Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Falling, falling, falling

I've experienced a relatively new development in the last couple of months: falling. I was working in my garden last week and fell twice for no apparent reason. I was not dizzy and I didn't lose my balance at all. I simply fell. Once onto my butt and once onto my face. My reflexes were good and I braced myself each time. I am pretty sure the falling is a side effect of my medications.

With my low platelet count (I am having rechecked tomorrow), a simple fall can leave me with inordinately large, dark bruises. I have a doozy on my right leg - it would alarm most people to see it. Yesterday, while walking back from the mailbox I almost fell again but caught myself. Thank goodness or I would have fallen onto the cement driveway. Not good.

We took several short hikes while vacationing - all were listed in trail guides as "easy" - one was even wheelchair accessible. My spouse noticed that I tended to trip and stumble more than usual. I never fell completely, but came pretty darn close at least a dozen times. This worries him when he is gone all day and it worries me as well. We have a 2-story house (built in 1897) and I go up and down the stairs a lot during the course of a day - it would be very bad to fall there. It kinda reminds me of those TV commercials - "I've fallen and I can't get up!" which is somewhat humorous until it happens to you or someone you love. Just like my grandma used to say, "Eee Gad!"

I'm not feeling so well today either and I'd hoped to work in my garden. I scrapped that plan and am going to accomplish a few other things. I don't drive when I feel like this either. I keep thinking that what I need most in my life right now is a driver. I could get so much more accomplished if I didn't have to drive! But my first responsibility is to my own safety and the safety of other motorists on the road, so no driving unless I am tip-top. Tip-top is becoming pretty uncommon.