Shattered Glass: Losing my Grip Lately

The fall happened in my kitchen on Friday, June 13. Given the date, I should have been more careful. It was quite dramatic and frightening as the glass teapot I was taking to the sink to wash slipped out of my hand and shattered, covering me and the kitchen in shards of glass. I fell trying to prevent the inevitable disaster. I was lucky as I only had a few minor cuts. After rinsing myself off in the shower to be sure there was no glass in my hair or on my body, a couple of Band-Aids were all I needed. The knot on the back of my head that hit the cabinet when I went down on my bottom was gone the next day, but a variety of bruises decorated my arm and my knee, and my recently-fixed right shoulder was painful again. Still, pretty lucky considering what could have happened.

Two falls in a month are a red-light warning, and the teapot incident was fall number two. Luckily, nothing was broken either time, but I have to take this as a serious warning to work on my balance and my focus. The first time I fell, I was walking down Grove Street on May 22 to do an errand. Usually, I focus on the surface as it changes from cracked concrete to brick to small bricks with lots of gaps, but the day I fell my mind was wandering and the next thing I knew, I was falling. It felt like a slow-motion event. I think my jacket cushioned the fall and I was able to get myself up the way my PT taught me – crawl on hands and knees to the wall of the viaduct and use that the wall to help me stand.

A trip to urgent care confirmed that nothing was broken and, in an element of excellent timing, I already had an appointment a few days after the fall with the pain doctor for steroid injections in my shoulders (which I subsequently ruined in the teapot fall). Feeling good as new, we drove to Indiana to see out granddaughter graduate from high school. I felt grateful to be back to normal, whatever that is for someone who was about to turn eighty, for the graduation weekend. Then came fall number two.

Luckily, I had just started a gentle yoga class right after the shattered teapot incident. Supposedly, yoga will help me with my balance. I hope so. I also scheduled a series of PT sessions, but it took over a month to get in. After assessing me, the PT recommended I try a walking stick, which is pretty helpful, and gave me pages of at-home exercises. But these things will only deal with the physical aspects balance and strengthening. Very important but not the total solution. I know I need to slow down and focus. Letting my mind wander may be great for writing, but not the best thing to do when I need to look down and ahead when I’m walking alone. And hurrying to do things when I’m tired, as in the teapot fiasco, is definitely a bad idea. Yes, I wanted to take care of a few dishes before I started to make dinner, but that job could have waited until I was less tired. In my younger days, I was a great multi-tasker. At my age, I need to keep my focus on one task at a time.

My falls were definitely a reminder that I need to be intentional about what I am doing. When I try to remember how the teapot fall happened, I’m not sure. Most likely, my arthritic hand lost its grip on the teapot and I fell trying to grab it before it broke. I think that’s how it happened. The image of all of that glass, including some larger pieces that could have resulted in a serious cut requiring stitches, haunts me. I also realize that either of these falls could have resulted in the dreaded broken hip. So, go slow, focus only at the task at hand, and limit day dreaming to when I am sitting at my computer writing.