Re: falls and risk prevention

[Guest guest]

Elaine,

I'm concerned about the number of times you've been falling. You may have been

lucky so far but it won't always be that way. I have a sister with CMT who was

always falling...she's older than me so I learned from her mistakes before I got

that bad. She had a bad fall that resulted in a broken leg & she never was able

to walk after that. You need to use a cane or walker or whatever it takes to

prevent falls.

Are your falls caused by tripping...those aren't too bad unless you hit

something on the way down. I've found that slipping falls are the worst...I've

done that too many times, one leg goes out & you crash down on the other. I now

wear suede bottomed slippers in the house after the last time I did that after

spilling a little water on the floor while watering plants. You never know when

there may be water on the floor & I can't afford an injury. I take no chances.

After several times of nearly falling from loss of balance & just being lucky to

be close enough to grab something, I started using a walking stick. The only

problem with it was trying to find a place to lean it where it wouldn't fall

when I needed to put it down. I think a quad cane would be better...at least it

will stand where you put it. I was shopping online for one & came across a

rolling cane. It seemed like a good thing so I ordered it. At first I did OK

with it but once it tipped forward when the front swivel wheels were turned

sideways when I was on carpet. I was close enough to grab the wall & didn't

fall, but now I'm not so comfortable with it. If I'm home alone, I'm not

overtired & can take my time & focus, I use it some... but when my grandson is

here, I'm afraid he'll come up behind me & make me fall.

Since it rolls, it wouldn't stop you from falling. I have a 3 wheeled rolling

walker I use some but it has some sharp metal where the

brakes are so I'm afraid my grandson will get hurt on it. So after much trial &

error, I've ordered a plain walker.

The only obstacle to me being able to take care of my grand kids is finding a

way for me to get around quickly & safely with something that won't be in the

way or be a hazard to the kids. I'm hoping the plain walker will be just the

thing. I'm lucky to be able to afford trying everything & have a very supportive

husband who just wants me to have whatever works. Anything that doesn't work for

me gets donated to Goodwill so hopefully someone gets use out of it.

I hope you will try something to prevent your falls. I'd start with the quad

cane, but please don't wait until you seriously injure yourself. It's not worth

the risk.

Take care,

Jan

[Guest guest]

I agree with everything in Jan’s post. You have to use whatever tools you can

to avoid injury…CMT is bad enough all by itself.

When I was more stable I used a 4-prong cane, cost about $15 and it helped me

for a long time. I now use a motorized wheelchair, I bought it on line for ½

price of stores and I love it. It breaks down into 3 pieces and goes in the

trunk. I used to zap all my energy dragging myself around on the walker, this

chair has changed my life.

The last time I fell, I was in hinged AFOs and was using a walker. I fell

forward and hit my head on a steel door. That was the last straw, that’s when

I ordered my wheelchair! Use the tools you need to make your life the best it

can be :-)

Jeanne