hard, and it is red, it's not bleeding much. My right elbow is scraped up pretty badly. Both palms of my hands are scraped and my left wrist (which is already a jumble of bones, as at some unknown point in my childhood it was broken, according to x-rays from a couple of years ago,) is really hurting.  All the fingers are sore, especially if I make the 'ok' sign. My shoulders are both sore, not from direct hits, but the impact shock. It happened about 12:20 pm and finally about 6:30 I went to the urgent treatment centre for x-rays and to make sure nothing was broken.  I just have a mild sprain in my knee and a bad sprain in my wrist and hand, so I've been taking ibuprofen, icing it, and wearing a brace (the night splint I already had at night, a smaller one during the day).  

As YKWIA says, I am a danger to myself (but not others). I hate being a klutz.

Ouch!

So I fell off a short ladder hanging the hooks to bring the hanging plants down a bit. But I think I'll be okay. Thank goodness I didn't hit anything hard. But it does look better than this morning. They'll get plenty of light and I'll be able to reach them to water. Funny thing, I looked down before I stepped and thought I was on the bottom step already. Afraid that wasn't the case. But having fallen down an entire staircase before, I'm beginning to get used to that awful feeling when you realize there is no step and you, like Wile E Coyote, are about to fall.

I started my morning drilling holes in my ceiling to hang plants. I have now demonstrated that you can knock over a blooming orchid multiple times and even have it fall down behind some boards and blocks, and the blooms and plant survive. Here's to having a little more room for the plants to spread out.  Somewhere in this apartment there are at least three iron 'barrel of monkeys' s-hooks that I've had for 25 years, but good luck finding those, so I got some nice iron hanger hooks with an open globe spiral in the middle.  Unfortunately, I took a tumble while hanging them.

I have not put a hook into the ceiling in the bedroom yet, but I do have one, and I purchased an extra iron hook for that.  But I think I'll wait a little before getting up there--I'm a little sore.

Here are this morning's results:

Before hanger hooks

And this is with the iron hangers:

With hanger hooks

I put the middle one lower for a better composition but also I can switch the bottom hook around, as those are shamrocks (Oxalis) and grow towards the sun, so they need to be turned daily to keep from being on just one side.

I don't have ice, but I do have ice packs--I think I'm going to put it on my left shoulder/neck/back, which took the brunt of the fall.  Then I'll get up and start working on eliminating the entertainment centre.  It's been a good day--I took some friends out to Texas Roadhouse for salmon meals and then we went to Howard Curry Shoes, Rite Aid, and K-Mart getting new shoes, corn pads, and flip-flops (respectively) for a friend who's on his feet an awful lot, has to wear dress shoes most of the weekend while doing a standing job, and whose feet has been giving him fits.

I've got about an hour and a half until I go back to get him and take him to a meeting.  So there's the entertainment centre full of books to deal with in the meantime, but first the icing and the lying down.