Tips to avoid falls...
 

...and near misses, based on personal experience. Bet you've got some, also.

1. Do not walk faster than your cane.

2. When taking a shower, do not suddenly raise your arms to shampoo your hair and close your eyes at the same time.

3. Do not attempt to answer your cordless/cell phone while carrying laundry downstairs.

4. When putting on underwear, do not attempt to put both legs in the same opening.

B2Y, you are so wise. I was falling a lot but since I parked my b*** in my WC I've only fallen once in the last 2 years while transferring to the toilet. I vow never to fall again!!

make sure your shoes are tied BEFORE you stand up. once you are up, its too tempting to just bend over and tie them. :o

The stairs are the scariest place for me...when I carry the laundry down to the basement, I lean against the wall and take one step at a time like a toddler. I have fallen more than a couple of times and don't want a repeat.

When I read about putting on underwear, it resonated with me. I have to learn to sit down to get dressed. It's so difficult when you have balance issues to put one leg in at a time...I also have trouble washing my feet in the shower, but I'm unwilling to get a shower chair yet. Guess I just want to keep on pretending I don't have MS:rolleyes:

Something that works very well to scrub the soles of your feet if you are not using a shower chair: http://www.amazon.com/Soapy-Soles-Fo.../dp/B003DLTG2G

#1. Don't get up.:D

#2. Don't try to tranfer from your scooter to the sofa, if you just installed slippery wood floors and you haven't, yet, put down a non-slip carpet.:rolleyes:

#3. If you do, call the hunks at 911.:p

I slide my laundry basket down the stairs on its own. I just pick up what fell out at the bottom. I am not able to carry it and navigate the stairs. It slides easily if you aim it.

I like the "do not walk faster than your cane" tip B2Y. I tend to trip right over it on a regular basis. I might be better off without it :D.

I thought I was being very very very careful on the stairs at my nephew's
home in Seattle, where I stayed several months last spring. All the bedrooms,
including mine, upstairs. But one night I was trying to carry a recipe book
downstairs for his grandaughter, and I fell down the stairs and broke my
kneecap. thus started a grim lesson in what happens if one has stairs.
Now, I won't go into places with a full flight of steep stairs. I do negotiate
several broad stairs in my son's home, but I have to hang onto the wall or
have a grandchild help, as it is very dangerous. I calculate every step.

My knee healed very well and is now the least of my health woes. But
the "Medicare" nightmare concerning the break was incredibly bad.

The hospital where I was taken by 911 (I could not walk at all) said
Medicare would NOT cover a broken kneecap. Since I could not return
to the house, I was told to go to a motel and order pizza (I could not
use the bathroom unaided either). But they kept me overnight because
they couldn't find the exact type of brace they needed for my knee, and
then they kept me on "Observation" for four days so that I would not be
eligible for a Medicare nursing home (yes, they did this literally, as far as
I know). I was hardly on Observation, as I was given quite a lot of supervision
of using a walker, getting out of bed, getting onto the commode, etc. But I
cried a lot because of the fear that I would not have enough money to pay
myself for a nursing home for the several months projected that it would take
to heal. So, because I cried, they put me on suicide watch and had a psychiatrist
come to interview me, with three grim interns. I told him I was not suicidal,
just depressed about my quandry. He seemed interested that I had an MS dx,
but also seemed to squelch the thoughts which arose because of that.

So I had to go to an Assisted Living place where it was not in their job description
to help me use the toilet even though I had a cast foot to hip (my leg was being
set in this way, without surgery, and that worked very well). I finally had to
urinate standing up, but then I did get a commode which I ordered myself which
I could use. The Occupational Therapist was NO help, but charged thousands of
dollars for coming out and making out papers. finally I had a TIA, and was sent
to a different hospital, where they said "Of course you qualify for Medicare nursing
home with a broken leg and cast from foot to hip". So they sent me, after six weeks
without, to a good nursing home, where I was for five weeks and had rehab. And
then had to go to another assisted living place until I was able to go home.

The hospital which denied me nursing home care was one with a very high
reputation, as was the hospital which found me a good nursing home later.
This shows how different interpretations of the laws can be.

I have neuropathy in my feet, which has become worse since I got Polycythemia
Vera 5 years ago, so that is one reason why my feet are numb and dangerous.
But I exercise them daily and use very good foot care on them. The Interferon
I am taking for PV increases the neuropathy pain, although I am told that if I
get my platelets down I may have less pain than before. None of this was
considered at all by the hospital which denied nursing home care.

My home is wheelchair accessible because my late husband was in a wheelchair.
I use his chair when my feet hurt too much, and thank God for both the house
and the wheelchair, now needed by me. I realize that elder care is very expensive,
$8000 to $13000 in Seattle in a nursing home, and that our gov't may indeed
go bankrupt over this. So I know it's a huge problem for our country as well
as for us.

Your story makes me want to cry. I am not depressed, just sad and angry.

I agree! if a place tells you NO you are not covered, pick up the phone and ask WHY! Push your insurance or medicaid or medicare rep to help you find answers. Thats horrible! :eek:

I found living in a one story home awesome! When I do have to use stairs I hold to the rail, even if its only a few. Im terrified of a fall that would end my independance.

I am kind of looking forward to the time in which I need a stair lift and I can put my laundry basket or grocery bag on it and push a button!

As far as financial help my Mom found out that very few people she knew knew anything about VA widows pension fund. It is for VA widows who have medical needs that can't be met with their present income. My Mom gets over $1000/month from this fund. It has been a godsend for us as her family that was trying to make up the difference. You have to renew it every year but it's worth it.

WIPEOUT!:cool:

I was in a hurry yesterday morning, to get out and make it to my infusion on time. It snowed the night before (imagine!) and the old man went out to get wood while I was showering.

I got out of the shower, dried and dressed, and went out to the living room to get my shoes on. I was moving fast but not running. I rounded the corner next to the woodstove and down I went.

I missed the stove and the 55 gallon fish tank by millimeters. I tucked and rolled when I realized I was going down and only got scrapes and bruises from hitting the bricks on the hearth.

The man was terrified and he should have been. He hadn't taken his shoes off when he came in and I slipped on melting snow. I'm willing to bet he doesn't ever do that again.:p

I learned how to fall years ago when taking some judo classes for exercise. It worked when I needed it to, without even thinking about it. This morning, no aches or pains, just a scrape or two and one or two small bruises! At 6'2" and a hundred and too many pounds, I am not graceful at all but taking that class taught me the basics on falling.

Look around for classes on learning how to fall. They are taught at senior centers, YMCAs, etc. They teach you how to fall, what can cause falls, simple exercises that improve balance and coordination, and how to avoid falls. I bet some of you could even teach them!:)

I forgot one of the basic tenets yesterday-SLOW DOWN!

Tip to avoid falls:


Make sure all cats are out from underfoot before turning and walking! :rolleyes: It never fails.......I forget to look down and one of the cats winds up getting kicked or their tail stepped on. You'd think they'd learn to get out of my way! :rolleyes:

Cats do it on purpose...lol:D

I know.......I heard them snickering about it when they thought I wasn't listening. :mad:

They won't think it's so funny if I land ON them! :eek:

I too learned how to fall in ballet school, when young. It is possible that thisi was one reason I was not hurt worse when I fell down the stairs and broke my kneecap. I fell a long way with "only" that injury. Some older people would have have several breaks, I think. I hit my head really hard on the opposite wall, in this fall, and it must be my tough
skull that kept me from concussion or fracture.

I did call Medicare and they agreed that nursing home was not allowed
for broken knee cap. I don't know HOW the second hospital got this
opinion reversed...maybe because I had had a TIA. But if side issues
like that change the situation, why did not my co-morbidities change it?
Age, several other serious diagnoses, etc.? I can only believe that the
first hospital must have some agreement to restrict care in as many
diagnoses as possible, to save money for the gov't, and for that they
get certain benefits (who could guess what ones). The hospital in
question was a large university teaching hospital which has a sign
up in front of it saying they are one of the "Ten Best Hospitals in America".
I think they DID do a great job gluing my knee together, but they have
compartmentalized aftercare from immediate care. The old fashioned
compassionate nurses of lore are phased out by "efficiency".