The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

[kittysmith]

Tuesday, I had an appointment with my therapist. She has just relocated her office. Now it's right around the corner from my house. My husband was stuck in traffic, so I decided to walk. I often get spacticity and numbness when I walk a long distance. However, it was such a pretty day, I decided to try it. About halfway to her office, I fell...hard. I have some pretty bad road rash and a serious sprain in my right foot. Now I'm on crutches and then, the dreaded boot. Walking with crutches is not going well. I am having a hard time balancing myself. Also, I think my lack of balance contributed to my fall.

Does anyone have some words of wisdom for improving balance with crutches? Have you had a bad fall like this happen to you? Misery does love company, lol.

[marti]

No falls. No crutches. Just wanted to wish you well.

[Seasha]

Oh ouch kittysmith! I'm so sorry this happened to you! Did you ever make it to the therapist after the fall?

I would suggest that you not use the crutches if you're having trouble with balance and rent a Rolling Knee Walker instead. Look it up to see what it is. You can find them at home medical supply stores. They are more stable and easy to use.

Would hate to see you fall again on the crutches!!
Hope you feel better soon and heal quickly

[kittysmith]

Thank You

Oh ouch kittysmith! I'm so sorry this happened to you! Did you ever make it to the therapist after the fall?

I would suggest that you not use the crutches if you're having trouble with balance and rent a Rolling Knee Walker instead. Look it up to see what it is. You can find them at home medical supply stores. They are more stable and easy to use.

Would hate to see you fall again on the crutches!!
Hope you feel better soon and heal quickly

I have reached out to my PC about getting a boot or the walker you suggested. I had gone to a Walk In clinic because it was after hours.

I sat in the road a minute or so (Whining to my husband, ha). Then, I got up and just kept walking. Probably a mistake. my therapist asked if I was okay. When I pulled up my skirt, my knee was bleeding everywhere. She gave me a wet paper towel to hold on my knee during our session. She also thanked me for reminding her that she needed to have a 1st aid kit, lol. When I got up to leave, I couldn't put any pressure on my right foot. Ugh.

[kittysmith]

Aww

No falls. No crutches. Just wanted to wish you well.

Thank you, Marti. You are sweet.

[REG53]

kittysmith, I have a lot of indoor falls but nothing like you had.

I hope you feel better soon.

[MermaidOP]

Dear kittysmith,
So sorry to hear about your fall. Use the the most supportive locomotion aid you can find - if the crutches are hard to balance, use a walker or even a wheelchair. Your wounded parts need rest to heal, especially an ankle. The physical therapy activities for a sprain are not weight-bearing for a long time. Good luck and
Stay lifted,
Mermaid Susan

[kittysmith]

Thanks

kittysmith, I have a lot of indoor falls but nothing like you had.

I hope you feel better soon.

It was a blessing and a curse that no one saw me. Lol. I got up and kept walking. Should not have kept walking. I didn't realize how much it hurt until I sat down in my therapist's office. She did thank me for reminding her that she needs to get a first aid kit. Haha.

[kittysmith]

Waiting for answer from doctor

Dear kittysmith,
So sorry to hear about your fall. Use the the most supportive locomotion aid you can find - if the crutches are hard to balance, use a walker or even a wheelchair. Your wounded parts need rest to heal, especially an ankle. The physical therapy activities for a sprain are not weight-bearing for a long time. Good luck and
Stay lifted,
Mermaid Susan

I'm still waiting to hear back from my PC. I thought she would have gotten back to me today. Hopefully, tomorrow. Crutches are evil. Lol.

[palmtree]

I’m so sorry. It sounds like a nightmare. At least you are managing to stay out of a nursing home ‘rehab’ where they won’t let you go home until you can walk. Your fierce independence will serve you well right now.

Although I don’t think it would be so terrible if you got a wheelchair or scooter for a little while. This is one of those situations where you could easily have a more serious fall trying to manage on crutches. In my humble opinion it wouldn’t be worth it.

Just to know you are not alone, I pride myself on being able to reach everything in my bedroom without my feet touching the ground. I can turn off the air conditioning, adjust the thermostat and grab anything I need on shelves. I balance on a stool wobbly as heck but get a little thrill out of the challenge.

Last week I was getting some socks out of a bag hanging in my closet on a hanger. I started to lose balance and clutched onto the the hanger. The hanger gave way and everything went crashing to the ground, I’m not sure where I fell but there is a dark bruise on my face that in perfectly round just the size of the handle to the closet door.

That was lucky. We never know when our luck will run out.

When I am in the hospital they turn the bed alarm on and I am always setting it off because I have learned to elongate my trunk and arms so I can reach things at least six feet away without getting out of bed.

I guess I look at MS as a challenge to see how many feats I can accomplish with the parts of my body that work.

But this thread is for you. I pray your ankle heals and becomes strong again so you can make it all the way to the therapist’s office next time.

Another though I had is you could ask your husband to put everything close enough to your bed, couch or your desk or wherever you like to spend your time. Things like Kleenex, phone chargers, blankets. If he is handy maybe he can find ways for you to turn off lights and all kinds of things without putting weight of that foot.

[pennstater]

Sorry for your fall. I hope you are able to get the leg scooter. I can imagine how difficult crutches are.

At church this weekend, there was a woman with one and she was flying around. She was in her 80's, and her kids, in their 60's were struggling to keep up! That being said, she used to fly with her walker too. She had surgery and didn't want to use a wheelchair - she was worried about losing leg strength. Her kids would have preferred the chair, as now they are worried about her falling, but she is so independent. The pastor tried to get her to agree to slow down!

[kittysmith]

This thread is for everyone

But this thread is for you. I pray your ankle heals and becomes strong again so you can make it all the way to the therapist’s office next time.

This thread is for everyone. I enjoy hearing others stories. We're all in this together (whether we want to or not, lol).

[kittysmith]

Update

Thank you all so much for your good wishes and for sharing your experiences.

I got a boot on Friday. It hurts and it's cumbersome, but way better than crutches. I'm mad at myself for falling. I was feeling so good about walking to the therapist's office. My husband keeps telling me how proud he is that I attempted my journey and that I got up and kept going. I probably made my ankle worse by walking on it.

Fun story:

My son, 12, is on the ASD spectrum. He wants to know when I'm going to be better. So, he says "one week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks". I finally said, "Let's say 4 weeks and we can be pleasantly surprised if it's not". His next question..."What time will it be better". i adore this kid. He always makes me laugh.

[Cat Mom]

Your son sounds hilarious! Have you tried just one crutch? 4 years ago we moved to a house with 2 flights to get upstairs and 2 flights to get to the basement. When we moved in I said to my husband, "These flights of stairs are going to be the death of me". Then I fell from second step and broke my foot. I had the dreaded boot but I found that one crutch, on the side that had the broken foot, was a whole lot better than 2.

I hope you heal quickly and keep your sense of humour in tact!


Jen

[Carolinemf]

Sorry about your misaventures kittysmith.

but i am so proud of you for giving it a go- even though you came undone.

I have been having increasing dizzy spells. It kind of feels like i'm drunk and trying to walk on a boat with out any of the fun of drinking or fishing.
I have noticed it happens more with fatigue so i think this is the likely culprit.

any how -just in case it has gone unnoticed- i'm a bit of a control freak and i have been told on the odd occasion that i'm a wee bit stuborn.

Sooo .. we had a bit of a storm the other day and a shade gazebo (collapsible/portable) that we had been using blew up on to the roof.

My husband had seen it first and was a little concerned we may not be able to get it down again.

While hubby was busy tidying things up at the end of day i climbed up onto the roof determined to rescue it.
This was my little adventure for the day.
Poor hubby. when he realised i had climbed a 44 gallon drum then up 2 1000lt pods and over the gutter on to the roof and was trying to work out how to collapse an upside down jigsaw puzzle 3mts up he looked a little concerned.

The thing is that i managed to do it- it was a good day!
Some days i literally can't do ANYTHING!
A sometimes i just don't want to be here.

We have to push the envelope (our own personal one) occasionally to feel alive and vital.IMHO

after you mend please try n still have your own little adventures and don't let this mishap dishearten you.

Caroline