Thoughts on falling

Falling
1. To drop or come down freely under the influence of gravity
2. a. To drop oneself to a lower or less erect position
b. To lose an upright or erect position suddenly
c. To drop wounded or dead, especially in battle

I took a fall last week. I was transferring from my wheelchair to the bed to take a nap and missed the bed. My balance is so bad that I couldn't catch myself and I fell to the floor, wedging myself between a bookcase and my wheelchair. I bruised my ribs on my wheelchair charger when I fell.

Oscar

Oscar (my dog) was with me of course, and seeing me on the floor, he jumped down and tried to play with me. When he discovered that I was not a down there for that purpose, he jumped back on the bed and went to sleep. It was naptime, an important part of his day.

I have a medical alert button that I usually wear around my neck but unfortunately I had removed it to get ready for my nap and set it on the top of the bookcase. (Note to self: Never do that again.) My cell phone was on my bedside table, also out of reach.

I was able to move my wheelchair and assume a more comfortable position lying flat on my back. It was actually pretty comfortable, mostly due to the thick carpeting in our bedroom. However, try as I might, I could not get up. My right side is totally useless and I don't have much strength on my left side -- not nearly enough to raise my body high enough to even sit on the footrest of the wheelchair.  

Since it was three o'clock and Ron wouldn't be home till around 5:30 p.m. at the earliest, I decided to wait for him (I really didn't have much choice).

To pass the time I took the word "alpaca" (I have a little felted one on top of the aforementioned bookcase), and thought of all the words I could make that started the letters of the word. Then, because falling tends to bring out my negativity, I listed all the things about my life that I was thankful for. That took quite a while. After that I rolled over and went to sleep.

When I woke up, Ron was home and he lifted me into my chair. What a great guy! I'm sure it was jarring to walk in and see me on the floor. However, it could have been much worse, and the fall made me aware that I needed to make some changes.

First I am going to increase the hours that my home health care people come. Right now they come in the mornings to help me shower and dress. After talking with Ron, we decided that someone should also be here when I go down for a nap. My most at-risk moments are when I am transferring -- either from my wheelchair to the bed or from my wheelchair to the toilet. I am loathe to have someone assist me with the latter transfer but it would help to have someone in the house who could help me in the event of a fall.

I have been fortunate to be able to get long-term care insurance through AFLAC when I was still working. This has helped immeasurably and was one of the things I was thankful for when I was laying on the floor. (Also their commercials are true -- AFLAC is really fast at paying claims!)

I am so thankful for my many friends and relatives that make my life better by visiting me and driving my van to take me places. But my disability continues to progress and they can't do much about that. However life is good and still holds out much promise.

Carson

For instance, look at this baby! My first grandchild, Carson William Ebert. What kind of person will he be? Only time will tell. I guess its that way with all of us -- how will we end up? Only time will tell.