Parkinson's Disease; Fall in Winter

A few weeks ago, my Wonderful Husband and I were sitting on our back patio when we spotted something large and orange in the desert behind our house. We sat there trying to figure out what it was. We came up with some humorous possibilities, such as a discarded prison jumpsuit, or an inflatable Halloween pumpkin or perhaps a child's swimming pool. Whatever it was, we decided to go get it and put it in the trash. 

I was extra careful climbing over our low back wall and my Wonderful Husband held my hand as we negotiated a steep ditch created by runoff water. All that was left was a very shallow secondary ditch. The next thing I know, I was lying in the sand and my glasses were a few feet away. 

The steep ditch

The shallow ditch 

I was okay; I just had some scrapes on my leg and the palm of my hand, but my glasses weren't damaged. I was achy for a few days, but at least I fell in soft sand and not into rocks or on gravel. But why did I fall?

I've been replaying the fall over and over in my head; there was nothing for me to trip over and I was watching what I was doing, so how did I end up in the sand? The answer I have come up with is ... brake failure. 

Yes, brake failure.

It seems that if I get some forward momentum, I can't stop! Since the fall, I've noticed that if I step off a curb, due to the forward momentum, it takes a few extra steps before my gait returns to normal. The same thing happens if I walk down an incline. I have trouble stopping. No brakes! 

So, that's what happened when I tried to navigate the shallow ditch; my brakes didn't work and I fell forward into the sand. Now that I realize my brakes don't work, I adjust how I handle steep driveways, curbs and ditches. 

The large orange thing out in the desert? Yes, we went ahead and got it. It was a section of temporary construction fencing that probably got swept away in a rainstorm. We untangled it and put it in our trash. Just because I took a tumble, didn't mean we shouldn't pick it up, right?

Don't Fall for Me

Falling in love is great, falling asleep is good (unless you are driving) and falling down is bad, very bad. I wish I could write this story with my usual humor, but I can't. You see, Parkinson's disease related falls can have serious and sometimes deadly outcomes. 

Several of my neighbors have fallen in the last year and many of my Parky friends have fallen as well and for some of them, their falls proved fatal. Even my Wonderful Husband took a tumble about six months ago and still has a discolored knee to remind him to be careful. So far, I have remained upright, but I am overly cautious.

Some of the things I do to prevent myself from falling probably look funny to whoever sees me doing them, but I don't care. I always sit down to put on or take off my shoes and socks, always, even if it means sitting on a curb to remove the giant "grain of salt" sized pebble that is stabbing me in my foot as I walk with George and Freida in the mornings. Yes, I can probably still balance on one foot and do it standing up, but why take a chance on breaking my arm?

Broken arm

I sit on a chair or lean my backside up against a wall to take off or put on my shorts or jeans. Always, even in winter when the wall is cold (that will wake you up real quick). 

Chair next to closet

I take extra care when stepping up curbs, walking on uneven surfaces and navigating steps. I have tried my best to "fall proof" our home. I only use the walk-in shower which has grab rails and seating, no more tubs for me. Fancy throw rugs are history, to easy to stumble on. Even the height of our bed is designed to make it easy for me to get in and out of. There is a shelf in the garage and another one right inside the entry door, where I can set my packages so I don't try to come in the door with both hands full. 

A few Parkies I know haven't been so lucky; one has fallen multiple times, in her bathroom, because her feet and walker get tangled in the rug on the floor. Get rid of the rug, I said. But she won't. Why? Because it matches the shower curtain, towels and window coverings and it looks pretty. 

Another one has fallen both up and down her entry steps when she tries to take her two dogs out for a walk, she gets tangled in their leashes. I told her to have her son build a little fenced in area, right outside the door, so she can let the dogs go out by themselves, and then she can come down the steps, holding on to the railing, sit on a chair, put the leashes on the dogs and take them on their walk. Has she? Nope, she doesn't want to bother her son. 

Foot in a cast

Another one tried to climb up into his truck with both hands full, fell over backward and ended up with a huge knot on the back of his head and a dozen smashed eggs. All he had to do was open the other door and put the packages on the passenger seat and then his hands would have been empty. 

Why are these folks so stubborn? I don't know. If I woke up blind tomorrow morning, I wouldn't jump in my car and try to drive. I wake up every morning with Parkinson's, that's the reality. So, I sit on the side of the bed and make sure my legs are going to work before I head for the bathroom. I don't want to fall and I will do everything I can to prevent it. 

Shirley is a very good Parky friend of mine, and as her Dad was losing his battle with Parkinson's (he, too, had taken a few falls), she asked me to write a song about Angels. I wrote Angels in the Corner about a girl who was feeling hopeless, and then suddenly realized, that her Angels were in the corner, as always, watching over her, and that everything would be alright. Shirley's Dad is now one of HER Angels. 

I have plenty of Angels in MY corner, watching over me, so be careful. Please don't fall, for me.

In memory of my most recent Angels: Jim, David and Dick.

You can find all my videos on my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/ParkinsonsHumor

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