• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Falls (not water)

Phil

Phil

Old Oak
Joined
Jul 23, 2014
Messages
4,182
Reaction score
400
Location
Southern Africa 0054
We have Wednesday Tea at the clubhouse organised by the social committee. Once a month they arrange for a speaker/presenter on various topics.
There were two talks this year on falls, specifically the elderly.
They show you how to fall and then get up again.
This is all good and well how to fall.

BUT …………

It happens so fast there is no time to think and plan.

Four weeks ago late afternoon, storm brewing, I entered the garden area to empty the rain meter.
I fell. On my back. On the paving blocks and plants. Pulling over the pot with the fine thorn cactus onto my right leg.
Lay there feeling very sorry for myself knowing that I cannot get up from that position. Moved my body (85kg) on my backside pushing with my arms to the nearest large rock to hoist myself up. Stood up, turned and promptly fell again destroying a plastic pot with plants. Crawled through the garden to the house where I could get up again and hold so that I don’t fall.
Sat in the workshop pulling out thorns, then in the study.
Four weeks later I am still digging out thorns. Wait for it to fester then dig (big needle) and pull with tweezers. Sterilise with Meths. T-Paper for the blood.
They range in length from 5mm to 20mm.

Here is the damaged leg
Right Leg.jpg

And the thorns
Thorns.jpg
 
Sheesh, Phil....that's not fun. Cactus thorns can be a real pain (see what I did? :) ). My wife once stroked a furry little cactus in Namibia ("because it looked so cute and inviting"), and then spent the next couple of days with tweezers..... Not fun with a headtorch around a campfire, in the middle of nowhere in the Caprivi.
 
You have my sympathies Phil. I've had three falls this year - both caused by a downwards blood pressure spike, making me pass out without any warning or even awareness of it. Once at an EV charging station and the other in Tunbridge Wells on a cobblestone pavement. Both times I woke up to find concerned people trying to help. The third was in my garage - trying to climb over a step platform I caught my foot in it (I'm accident prone at the best of times) and down I went. Also dropped a motorbike on myself for good measure when trying to move it around the same garage. That hurt. Snapped a lever off too.
 
That looks painful - hopefully you have them all out now Phil.

Thankfully no broken bones - I'm told that one of the most common fractures as we get older is the wrist which is caused by instinctively sticking an arm out to break a fall.
 
5am, the Friday before Christmas: I couldn't sleep, so crept out and went down for an early breakfast...

... Went to turn the standard lamp on in the dining room (next to the faux stone fireplace). Right leg collapsed, projecting me into the lamp standard, pushing it into the corner of the mantlepiece, smashing the fitting and tearing the lampshade on the stone. The switch/light socket exploded springs and things everywhere (found all bits bar one vital thing, so the fitting became useless.

I crawled to a chair, then fell over again, backwards this time, taking the chair with me. It's a big house, so nobody upstairs heard me scream swear copiously downstairs.

So i lay there for a bit, contemplating mortality, then got up via said chair and the dining table (which is fairly solid). Not the first time and very unlikely to be the last.

A spare light socket arrived on 23rd (thank you Amazon, and Royal Mail Portishead sorting office, who re-routed it from where it wasn't supposed to be!). I had just about sufficient time to get it back into service, but the DC isn't happy about the damage to the lampshade, and I couldn't bash the shade-holder-ring-thing back into shape until later on Christmas Eve ("You 'old it son, I'll 'it it...").

Theoretically I have an operation in January to the upper spine, which is increasingly choking-off the spinal cord in the lower part of my neck. No correspondence about it so far from Neurosurgery, let alone a date.

It's getting dramatically worse week by week: If they don't get on with it there won't be any point.
 
AJB Temple said:
You have my sympathies Phil. I've had three falls this year - both caused by a downwards blood pressure spike, making me pass out without any warning or even awareness of it. Once at an EV charging station and the other in Tunbridge Wells on a cobblestone pavement. Both times I woke up to find concerned people trying to help. The third was in my garage - trying to climb over a step platform I caught my foot in it (I'm accident prone at the best of times) and down I went. Also dropped a motorbike on myself for good measure when trying to move it around the same garage. That hurt. Snapped a lever off too.
Click to expand...
You have my sympathies @AJB Temple and I hope you've seen you GP to get some help in treating this. Some years ago I had 'dizzy' spells if/when I'd get up after looking at something on the bottom shelf in some DIY type shop - blood pressure problems. Id have to go back down, wait for the dizziness to ease before getting back up much slower... I was given Losartan potassium at the time for it. I've other medication for a different problem that affects my blood pressure so no longer have the LP tablets, some "slight" blood pressure issues that the GP hasn't been able to resolve yet... *could* be POTS syndrome?

Hope you get proper treatment 🙏
 
@Phil I'm sorry read of the issues you've been having to resolve over the past four weeks - and also of the falling in the first place. Sincerely hope you've got all the thorns out now. The worst I've had was from a rose bush thorn and the tip had embedded into my thumb. It took ages to fester before I could remove following the same procedure you've done: needle, surgical spirit, TP for the blood etc. Here's to an ongoing recovery in early 2026 🙏
 
Just dug out another short one. Use a largish magnifying glass to check for thorn heads. Part of that area is still dead from the knee replacement (left half) so no pain, just a bloody mess!
We are supposed to hang our panic button around the neck, push and security will rush to the house and if it looks like a medical issue will fetch the clinic Sister on duty. The clinic Sister will also arrange for an ambulance if required.

@MikeG – that must have been very awkward for her with one hand out of action.

@ Adrian – FFS, you look like you need a permanent carer! 😊

You have my sympathy, passing out like that. I have my BP checked regularly at our clinic. My balance has been going out lately. One of the reasons I disposed of my bicycle was not feeling comfortable riding.

@ Robert – we do see that happen here, broken arm, hip, shoulder, pelvis cracked. My friend couple houses away cracked the bone in left arm near the shoulder that was repaired couple of months before that.

@ErictV – That is very serious!

@ Frank – Thanks. Anything low down on shelf or in drawer is an issue. The upper shelves in the kitchen cupboards are out of reach. Tell the wife to get rid of the stuff high up (she is a lot taller than myself). The garage/workshop I am slowly moving stuff higher up, and where possible moving stuff lower down. Bought a small plastic step and then also use the 2 ladders. If I need to change a light bulb in a ceiling light, wife has to hold me steady on the ladder.


{Edit- fix names}
 
Last edited:
Sorry to hear all of your problems, be careful out there!
Took a bad tumble after tripping on a bad pavement a couple of years ago, not so much a trip as protecting my ankle from twisting, My instincts took over and I found myself doing the sort of rolling movement that parachutists do landing on my shoulder, all would have been well but my glasses dug into my face. Quite painful but superficial damage.
 
Although falling of any kind can be dangerous I can't help but find the comical side to it after watching the numerous 'tumbles' in "Gone Fishing" with Mortimer and Whitehouse... the one in the latest episode being 'the best' to date.

Apologies to members that aren't aware of this UK TV series (BBC)...
 
OMG Phil, been there done that before, I remember laying on the ground cursing at myself.
Hopefully you will recover fully.
 
AJB Temple said:
You have my sympathies Phil. I've had three falls this year - both caused by a downwards blood pressure spike, making me pass out without any warning or even awareness of it. Once at an EV charging station and the other in Tunbridge Wells on a cobblestone pavement. Both times I woke up to find concerned people trying to help. The third was in my garage - trying to climb over a step platform I caught my foot in it (I'm accident prone at the best of times) and down I went. Also dropped a motorbike on myself for good measure when trying to move it around the same garage. That hurt. Snapped a lever off too.
Click to expand...
Do you have a fall alert gizmo to hang around your neck. My father, every time he gets up from a chair too fast will collapse due a drop in blood pressure but he insists that he doesn't need one.:mad:
 
I had a fall back in the summer. I was in the barn searching for something, and I pulled a couple of sheets of plywood away from the wall to peer behing. Unfortunately I pulled too hard and the plywood and a tall cupboard came crashing down on me, wedging me between the tractor-mower and the lawnmower. I couldn't move. I didn't pass out but I came close to it. No phone signal, no wifi. Sheila was in the house, much too far away. TBH, I was scared.
Eventually I did manage to get up, I'm not sure how long I was down, but it felt like forever. It made me realise how vulnerable we are when we are totally alone.
Fortunately I was not seriously hurt, but it could have been so much worse.
S
 
Ouch, those thorns look painful. Hope you'll get rid of them all soon without too much festering. I had some buckthorns needles in my hand once, but at least those are easily removed without leaving parts of them in your skin. Cactus needles are much nastier.

I suspect I might be a few years younger than most of you, but even so falling is no nice business. I still am grateful for having done lots of judo and jiu jitsu when I was younger. One of its benefits was learning to break your fall without hurting yourself otherwise while doing so. I don't do budo sports anymore (not for a long time now), but I still am glad I learned that skill. It has saved me from injuries more than once.
 
Steve Maskery said:
I had a fall back in the summer. I was in the barn searching for something, and I pulled a couple of sheets of plywood away from the wall to peer behing. Unfortunately I pulled too hard and the plywood and a tall cupboard came crashing down on me, wedging me between the tractor-mower and the lawnmower. I couldn't move. I didn't pass out but I came close to it. No phone signal, no wifi. Sheila was in the house, much too far away. TBH, I was scared.
Eventually I did manage to get up, I'm not sure how long I was down, but it felt like forever. It made me realise how vulnerable we are when we are totally alone.
Fortunately I was not seriously hurt, but it could have been so much worse.
S
Click to expand...
Very scary when no one hears you yelling for help.
 
It is so easy to end up flat on your back, 23 years ago I went into the garage ,slipped on the floor and wham
down I went. This was winter so the snow on the soles of my boots made the polished floor like a skating rink.
The dogs thought it was great fun playing with me for a few mins. Took a week till I was back to normal.
 
You have my sympathies Phil. Hope they all eventually come out..

Re your balance issues…..have you sought professional help? There are many many reasons for loss of balance. Some definitely need investigating. I recommend a two-prong approach. Your GP is one and for the second look for a specialist in vestibular rehabilitation.
 
RogerS said:
You have my sympathies Phil. Hope they all eventually come out..

Re your balance issues…..have you sought professional help? There are many many reasons for loss of balance. Some definitely need investigating. I recommend a two-prong approach. Your GP is one and for the second look for a specialist in vestibular rehabilitation.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rog.

I will see he GP in February (if I live that long! :eek:) It is the big annual blood tests.
I had to go and Google what that meant.
There are some exercises as well, will have a good read.
 
duke said:
Do you have a fall alert gizmo to hang around your neck. My father, every time he gets up from a chair too fast will collapse due a drop in blood pressure but he insists that he doesn't need one.:mad:
Click to expand...

The Estate has looked into this to replace current panic button system.
It would be a fair cost to each owner, so scrapped, and current panic button repeaters have been increased and the software at the gatehouse upgraded.
 
My dog caused the last time I hit the deck because he’s a sports cheat. I was racing him on my bicycle when he decided to cut across the path right in front of me to slow me down so I slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid him, skidded, lost control and went flying off the bike. Fortunately I went far enough that I ended up on grass instead of tarmac, but I slammed my face into the ground and cracked my glasses. The little bastard just trotted on and didn’t even come back to check on me. To be fair I was swearing pretty hard. To add insult to injury, my wife who was riding behind me was too far back and didn’t see my majestic somersault off the bike. No major damage but I was sore for weeks.
 
Accidents of course are hard to avoid. As for balance, like so many things, it is so much easier to do something about it before you know there is a problem. My old man made be realise this quite a few years ago. For more years than I can remember I have shaved (hand held electric razor) standing on one leg. Left side of face standing on right leg than vice versa. As part of my morning bathroom routine I also squat down on my haunches 20 times turning my head alternatively from left to right on each squat stretching the neck muscles at each turn.
I’ve no data nor medical evidence to show if this routine will help in later life. I’ll be 64 in less than 3 months.
 
Gawd...I survived a ladder slipping, with me on it, 6ft off the deck, that then 'took out' a freezer. I am still stupidly proud (any woman wouldn't be) that I took my hands off the ladder before impact.
I thought I had broken my leg and forearm. I lay there thinking:"phone? Oh yes, its on the kitchen table". I.lay there some more, before VERY carefully examining myself and eventually resuming the vertical.

We are a right bunch of crocks, aren't we?
 
AndyP said:
Accidents of course are hard to avoid. As for balance, like so many things, it is so much easier to do something about it before you know there is a problem. My old man made be realise this quite a few years ago. For more years than I can remember I have shaved (hand held electric razor) standing on one leg. Left side of face standing on right leg than vice versa. As part of my morning bathroom routine I also squat down on my haunches 20 times turning my head alternatively from left to right on each squat stretching the neck muscles at each turn.
I’ve no data nor medical evidence to show if this routine will help in later life. I’ll be 64 in less than 3 months.
Click to expand...
Certainly the standing on one leg has merit, I read an article about this very thing a few years ago.
Using shaving in that way is a good idea, I shall try it this morning, thanks.
 
Some not very good news from EtV, Phil and others. However, when it comes to falls, with age comes an increasing tendency towards falling. Our daughter and daughter-in-law, both Occupational Therapists, are constantly warning my wife and me about the need to be careful and watch our balance.

To check just how stable you are, it’s worth carrying out a simple test. First, making sure that you have something close to hang onto in case you start to fall, with your eyes open, lift one foot off the floor and start counting how long before you have to put your foot down or hold on to the support. Then, close your eyes, lift one foot off the floor and start counting again how long before you have to put your foot down or hold on to the support. At younger ages, you should be able to stand on one leg for a reasonable length of time but that diminishes rapidly as you age. It’s also interesting that, without a point of focus, i.e. with your eyes closed, how much quicker you start to fall.

What’s more, at older ages, your bones are more brittle with a greater chance of breaking something – ask my wife!
 
Yeah. Osteoporosis is nasty. Lots of walking helps limit its impact on your bones. The small "bumps" from landing on your feet have a positive effect on the density of your bones. And, of course, walking is good for you in other ways as well. It is one of the reasons we have never minded going for a walk with the dogs.
 
SamQ aka Ah! Q! said:
Gawd...I survived a ladder slipping, with me on it, 6ft off the deck, that then 'took out' a freezer. I am still stupidly proud (any woman wouldn't be) that I took my hands off the ladder before impact.
I thought I had broken my leg and forearm. I lay there thinking:"phone? Oh yes, its on the kitchen table". I.lay there some more, before VERY carefully examining myself and eventually resuming the vertical.

We are a right bunch of crocks, aren't we?
Click to expand...
Not something that I shout out about but... about 3 yrs ago (at age 71~72?) I was standing on an old steel folding ladder - it could be used as either a step ladder or opened fully/ fold out to make a ladder of around 8ft... I was leaning it against the front edge of the roof on the summerhouse I'd made for the LOML.

I knew it was rusty... had been using it numerous times during the work. This time it collapsed, folding back on itself, me at mid step reaching with my hand to the top rung...

With being at an angle, leaning forward going up, as it folded, my feet (toes area) hit the paving slabs 1st... then knees... I thought I was going to fold in half - backwards! Somehow I survived with just aching knees and back for a few days after.
 
MartinF said:
Some not very good news from EtV, Phil and others. However, when it comes to falls, with age comes an increasing tendency towards falling. Our daughter and daughter-in-law, both Occupational Therapists, are constantly warning my wife and me about the need to be careful and watch our balance.

To check just how stable you are, it’s worth carrying out a simple test. First, making sure that you have something close to hang onto in case you start to fall, with your eyes open, lift one foot off the floor and start counting how long before you have to put your foot down or hold on to the support. Then, close your eyes, lift one foot off the floor and start counting again how long before you have to put your foot down or hold on to the support. At younger ages, you should be able to stand on one leg for a reasonable length of time but that diminishes rapidly as you age. It’s also interesting that, without a point of focus, i.e. with your eyes closed, how much quicker you start to fall.

What’s more, at older ages, your bones are more brittle with a greater chance of breaking something – ask my wife!
Click to expand...

Good advice.
When showering I hold onto the grab handle when washing my face and closing my eyes. The shower also has a stainless steel seat if required.
 
I recollect years ago when we first moved into our bungalow in the country nr. Shaftesbury, my daughter, who was then about three or four went charging round the garden (as kids are wont to do) and fell into a rose bed which completely chewed up her little legs. Suffice to say, the next day they were unceremoniously dug up and burnt; the bed was then laid with turf.

We've never, ever had roses since - Rob
 
I am still a nipper compared to some of you old timers but I have noticed a loss in strength. A little while ago I was taking a new washing machine upstairs, (the laundry room is up there). I put a strap around it and started pulling it up from the landing. I got 3/4 of the way and started to struggle, my grip was failing, I couldnt shout for the mrs and didnt have the strength to lower it back down. It took what felt like a hurcurlean effort to reach the top. It would of been a cinematic marvel if recorded :) .
I thought to myself why so hard, I'd took the old one up much easier 6years previous. I then realised the old one was a 6kg model whereas this one was a 10kg
 
wallace said:
I am still a nipper compared to some of you old timers but I have noticed a loss in strength. A little while ago I was taking a new washing machine upstairs, (the laundry room is up there). I put a strap around it and started pulling it up from the landing. I got 3/4 of the way and started to struggle, my grip was failing, I couldnt shout for the mrs and didnt have the strength to lower it back down. It took what felt like a hurcurlean effort to reach the top. It would of been a cinematic marvel if recorded :) .
I thought to myself why so hard, I'd took the old one up much easier 6years previous. I then realised the old one was a 6kg model whereas this one was a 10kg
Click to expand...
Were you lifting it vertically? I’d never attempt that especially if you’re not using mechanical advantage. I’d lift it step by step. In any case 10kg isn’t that heavy.

Go and get some free weights and build your strength up. Seriously. I do free weights every other day. Gradually rebuild muscle mass.
 
CHJ said:
A 10kg capacity washing machine is likely to be in the region of 65 KG gross weight.
Click to expand...
Ah..my bad. I’m not up on the minutiae of washing machines. That’s female territory in our house !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top