Help!! I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up
I had always feared that one day I might fall, break my hip, be alone, and not be able to sit up or crawl to the phone to call 911.
Well, a year ago today, when I was 64 years old, my fears became reality. I tripped over a bathroom scale that I had carelessly left in the hall after mopping the bathroom floor.
My arms flailed about, trying to keep my balance when Bam! I first landed on my arm, and then with a thud, crashed down on my left hip.
The pain was absolutely searing! I'd never felt anything like it. I couldn't move, let alone crawl to the phone to call for help. I was afraid that I was paralyzed. I lay there helpless until my husband came home. Horrified by the way I looked, he tried to help me sit up. After about an hour, I finally was able to prop myself against the wall. An ambulance took me to the hospital where I was x-rayed and I found out that I fractured not my hip, but my pelvis which fractured in two places.
It was a long road to recovery. After my fall, I went twice a week to physical therapy for two months. I knew how important it was to exercise, so, even with a walker, I kept up my morning habit of walking in the neighborhood, if only for a block or so and then slowly going a little longer as the days passed.
I was unable to walk without the help of a walker for about 6 weeks. When I stood up and took my first step by myself at physical therapy one day, I felt like it was a miracle.
The injury was a very painful one, and I got by with the help of Motrin, a heating pad, ice packs, and an electronic muscle stimulator such as a TENS unit (ask your physical therapist where to get one).
My biggest challenge was bending over when I had to pick up something. My friends suggested a grabber so I bought one and it was great. When I was able to bend over and pick something up without its help, it was a big accomplishment.
For several months after my fall, I had trouble getting on the floor if I had to dust a lower shelf of a bookshelf. I needed to lay down on my side to do it. I was unable to get up off the floor without pulling myself up with a chair or coffee table. I had to do this for months after my injury.
When I fell in the hall, I had nothing to grab on to and was helpless. After that, I thought I'd never be able to get up off the floor without depending on a prop of some kind.
A big milestone happened yesterday. I finally got the courage to go down on the floor and try to pull myself up to a standing position without leaning against something. This is how I did it: I knelt down on all fours and bent one leg. I put my hands on my bent knee and pushed myself up. It hurt a little bit, and I could feel a slight strain, but I could do it! Big Yay! After a few minutes, I didn't feel the strain anymore and was so pleased to have overcome my biggest hurdle.
So, it's a year later and I'm as good as new. I can walk almost two miles a day and I don't have any pain. To those of you with a fractured pelvis, don't give up.
I hope my posts have helped you and given you some encouragement. You can do this! Yes, you can!
