Oh, Carolyn,

I'm so sorry to hear about your falls. They are SO dangerous. I know several PDers who suffered serious complications from falls that hastened progress and my mom died after a bad fall.

WebMD in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic has some excellent tips about Parkinson's and preventing falls and maintaining balance. It is worth reading and printing.

http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-dise...eventing-falls

Please please be extra careful,

Judith

Because of my balance problems my mother has offered an alert system to me. I just received their packet. You put a kind of lock on the door with a combination (Al Gore's lock box), so if you can't unlock the door when you need them, they can get in. My mother's friend had to use it and it was a lifesaver. My mother fell recently and was comforted knowing she had the alert thing on her person. She got up by herself despite breaking her collar bone and injuring her knee.

The name of this company is Emergency Caller Systems in Coconut Creek, Florida. 954-968-1990. I'm in the Boston area, so I it's not just for Florida. It's one expense at the start, and none thereafter. It's really an emergency help dialer for 911, and it's also a call box; they can speak to you through the unit on your person. It's a waterproof pendant which can also be worn on the wrist. They also call four other numbers for you if you like, in addition to 911.

Since the cost is all up front, I saw no reason to delay getting it.

I need to be focused on my actions when I move. Especially if I move sideways or backwards, which I do a lot at work in lab. I move slowly and carefully. Still, I sometimes catch myself falling by grabbing on to something like a lab bench. Same problems in the kitchen at home.

I need to use a cane during my commute. And sometimes I need one at home, too.

For ice, try YakTracks. They even work on black ice. One night last year, on the way home, my block was a sheet of ice. I would have had to call a cab if I wasn't wearing the yaktracks. They worked great. I got a set of two from QVC this year, a new version with a strap.