Another friend falling incident......not good recovery so far.

[RunningBum]

I took a fall on vacation last week. I get up every hour or two at night to pee. I try to stay as close to sleep as possible so I can fall back asleep easier, if that makes sense. I noticed even at home I often stagger and catch myself on a wall, door frame or dresser. I'd even occasionally even leave my bedroom, so I'm somewhat disoriented. Away from home one night last week, I got disoriented and walked around my bed and tripped over my suitcase and fell. The suitcase was very much out of the way from where I should have been. The wall mostly broke my fall but it could have been bad. So I've realized I need to actually wake up and think about where I'm going before getting up. It has helped a lot, even at home this week. No more staggering or wandering the wrong way. I still usually fall back asleep quickly, but even if I don't it's much better than taking a fall.

 

[MarieIG]

I took a fall on vacation last week. I get up every hour or two at night to pee. I try to stay as close to sleep as possible so I can fall back asleep easier, if that makes sense. I noticed even at home I often stagger and catch myself on a wall, door frame or dresser. I'd even occasionally even leave my bedroom, so I'm somewhat disoriented. Away from home one night last week, I got disoriented and walked around my bed and tripped over my suitcase and fell. The suitcase was very much out of the way from where I should have been. The wall mostly broke my fall but it could have been bad. So I've realized I need to actually wake up and think about where I'm going before getting up. It has helped a lot, even at home this week. No more staggering or wandering the wrong way. I still usually fall back asleep quickly, but even if I don't it's much better than taking a fall.

Yes, I've been noticing that staggering when the dog wakes me up in the middle of the night to go out, or I wake up to visit the bathroom.

 

[pacergal]

My sister took another fall a few weeks ago and landed on the same injured knee. She is getting better with PT, but is now walking with a walker until the knee is stronger.
Falls are far more scary as we age.

 

[MarieIG]

My sister took another fall a few weeks ago and landed on the same injured knee. She is getting better with PT, but is now walking with a walker until the knee is stronger.
Falls are far more scary as we age.

Sorry about your sister and I do agree.

 

[tutan]

I thought about this thread after I fell while trying to get into our bathtub a day ago. As I fell, my face hit the tub's faucet. I was stunned and it took a few minutes to assess the situation. I thought I broke some teeth but they were intact (whew!). My lower lip was a bit bloody. There was a slight pain in my right wrist. But that was it. I was ok although I still have a bruised lip. I am definitely going to be more careful around the tub, and in general.

Replace the tub with a walk-in shower if you don’t have one already. Stepping over a high ledge unto a possibly slick surface is always a danger.

 

[aja8888]

Replace the tub with a walk-in shower if you don’t have one already. Stepping over a high ledge unto a possibly slick surface is always a danger.

+1000 !!

 

[braumeister]

I spoke with a woman the other day who recently had a terrible falling incident. She fell walking into a garage with a slick floor, and broke her wrist. Compound fracture, and you know how delicate your wrist bones are. Intense pain and months of rehab.
Let's be careful out there.

 

[aja8888]

And here I am walking my little dog three times per day, once in the dark, trying to keep my 8,000 step goal on track. I do use a home made walking stick, though. I am careful.

 

[MarieIG]

And here I am walking my little dog three times per day, once in the dark, trying to keep my 8,000 step goal on track. I do use a home made walking stick, though. I am careful.

Do you have a yard you can let her out in at night? My tiny puppy can pull me off my feet and I don't see well in the dark, so we have a very long lead in the back yard, leave the hook by the back door, I hook her up to the lead and let her go out while I watch from the window. She lets me know when she is ready to come back inside. DS and DH (when he is home) clean up any deposits - so, it is a team effort!

 

[street]

AJA, so many people quit visiting once someone is very sick or has dementia. It’s a real gift for them to have a visit from a friend. Even once my friend with dementia didn’t know who I was I kept going. I would sit with her and hold her hand and it was comforting for her. I felt like her soul knew I was there for her.

That is so kind. I always was so happy to hear my mom had visitors when she was having memory issues.
Bless Your Soul for the kindness you gave.

 

[Ronstar]

I spoke with a woman the other day who recently had a terrible falling incident. She fell walking into a garage with a slick floor, and broke her wrist. Compound fracture, and you know how delicate your wrist bones are. Intense pain and months of rehab.
Let's be careful out there.

Nasty. She probably instinctively tried to break her fall by landing on her hands.

I broke my wrist in a rollerblading fall about 20 years ago. Leaned back to apply the brakes. Feet went out from underneath me. Tried to break my fall by landing on my hands. ER doc said broken wrists are common in falls.

Now that I think about it, all of my broken bones were caused by falls. Broken clavicle falling from a tree, the broken wrist rollerblading fall, and a broken ankle falling through the ice while skating. Luckily none within the past 10 years.

 

[aja8888]

Do you have a yard you can let her out in at night? My tiny puppy can pull me off my feet and I don't see well in the dark, so we have a very long lead in the back yard, leave the hook by the back door, I hook her up to the lead and let her go out while I watch from the window. She lets me know when she is ready to come back inside. DS and DH (when he is home) clean up any deposits - so, it is a team effort!

Yes, I have the yard (small), and he goes out, but I like to walk him with a flashlight and there are street lights so it's pretty well lit up.

I handle any droppings in the back yard as I have no reliable helpers nearby.

 

[RunningBum]

Now that I've apparently got the night time stumbling solved, my next likely hazard is my formerly feral cat.

He has totally bonded with me, but his bond with food is even tighter. Even though I feed him 3(!) times a day he still worries about his next meal and anytime I'm in the kitchen he's underfoot, thinking I must be feeding him since that's my #1 job. I eat and sometimes camp out on a stool at the kitchen counter so there are a lot of opportunities. When I see him I don't actually kick him but I don't avoid him either, giving him a firm nudge with my foot. But with his color he blends in so well with the floor I often miss him.

When I first adopted him a few days after he was trapped and neutered, I made sure he associated me with food to try to get him to come around. It worked, too well. To try to break that link I use a timed/refrigerated feeder (for wet food, which is all he eats due to urinary tract issues), but he's smarter than that. What he hasn't thought through is that if he trips me and I get knocked out hitting my head on the counter there's no one to refill the feeder for tomorrow. That'll serve him right!

 

[Gremlin]

Now that I've apparently got the night time stumbling solved, my next likely hazard is my formerly feral cat.

View attachment 54439

He has totally bonded with me, but his bond with food is even tighter. Even though I feed him 3(!) times a day he still worries about his next meal and anytime I'm in the kitchen he's underfoot, thinking I must be feeding him since that's my #1 job. I eat and sometimes camp out on a stool at the kitchen counter so there are a lot of opportunities. When I see him I don't actually kick him but I don't avoid him either, giving him a firm nudge with my foot. But with his color he blends in so well with the floor I often miss him.

When I first adopted him a few days after he was trapped and neutered, I made sure he associated me with food to try to get him to come around. It worked, too well. To try to break that link I use a timed/refrigerated feeder (for wet food, which is all he eats due to urinary tract issues), but he's smarter than that. What he hasn't thought through is that if he trips me and I get knocked out hitting my head on the counter there's no one to refill the feeder for tomorrow. That'll serve him right!

As the parent of a formerly feral cat, I can relate to these issues. I wonder how your kitty would react to a collar with blinking lights. At least he’d be more visible

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

DW's mom fell today but didn't hurt herself. Fortunate, because she'll be 99 in March.
She lives in assisted living and needs help to use the bathroom. She's impatient by nature, though, and apparently got tired of waiting for assistance. An aide found her on the floor in the bathroom doorway.

We're not sure how long she waited before going solo. The home is generally pretty good, but staffing is a chronic issue in this and probably every other place in the area.

 

[Koolau]

Now that I've apparently got the night time stumbling solved, my next likely hazard is my formerly feral cat.

View attachment 54439

He has totally bonded with me, but his bond with food is even tighter. Even though I feed him 3(!) times a day he still worries about his next meal and anytime I'm in the kitchen he's underfoot, thinking I must be feeding him since that's my #1 job. I eat and sometimes camp out on a stool at the kitchen counter so there are a lot of opportunities. When I see him I don't actually kick him but I don't avoid him either, giving him a firm nudge with my foot. But with his color he blends in so well with the floor I often miss him.

When I first adopted him a few days after he was trapped and neutered, I made sure he associated me with food to try to get him to come around. It worked, too well. To try to break that link I use a timed/refrigerated feeder (for wet food, which is all he eats due to urinary tract issues), but he's smarter than that. What he hasn't thought through is that if he trips me and I get knocked out hitting my head on the counter there's no one to refill the feeder for tomorrow. That'll serve him right!

Yeah, we always used to say that the shortest distance between our cat's bed and the fridge was between our feet as we headed in that direction. Why he thought it was a good idea to take the short cut still baffles me based on the number of times he got stepped on.

 

[ivinsfan]

Kind of OT, but our DD and family got a brand new puppy. They also have a older dog. We often did puppy duty if they are out of town for a few days. This new pup is constantly running to find you or crawling between your legs as you are walking. A real pest on the leash as well. She's very young so hopefully that improves. But we have declined to puppy sit for the immediate future..I'm not going to be taken down by a naughty puppy.

 

[aja8888]

Kind of OT, but our DD and family got a brand new puppy. They also have a older dog. We often did puppy duty if they are out of town for a few days. This new pup is constantly running to find you or crawling between your legs as you are walking. A real pest on the leash as well. She's very young so hopefully that improves. But we have declined to puppy sit for the immediate future..I'm not going to be taken down by a naughty puppy.

Pups need training with a leash. It doesn't come naturally. Same goes with in-house manners.

 

[RunningBum]

Kind of OT, but our DD and family got a brand new puppy. They also have a older dog. We often did puppy duty if they are out of town for a few days. This new pup is constantly running to find you or crawling between your legs as you are walking. A real pest on the leash as well. She's very young so hopefully that improves. But we have declined to puppy sit for the immediate future..I'm not going to be taken down by a naughty puppy.

A few years ago, an elderly neighbor (low 80s, I think) was pet sitting for her daughter's dog. Her own dog was older and laid back, so she let her go off leash, and it never was a problem, but she worried that this younger, active dog might run away into the woods adjacent to our neighborhood, so she had him on a leash. I happened to be outside once, and I don't remember if the dog bolted to me (I had taken it out for runs before) or just ran elsewhere but it brought the woman down. Fortunately she was ok but it was very scary to me. I did mention it to the daughter, who I also knew. I don't recall for sure but I think that was the end of asking her mother to pet sit, which seemed right to me.

 

[aja8888]

I recall in my old neighborhood of 55+ homes, several women walked their dogs daily. I was out there with my dog too. A few had instances where their dog bolted after a squirrel or rabbit and pulled the women over. They either broke an arm, collarbone, or got scraped up. We were walking on concrete pathways.

 

[ivinsfan]

Pups need training with a leash. It doesn't come naturally. Same goes with in-house manners.

The training is ongoing as I type..SIL is very good with dogs...so I expect this is to be a temporary issue...

 

[aja8888]

The training is ongoing as I type..SIL is very good with dogs...so I expect this is to be a temporary issue...

It takes a while with young dogs as I found out with mine. But he is good on a leash after about a year of walks!

 

[Koolau]

Pups need training with a leash. It doesn't come naturally. Same goes with in-house manners.

Cats can only be taken for a drag on a leash. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[ncbill]

Yeah, we always used to say that the shortest distance between our cat's bed and the fridge was between our feet as we headed in that direction. Why he thought it was a good idea to take the short cut still baffles me based on the number of times he got stepped on.

I keep a death grip on the banister when going downstairs because my cat needs to beat me there.

 

[RunningBum]

I keep a death grip on the banister when going downstairs because my cat needs to beat me there.

I had ACL and meniscus repair in 2012, and was on crutches for a few weeks. I had to be especially careful on stairs. The two cats I had used to race by me like that, so I trained them by whacking them with my crutches, not too hard, but not a tap either. They learned! They wouldn't pass unless I looked back and stopped and told them it was ok to go. And for the rest of their lives, even when I didn't have crutches, they would pause behind me, and make a noise that they were coming by. Every time. Those two were great cats.