I've written various blog posts on falling, and today, a dear friend sent me a link to an article that is absolutely horrifying to read if you are a senior citizen - or even if you are not, given that a man I went to high school with lost his 39 year old son. The son died from injuries suffered in a fall. My spouse lost an aunt from injuries she suffered in a fall. And my late mother in law's mobility and quality of life were ruined from injuries suffered in several falls.
What is sad is that many of these falls are preventable.
I fell while exercise walking in 2011. Several years later, my spouse ended up in the ER tripping on a sidewalk crack, missed several weeks of work, broke his nose, and permanently injured both shoulders and a wrist.
In December of 2015 I attended the wake of an 83 year old woman, my brother in law's mother in law. She fell in the bathtub, back in February, and hit her head,
beginning a nine month nightmare for her and her family.
That, in a way, we can understand. People grow old. We all will. For
too many of us, falling is part of that process. We have come to
recognize that in the United States, and are trying to work on seeing if
it is possible to educate people into being more aware of falls.
We can educate people about vision, about the risk of various medications in relation to falling. But what do we do about streets unsafe to cross, or crumbling sidewalks?
Years ago, a series of commercials for a Life Call device ("I've fallen, and I can't get up!") became classics.
Now, they aren't so funny.
So, why am I blogging about falling today? Because I went on a garden tour today, in a small town of upstate New York. The gardens were amazing, but the sidewalks were less than amazing. After the falls my spouse and I have taken we are so careful. And these sidewalks are on the main street of town.
So people drive. If they drive, they don't get exercise. And if they don't get exercise, they are more prone to drive. Until they can't because their aging reflexes and vision make their driving a hazard to others.
Upstate New York has an aging population.
It only takes one misstep for a tragedy.
Crumbling intrastructure. The next fall could belong to someone you love.
How do we begin to solve this?
Saturday, June 8, 2019
4 comments:
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Fear of falling is a concern of mine every day, having fallen several times in the past few years. One of those falls did injury to my left leg that still bothers me. I try to be super-careful but one moment's inattention is all it takes, and, as you note, the consequences can be dire.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is something I think about. My ankles have gotten unstable and I cannot walk far on uneven ground. Hiking sticks help some... perhaps we all need to use them.
ReplyDeleteOne of my company’s biggest clients writes insurance for apartment buildings, shopping centers, etc. We see all kinds of claims against the insured premises, but the claims for injury as a result of a fall ... make me scared to ever walk on a NYC sidewalk again.
ReplyDeleteA few years back I fell at work. And no one was terribly shocked as the pavement at that school is very uneven. It's amazing more don't fall there daily.
ReplyDelete