Falling,
Falling, Down!!
At our AGM in
October 2008, Jega spoke to us about her fear that polios she meets are going
to come a cropper and fall so badly that they will end up with a head
injury! And Jega should know, as she
tells us that she worked in Ward 1 at RPH - SPC for 25 years dealing with head
injured patients. (She maybe doesn’t
know that polio people usually just let themselves go loose when they fall and
so don’t injure themselves too much -
but can still end up with fractures and torn and strained tendons and
muscles, to say nothing of bruising!!)
So the caution is to take heed and try to prevent a fall. The words below by polio survivor, Dr Henry
Holland in
Dr Henry
Holland MD, polio survivor, board certified psychiatrist and Clinical Professor
of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the Medical College of Virginia
University in Virginia USA writes:
Some years ago, I made a
list of all the falls that I could remember. Of course, the bad or spectacular
falls are more easily recalled. My list came to about 25 falls. The first
occurred in the halls of the Medical College of Virginia Hospital when I first
learned to walk with two long leg braces and two crutches. Somehow, I lost my
balance and fell backward like a small tree that had been cut at the base. My
head hit the marble floor and I almost lost consciousness. However, I was
picked up, and walked back to my bed.
My most recent fall
occurred in '95 when I stepped on a toy dog in the bedroom, lost my balance and
actually fell gracefully with no injury. Some of my falls have produced
considerable pain, swollen joints, large bruises, and anxiety. Pain is no fun,
but dealing with it may build character.
For many of us the
experience of terror occurs during that second or less when we realize that we
have lost our balance and recovery of balance is impossible. To put it another
way: I have lost control and I am going to hit something for sure.
A lot does depend on what
we hit, and what part of our body hits first. I have fallen on marble, slate,
wood, rugs, grass, dirt, concrete, snow, ice, and stairs. The part of the body
that usually hits first is any one of the four extremities (elbows, hands,
knees, hips ) or unfortunately the head or chin.
During that split second
of falling weightlessness, our autonomic nervous system kicks into the fright
or flight mode. We cannot flee, thus, we have more of the fright mode. By the
time we land, our hearts are racing, the respiratory rate is increased, and we
are probably breaking into a sweat. If we did not sustain a serious injury,
this extra adrenalin helps us get over the immediate effects of the fall.
Of course, later, we are
quite sore and fatigued, but grateful that nothing really bad happened. Fear is
no fun, but dealing with it may build character.
Falls can result in
serious injury or life threatening situations.
About seven years ago
when I was leaving my office rather late one night, I fell on ice about midway
between my office and my car. It was very cold. Because of the slippery ground,
I was unable to get any traction, and could not get up. I was totally alone. I
decided to crawl to my car. With my last source of energy, I was able to pull
myself into the car, and get it started, and eventually warm up. This
experience taught me about vulnerability, and having better options for help.
Even with precautions, bad things can happen.