"Help, I've fallen, and I can't get up." Many of us have seen the commercial. It was widely spoofed and and became the source of many late night TV comedian's one liners.
I'll never be able to laugh at this again. I recently fell in my home while alone and it is a frighting thing, to be helpless and alone, while in your own home.
You never think it will happen to you. Because most statistics for accidental falls in the home are geared toward the very young or the very old, overall...
The majority of fall-related injuries in childhood mostly occurs in private houses and head trauma is the most frequent injury. To decrease the frequency of the fall injuries, strategies should include parents' education about the mechanism of falls and increase prevention strategies.(1) More than 400,000 adults ages 65 and older were injured in falls in 1997.
Falls are the leading cause of injury death in persons over the age of 65. One in every three adults in this age group falls each year.(2)
...you never think, as an adult in your twenties, thirties, forties or fifties, that you can be severely injured in a accidental fall in your home.
While falling, I was able to twist my body enough, so that I did not hit my head on the table. However, I did hit face on the floor hard enough that my head bounced. My upper teeth cut into my inner lip only slightly, and my right arm, which I had used to try and break my fall, was not broken. And my right knee was only scraped slightly.
I was lucky that I did not fall onto the range, which was still hot and that I did not have the pot of hot soup in my hands. (I know someone who slipped with her hands on the handles of a deep fryer and sustained burns so severe, the doctors thought she might lose some fingers. if not her whole hand.)
I was lucky that while I was only momentarily stunned, and was able to get up on my own after about five minutes. I was lucky I did not need emergency medical service.
Four days later, my four front teeth, which were loose, have firmed back into place and my dentist says I shouldn't loose any of them, however if any tooth starts turning gray (an indication of a dead root,) I should come back in immediately.
I did not see a doctor for my arm, which has gotten better daily. I'm now able to lift it over my head, although the muscle aches when I try to exercise it.
After this happened, I thought seriously about what I need to do, if I ever fall again and this time, can't get up on my own.
Besides making sure that every room has a phone within easy reach of the floor, the cordless phone, now sits on a very low table. If my cell phone isn't being recharged, it's now on my person at all times.
I have 911 on speed dial on every phone in the house.
I have two contacts, who check on me once a day. (One at work for Monday-Friday. This is easy, as they should see me at work every day. And my Mother for Saturday, Sunday and vacation time spent at home.)
Since I mop the kitchen floor every night and have sticky backs on all throw rugs, this wasn't an issue for me.
Falls occur when people lose their balance, can't see in the dark, trip over cords or throw rugs, use furniture that is not sturdy, climb on chairs, slip, or slide. Studies are underway to identify other risk factors that may contribute to falls.(3)
Unfortunately, accidental falls happen. Try to prevent or be prepared when one happens to you.
(1) http://lib.bioinfo.pl/meid:205904
(2) http://www.umm.edu/non_trauma/stats.htm
(3) http://ohioline.osu.edu/ss-fact/0163.html
