My World is Shrinking

[Teacher Terry]

I never thought this would happen but 4 years ago was power walking my big dog and tripped on a very uneven sidewalk and got a head injury. I slowed down but 2 months ago and fell on the ice and broke my right wrist while taking my dogs out. My husband was out of town. It is scary if I hit my head or couldn’t getup and only 65 and in good shape.

 

[W2R]

I never thought this would happen but 4 years ago was power walking my big dog and tripped on a very uneven sidewalk and got a head injury. I slowed down but 2 months ago and fell on the ice and broke my right wrist while taking my dogs out. My husband was out of town. It is scary if I hit my head or couldn’t getup and only 65 and in good shape.

You are smart to be concerned! If you hit your head on the concrete, you could have been hurt badly.

Could you find a device that might help you to walk those dogs safely? I don't know much about dealing with ice, but I am thinking of yaktrax to make your shoes less likely to slip on the ice, along with a walker so that you have something to hang onto. Or, whatever helping devices you think might work better (since I know zero about dealing with ice and snow). Doesn't mean you're old just to use helping devices like this; it just means you are practical.

 

[MarieIG]

Ice is incredibly bad. It can take you down in an instant, and cause significant and permanent damage, even to a young and/or healthy person, depending upon the impact.

Terry, is there any way you can have a dog run put in your yard? Just for those days when it is icy outside, and let the dogs out instead of walking them.

I am paranoid when it comes to ice.

 

[Teacher Terry]

The big dog died and the little ones can use a pad but sometimes they don’t. I walk 5 miles a day so maybe I won’t take them out if my husband is gone.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Marie, you got me thinking that I will block off the patio and let them go there and I won’t have to go outside. Thanks !

 

[W2R]

Good idea, Teacher Terry!

If you miss the exercise, maybe you could get a treadmill and walk inside when it is icy outdoors.

 

[MarieIG]

I hope it works.

When I retire, it will my goal to avoid ice altogether. (I would if I could now.)

 

[W2R]

Even though I don't have ice to deal with, like Marie, my goal is the same - - to eliminate as many bad falls as I possibly can. When I was in my 50's, I could fall and it was no big deal. But now that I am in my 70's I am more likely to fall and when I do, it seems like I am more likely to get hurt. I had some really bad falls when I was moving into this house, at age 67. It is smart for us to be thinking about how to prevent falls as we grow older.

I do things like remove obstacles in the house I could trip on, make sure I can't slip on throw rugs, make sure the floors aren't too slippery, and mark the edges of the one stair (at my side door) with fluorescent duct tape so that I can see it, and have very sturdy grab bars and rails where I need them.

 

[Doribe]

I've fallen a few times this year on ice. I didn't break anything. I attribute my luck to weight bearing exercise. I took a bad fall while painting my bathroom. I broke two bones in my foot due to my foot getting caught in the ladder as it closed. I took a big impact on my hip and no break.

 

[kimcdougc]

Falling runs in my family. I do find as I get older I really look and concentrate where I walk at. You could take the dogs to Home Depot or Lowes on the snowy days. No ice inside. Of course, you have to get from the house and to the store with no incidents.

 

[donheff]

I bought a pair of these ice cleats for just this situation. They are a bit of a PITA and get in the way on clear pavement but they do grip ice. I only use them a couple of times a year. Our dog insists on going for her walk.

 

[Dash man]

I was never a fan of the Apple Watch until I learned the series 4 has a feature to detect a hard fall. It asks if you want to call 911, and if there is no response after 60 seconds it automatically calls 911. The GPS feature tells them where you are located. Pretty cool!
With my bad back issues I’ve fallen a few times, plus having heart disease it gives me some peace knowing I won’t be alone for long if something happens.

 

[Ronstar]

I've had a few falls. One resulted in a broken wrist. Once a broken ankle. Just recently landed on my tailbone. It's been sore for weeks. Luckily I haven't injured my head yet.

I've been slowing down in my walks, hikes, and runs, being extremely careful, and watching where my next step is going to be before taking it.

 

[rayinpenn]

When I got my first knee replaced I lived in terror of a hard fall. What would happen? I had already took a “___ over tea kettle’” fall on that black ice walking the dog. I’m sure it was a spectacular sight had anyone been looking. Result sore tailbone. Well post knee replacement i took that hard fall on some ice at the rehab center of all places. Nothing Broke but I have been very careful. If its icy out walking the old pooch I stay on the grass. If its really icy she walks the dog.

 

[mystang52]

This obviously doesn't prevent accidents, but I wear RoadID every time I go for a run, bike ride, or my morning swim.
https://www.roadid.com/?referrer=60...ylVaVNm42lNmUIZ0R98gcqhhyH1XpiWhoCtZ0QAvD_BwE

 

[Jerry1]

Had one fall this year while shoveling snow. Felt very good when I realized I got off scott free. I don’t know how, but I just fell in a way that didn’t hurt anything. I laid there for a few seconds taking inventory and realized I was okay. Got up and finished shoveling. Woo - close call.

 

[Another Reader]

I would not live anywhere there is ice. The chance of serious injury is too high.

 

[MRG]

Yaktrax are awesome, I keep a couple extra pairs in our vehicles. Also hiking poles are helpful for bad conditions. We get a lot of snow here and they seldom put anything down so you have to be careful. Still better than the ice storms the midwest gets.

 

[mountainsoft]

Accidents can happen at any age. I broke my left wrist three times before I was 16, doing stupid stuff of course.

Several years ago my wife got stuck at the bottom of our hill so I grabbed the snow shovel and walked down the hill to rescue her. About half way down I slipped on the ice and fell on my back with my left arm and snow shovel bent underneath me. It happened so fast, one minute I'm walking, the next I'm laying on the ground. I don't remember actually falling, my brain was just trying to comprehend what had happened. I was in my 40's at the time, a bit sore for a while but thankfully nothing broken.

Overall, I tend to be fairly sure footed and rarely fall. However, I can already tell my balance at 55 isn't what it used to be even ten years ago. I'm sure it will only degrade with time.

My mom (72) and mother-in-law (80) have both had a number of falls over the last few years. Thankfully neither of them has broken anything, but they end up rather beaten and bruised.

 

[ivinsfan]

It's a hard to accept fact of growing older. The ice is my number one fear about MN winters. If it's cold I stay inside or put on another layer nothing you can do about ice. But most likely the OP shouldn't split her concentration between walking and the dogs when it's icy.

Due to my DH medical stuff last year we didn't go to SGU like we normally do. We've always been hikers not hardcore but enjoyable. I quickly realized this year that instead of very moderate hiking I much preferred the paved walking/biking trails. I felt I always needed to be looking at my feet and couldn't enjoy looking at the scenery or chatting with my hubby. My number one concern at all times was pretty much my footing even on dirt trails where you find random rocks and pieces of imbedded lava.

Your world will continue to change as you age, but it doesn't have to shrink.

 

[SumDay]

Good idea, Teacher Terry!

If you miss the exercise, maybe you could get a treadmill and walk inside when it is icy outdoors.

Ditto! Actually the prior owners of our home left us a treadmill and we started using it this winter because we were trapped inside so many days due to ice storms. We both finally realized we hated it, and found a used sporting goods place who came and picked it up and gave us a store credit for an indoor recumbent exercise bike. Best thing we've ever done.

I see used exercise bikes and treadmills on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for well under $100, depending on the condition and quality. Probably cheaper than a concussion.

Your # of miles per day is inspiring! Keep up the good work.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I had to give up trail hiking 5 years ago. Some winters we don’t get any snow and ice. I might get that watch because my husband was out of town on my last fall.

 

[mickj]

I was never a fan of the Apple Watch until I learned the series 4 has a feature to detect a hard fall. It asks if you want to call 911, and if there is no response after 60 seconds it automatically calls 911. The GPS feature tells them where you are located. Pretty cool!
With my bad back issues I’ve fallen a few times, plus having heart disease it gives me some peace knowing I won’t be alone for long if something happens.

I can validate that the apple watch fall detection actually works. I took a hard crash snowboarding and it detected the fall. I had the wind knocked out of me but was able to cancel the 911 call once I was able to breathe.

 

[Rushmore]

Terry I too feel that way. I have quite a bit of spinal arthritis and feel like the littlest fall/trip could really mess me up.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My mom didn’t have this problem at 80. It just feels too young to be having these issues.