I Fell......Again

I don't really want to talk about it but if I'm going to pretend that this blog is a journal then I have to. I need to record the major events in my life and my feelings and my musings about them.

No one would believe how much I don't want to admit that I fell again. Or how vehemently I would deny that it has anything, anything at all, to do with my age. But my fall record is dismal. And I know the main reason is bad judgment.

When I was working, I'd work too fast in difficult conditions in an effort to avoid criticism and for the satisfaction of doing a good job. Now, I guess I don't have the good judgment to stay in when conditions are not very safe. Or to at least walk in a safe area. Already, I'm checking the forecast for tomorrow to see when I can head out to the Dunes again knowing full well that the path will be just as slippery, the leaves will be just as wet, and the roots will be just as hidden. But I always think I can overcome little obstacles like these.

Today I got out much earlier. In fact I took my first picture at 3:31. The colors were beautiful but it was overcast and I didn't have as much light, especially at the end of the trail, as I would have liked.

There's a boardwalk in the middle of the trail that is almost a half mile long. It's not in real good repair but you just have to be careful...and I was. Here's an idea of what it looks like in places:


But mostly it looks more like this:

And I noticed very soon after stepping onto it that it was slippery so I was very careful. Therefore, the boardwalk, at least that boardwalk' was not the problem.

I tried to walk fairly fast between picture taking but the spaces in between pictures were pretty short. All of a sudden, my feet shot out from under me, my head slammed into something solid, and my glasses flew somewhere out of sight (which isn't all that far since my vision without them is pretty poor). I rolled over and struggled to my knees and tried to find my glasses. It took a long time and some fervent prayers but I found them. Thank God!

I had slipped on a very short wooden bridge hidden by wet, slippery leaves.

I got up and continued my walk but not as enthusiastically now. I took more pictures but when I got home and looked at them, I didn't remember taking most of them in fact hardly any of them.

And on the way home, I thought a lot about Natasha Richardson. Not the actress part..the death from a head injury part.

I know this sounds so disturbing but it was extremely traumatic for me. (The only other time when I've hit my head this hard before was when I was in about 2nd grade and a 3rd grader pushed me hard against a brick wall. I saw stars, blackness, and my feet slid out from under me. And no teacher or other kid even noticed. lol)

And to add insult to injury, ever since I slipped and fell in the goldfish pond, the hole in my left elbow which must have been much deeper than I thought has caused me a lot of discomfort. I just can't rest my head on my elbows now when I'm sitting at my desk. I do feel like it's starting to get better though.

So now I've hurt my right elbow. Sheeeeesh!

"I Slipped and Had a Turrible Fall"

Do you remember these words from Chuck Berry's timeless song, My Ding-A-Ling? The words go on to say, "I fell so hard I heard bells ring but held onto my ding-a-ling-a-ling.

That's the song that kept going through my head after my turrible fall. I was catching the last of the tiny little dark colored, hard-to-see babies from the goldfish pond. I had just snagged the last two (at the time I thought only one of them) when my foot slipped on that wet liner and I fell. Hard. On the lovely rocks that are supposed to decorate the pond as well as provide hiding places for babies. My shoes and jeans were SOAKED with some really foul smelling water. I skinned my left elbow and several places on my right hand and I was pretty sure my left little finger was broken. But I held onto those two little babies in my net and that's all I thought about as I struggled to get out of that pond and to the pitcher where the babies needed to be deposited. Pronto!

I got those precious little entities into the water and went in the house to change clothes. Then I scrubbed all the places where the skin was broken as ruthlessly as I could. I put on dry clothes and went back out to retrieve the waiting babies.

And that crazy Chuck Berry song kept running through my head.

And, friends, that's the difference between falling when you're doing something you want to be doing and falling at work. Because when I fell at work, no song went through my head. I always felt angry, betrayed, and hurt.

I won't say I liked falling in that smelly pond because I didn't. All I'm saying is things sure look different from this perspective. And it's a perspective that I like.

Oh and, by the way, if you aren't familiar with the Chuck Berry song, My Ding-A-Ling, try to find a copy to hear because it's REALLY cute.

Is It The Difference Between A Brother and A Husband?

I was walking on a trail in Dunes State Park the other day and I tripped on a root and bit the dust. Ouch! I'm sure glad nobody saw that! If nobody saw it, it's almost like it never really happened which reminds me of the age old question:

If a man talks in the woods where no woman can hear him, is he still wrong?

Anyway, back to my fall. It really was as if it didn't happen except that I have a big mouth and I shared the story. First I shared it with my brother who I love dearly. His reaction was predictable. "You sure fall a lot", he said. He looked kind of embarrassed for me and very incredulous like he just couldn't figure out what could be wrong with me. I explained that there are scads of hidden, semi-hidden, and obvious roots in the paths in Dunes State Park, especially on this path. Picture him still looking incredulous, embarrassed and bewildered. Oh well. I shouldn't have told him.

Just so YOU believe me, check out this picture I took of a path out there. Look especially at the foreground:


Later on I casually mentioned to Mr. Right that I had fallen in the Dunes that day. He didn't blink an eye, as he said, "That's what I don't like about you walking out there. All those roots".

It was enough to make me cry. He had such faith in me. He didn't assume I was a klutz or a freak or a scatterbrain. He assumed that I tripped on a hidden root.

And he was right.

When Everybody's Cheerful and Friendly

One day at work, as I started my appointed rounds, I couldn't help but notice that everybody I encountered was cheerful and friendly. The weather was turning from Winter to Spring and that added to the good feeling of the day.

I mused for a couple of hours about what was putting so many people in such a good mood, and then I saw my favorite mail carrier fall down. And after that, nobody was friendly anymore.

And I realized the rewards of a cheerful countenance. When everybody was cheerful and friendly, they were reacting to my happy face due to the weather turning. After that fall, I didn't wear a cheerful countenance anymore and the people I encountered weren't cheerful and friendly at all.

I read in the bible once that a man who has a wife with a cheerful countenance is truly blessed. That's not a quote but it went something like that. And I think many men subconsciously rate the success of their marriage, either at any given moment or in the long term, by the general appearance of their wife's countenance. And this subconscious rating will have a very big effect on his mood and on the general health of the marriage. Don't get me wrong, I think I have a very successful marriage but it might be because Mr. Right is used to my countenance by now. After all he's had 41 years to live with it.

So I think we should try an experiment. Some people just naturally look happy and cheerful (or wait, maybe they work at it) and some people have a countenance like mine (not happy and cheerful). I think those of us that don't naturally possess a cheerful countenance should try for a day or two to put on a REALLY, REALLY happy face and see what happens.

I'm going to try it soon and when I do, I'll let you know how it turns out for me.

Falling + Being Sick = YIKES!!!!!

So I wrote about falling here and here and about being sick here. If you read these posts, you'll know that I found both of these situations dreadfully inconvenient. There was a plus side though and that is that the doctor (or a total of 4 doctors that I saw) prescribed that I not walk on my appointed rounds until at least next Monday. I miss my customers and I miss the exercise but I have to admit that I enjoy going home on a nasty, cold, rainy Spring day when the object of my appointed rounds is particularly difficult to handle. Like today. So it's all good, right? Wrong.

Because my unceasing exercise was the only thing that kept my weight from ballooning at an unprecedented pace. Now the lack of that exercise coupled with my unceasing boredom at home from not being able to do much of anything has caused the unthinkable. Weight gain. Not a little - a lot. Prior to getting sick I had been on vacation for a week which resulted in the usual weight gain but I expected to remedy the situation shortly after returning to work by walking 9 or so miles everyday. And just when the initial soreness was starting to fade and the pounds were starting to drop, I fell...and got sick....and you know the rest.

Fortunately my foot and ankle are feeling better..not great...but lots better and I fully expect to get back to normal, or at least start working towards normal, next week.

And until then, I get to watch more HGTV and learn more about decorating and spaces and buying houses and it's SO interesting. I'm seriously addicted and it influences my feelings about how I can improve my own space and that's all good.

Falling In Your Sixties

A week ago last Monday I fell, as I noted here.

It's okay. We all fall at one time or another. But when you're in your sixties and you fall, here's what you'll get: Have you had a bone density test? Do you take calcium? And here's what I answer. If I had poor bone density, every bone in my body would be broken because I fall all the time. Because I have an all walking job in every kind of weather condition that requires me to concentrate on something besides my walking all day. And, if you took a 20-year-old woman and threw her down on the ground, hard, 10 times in 3 months, she'd probably break something at least one of those times.

Also, when you're in your sixties and you go to the doctor because of your injury, here's what might happen. The attending doctor might treat your injury as a sprain. That's okay. But when you go back for a follow-up visit and she notes that the radiologist thinks you have a fracture, she might say, "Oh, I saw that on the xray but I just thought it was because I was not looking at the xray of a 20-year-old but that's what the xray of, you know, someone our age just looks like."

Now she might be right. I had new xrays today. And a different doctor. And this doctor said, "yes, I can clearly see the incomplete fracture on the large bone between your ankle and your foot. Have you had a bone density test?". Aaarrrgh.

Tomorrow I see an Orthopedic guy. And he might say there's no fracture. Nothing would surprise me at this point. Except maybe if someone judged me and my xrays for what they are and not for my age.

And Being Sick

Friday I wrote about falling. A most egregious hazard of walking outdoors all day while focusing on something besides the walking itself. I really felt hurt that I fell and, while I always believe that there is a reason for everything, it's hard to justify the insult of a fall.

On to 'being sick'. I've been fighting a cold for some time. During the first part of the battle, I was on antibiotics for an infected tooth that had to be extracted. Even after the extraction I continued with the antibiotic for another week or 10 days. And during this time I had some rather mild cold symptoms.

Then, a few days after the antibiotic series ended, the cold started to get more serious. First came the sinus infection symptoms followed by the throat and ear pain. Everyday seemed to bring more and worse symptoms. Finally I woke up one morning with my first awareness being of a tight chest and pain with the lightest cough. And the body aches that accompany even the slightest fever were quick to make their appearance.

I knew it was time to see a doctor; and, of course Occupational Medicine doctors, at least where I went, would not even look at these other symptoms so I made an appointment with my GP. He prescribed a powerful antibiotic and slowly but surely I've started to feel better. I have a long way to go before I feel good again and I'm so tired I can barely function but it's getting a tiny bit better everyday.

And most importantly, now I know why I had to fall. It was so I would be put on light duty and not in a position where I would spread the nastiest of nastiness to 500 people on my appointed rounds.

Falling

What a winter it's been. There must be thousands of ways to fall and this past winter I've personally found a lot of them.

A light coating of snow that doesn't slow you down. You stride out, trying to make time and who knew? Under that light coating of snow on the corner, there's a large patch of solid ice! Down you go.

A cold day, no new snow, but black ice making it quite difficult to detect. As you walk as quickly as you can, the instant you hit the black ice, you're down. You didn't even know you were going down.

Then there are the completely snowy days. You're walking along and a variation in the terrain under the snow is not detectable. All of a sudden you roll your ankle and down you go.

As you descend some steps, you realize they're slippery and you get a firm grip on the railing. It doesn't matter how firm your grip is, once you're foot meets that ice, you're down.

You make a delivery, turn to cut across a lawn as required, there's a little slope and it's slippery. You didn't know it until your head impacted the brick planter.

You wear boots and cleats when appropriate. You try to slow down to be safe. You watch as closely as possible every change and variation in the terrain. It doesn't matter. If you walk all day in all kinds of weather. You're going to fall.

This year I made it through the winter with only lots of falls. BUT none serious enough to impact my work. Just falls that feel insulting and hurt my feelings along with various parts of my body.

And finally we get to April. Home free. A light layer of snow in the morning is rapidly melting. Although it's wet out, it doesn't seem particularly hazardous. Then a gentle five foot slope to a mailbox is not made up of just grass as it seems, but a mixture of mud and grass. My left foot slid about 2 1/2 feet and my right foot didn't. My right knee bent under me and I must have ended up sitting on my poor twisted, right foot. WOW! That hurt!

I walk to my truck after making two more stops, change pants (mine are soaking wet and muddy), and continue rather tenuously on my route. I called to notify my Supervisor that I had fallen and hurt my right ankle and foot but that I would keep on going. Just not as fast.

I walked the rest of the day. It hurt but I kept going because it's just pain. I can work in pain.

I couldn't wait to get home that day and put my foot up. A half hour after I did, it swelled unbelievably and the pain was really bad.

The next day I went to an occupational health facility where they diagnosed a sprain and put me on light duty. Two days later, the doctor noted that the radiologist thought he saw a small fracture in my foot. Now I'm on really light duty and crutches. What a pain.