Oh Sheena, I'm so sorry! I agree with all of the advice you've received so far. You have to protect yourself from the falls somehow. I've fallen several times and have ceramic tile everywhere. Tile is not the best thing to land on.

I have a cane, a walker, and a wheelchair ready to go any time I might need them.

You can contact the NMSS to see if they can loan you these types of items if you can't buy them. You can keep them for as long as you need them.

I think you should probably see a doctor to assess your latest injury. It does sound like you could've broken a rib.

Take care, Sheena .

Omg Sheena~ That's alot of falls. I agree w/what the others said, about the 2nd railing and also about slowing down. I'm known for falling too, and I know part of my trouble was trying to go too fast.

Please be careful.

Sheena
I'm sorry sorry about all the falls. You've gotten lots of good ideas to start taking steps. No pun intended

I fell downs stairs on Feb 1st. It's been over 8 weeks and I'm in a walking cast because it wasn't healing. It really has forced me to slow down and plan. Not that I was speedy gonzales before, but my attention was not focused on my actiivities.

I would see a doctor about the ribs. Breathing really is a necessity. Feel better soon. Sending healing hugs.

Believe it or not, part of my PT includes a class: "Learning How To Fall"

Perhaps there may be some help from your local PT department. I know I am actually looking forward to it because I have had some spectacular falls through the years!

Hi Sheena, I too am sorry to hear about your falls.


What RW mentioned here is really worthwhile if you can get a PT to show you. They also teach you how to get up from the floor if you have to.

I too have had more than my fair share of falls, but after 6 broken bones in 5 years I finally gave in and bought a cane....two actuually, and a walker for those days when a cane simply is not enough.

My DH and I live in rented accomodation and for some scary reason they always seem to have stairs, and there's not a thing we can do about them. We can't go adding a second railing to the stairs, nor can we add grab rails in the shower or beside the toilet. I have to just mange as best I can.

The first thing I had to do was throw out every pair of shoes I had that were non-supporting. No sling backs, slip-ons and the like for me anymore. No high heels either. I now wear those very sexy flat heeled "sensible" shoes that granny used to wear, but I feel safer.

I also had to slow down. Once I only had 2 speeds....flat out and stop. In the days of the white uniformed registered nurse, they used to call me "The White Flash", or just "Flash" for short, because I got about and did things so fast. I'd have half the morning's work done while the others were still arguing over who was going to do what.

Stairs I take one at a time. I'm very slow that way, but at least I haven't fallen down or up the stairs, yet. I've fallen just about everywhere else, but not on the stairs.

Is there any way you can limit your use of the staircase? Can you do everything you need to one one level before proceeding to the other? Is there one level you can stay on for most of the day? Just wondering.

I think a lot of my falls have been because of my inability to judge distance. My vision is acceptable, but I still run into doorways. There are days when I look a lot like a battered baby, and every bruise is one I've done by running into things that I thought were slightly further away, or a gap that I judged to be wider than it was. I'm not sure what I can do about that one.

I do hope things improve for you.

That's no joke, RW, several years ago (when I could get up easier), my friends' son took me to his football practice and they gave me falling lessons. It was a whole bunch of fun, but they taught me a lot. I'm pretty darned good at falling nowadays, anyone who has seen it knows how good I look on the way down. The big trick is to resist the urge to "catch" yourself.

first thing u learn in judo is how to fall and absorb the fall, cant tell you how many times that paid off on the ski slopes

Geez, I'm jealous - I don't catch myself when I fall, it just happens too quick but I aparently don't know how to fall either.

But, I doubt knowing how to fall would have made a difference when I broke my ankle.

The ankle story, for those of you who haven't heard it before

It's funny, yet not

I have 2 steps that go from the house to the garage. I had the cats litter box in each hand.

This is where it gets a little hazy for me - I believe I started to lose my balance while on the last step. The next thing I knew I was on the garage floor. the litter box contents dumped over with some of it in my hair.

As I was falling I heard a "snap" that snap was my ankle. I sat up and brushed the cat poo out of my hair. Since standing was not an option I crawled up the 2 steps back into the house, pushed the door opened and crawled my way to the family room where I could hopefully reach the phone.

During the crawling process my 2 dogs thought I was playing with them

Reached the phone and called my hubby. He came home and called 911 not only did the peramedics show up but so did the police - the police where checking for domestic violence

Anyway that's the story of how I broke my ankle. That ankle has a plate on one side w/3 screws and the other side of the ankle has 3 pins and wire tying it all together. The Orthopedic surgeon said I completely shatter the ankle.

I wasn't even able to tell what happened, and/or to which leg, causing my falls. A friend asked me to try to observe the next time.

There is no consistency, right or left, but what "seems" to happen is that my knee hyper-extends (the joint goes the other way), suddenly, for no particular reason. That's enough to throw me off balance . . .

So how do you look with cat doodoo barretts, Snoopy? Did DH get a pic, just for the memory? (What a nasty fall! )

Cherie

I get the hyperextension thing, both my left ankle and knee. I have injured that leg so many times over the years that I no longer step off on my left foot. I just naturally lead with my right foot no matter what now.

I've broken my ankle three times, sprained it too many times to count, torn ligaments in my ankle and my knee, dislocated my knee, etc, etc. I can actually lift my kneeecap up and move it around. The doctor said "DON'T DO THAT!" when I showed him. I asked him why and he said "it's not supposed to move that way and it makes me cringe!"

I've sort of learned how to roll instead of trying to catch myself but I don't have the stupid "tuck" part of it down yet, as in "tuck and roll"

I keep all my orthopedic aids. I've needed them too many times to give them away or sell them. I have air casts, the arm crutches, the sturdy underarm metal crutches, the canes, the ankle braces, the knee braces, the hinged leg brace, the therabands, etc.

Do try to find a PT who can teach you how to fall sheena! It can make a difference in both pain and mobility!