TBI & stairs at home (even worse, baby gate at the top)
 

Anyone else really disliking stairs?

I go carefully, but sometimes take a bad step, not falling, hurting the ankle, or triggering spasms in the foot (from a prior injury.

I have a TBI-caused knee injury that hasn't healed right which is rough on stairs. And a baby gate on the top, which makes laundry especially, a very difficult trip.

I love the house & housemates, but may need to move before something goes really bad. 15 months of no serious fall so far-

I don't have pcs, but have had dizziness and bad knees for years and a host of other injuries from a motor vehicle accident nearly two years ago.

I hate stairs. When the dizzy thing first kicked in (and it's in my brain, not my ears, so not fixable at all), I would start to tip over sideways towards stairs when just walking past. SCARY!!!! Still hug the far wall when passing an open stairway.

When going down them, first thing is get a death-grip on the handrail. And then go slow and deliberate. Going up, I lean forward so if I fall, I fall into the stairs and not over backwards, and still do the death-grip on the handrail.

With knee problem, a couple of solutions, depending on what works. For a year and a half now, I have gone up and down every step, even just a curb, with my right leg locked straight. Which means frustratingly slow one-stepping it all the way up, all the way down.

At first I was stomping I was so fed up, but that only hurts your "good" leg, so now I just, still, growl as I go. Audibly--it helps with the frustration.

Sometimes going sideways helps, rather than making the knee take the full body weight, you kind of rock on and off it as you go down the steps. By being sideways, the knee doesn't have to support the full stress of the bend. Hard to describe, just experiment. And sideways, you can keep your back/butt against the wall or handrail for extra support, and of course the death-grip on the rail.

For laundry, get a large duffle bag. Stuff the clothes in it, and roll it down the stairs. Then you go down, and pick it up, or just drag it, at the bottom.

For coming back up, either use the duffle bag and drag it, or I got a large spring-open tub, kinda like you use for yardwork/leaves, with a shoulder strap, and I drag that up behind me, that way the clothes don't get as crushed and wrinkled (my washer is in the basement, so clothes are dirty going down, clean coming up).

Our laundry baskets have straps on them, rather than carry a basket of clothes through the house to bedrooms, I tow them along behind me. I have back and shoulder/arm issues so carrying is not good, but also, with dizziness and bad knees and such, why risk it? Plastic laundry baskets slide real well.

Stairs are my nemesis. I fully understand what you're talking about.

Ooooohhhh do I ever know what you mean. I live in a multi-level home with four long stair cases. I used to run up and down them like the wind before. Now every step is slow and deliberate. I fell down them last year and broke my ankle (more surgery w/ screws and plates), missed a step because my depth perception is poor and I have vertigo.

I also had a bad leg injury from the TBI auto-accident, screws and plates that cause stiffness. You've nearly explained my situation as well..."Death grip on the hand railing"...Yep! I've worn the paint off one side :eek:

My hubby did move the washer and dryer upstairs and we turned a small main floor bedroom into a laundry room which has made that so much easier. The cost was minimal, mainly just the cost of a few extra feet of piping and a new water faucet.

Bought this house a year before my accident in 08...My dream house. Now hubby and I have talked about selling it in a few years and going to a ranch style with no stairs. Makes me sad, but my fear of falling down the stairs is overwhelming.

Thanks for the insights.

Stairs are awful! I'm like a little old lady hanging on to the hand rail and taking one step at a time - literally.

And I miss my high heels!

And it's difficult to walk my dog. I've been known to get disoriented and fall when he walks across in front of me.

And I can't look at people if I'm walking and talking with them. I'll fall off the sidewalk!

:rolleyes: