10 April 2008

Falling

So today I fell down a flight of stairs, quite literally. My foot came off the top step and suddenly it was like being on the ice sheets on the streets of Farthest North Ice-Free Port, Alaska (ironic, isn't it? Ice-free port but no ice-free streets, but I digress.). And I went down, pretty much on my vertebrae, bumping along trying to stop myself with my thigh and my wrist while, most stupidly, trying not to break the glass items in my hand (note to self: throw them down and let them shatter! They are easier to replace then a back!). Coming at long last to a stop I sat up gingerly and promptly almost blacked out. Head between my knees. Breathe. Etc. Now I have a Frisbee sized bruise on my lower vertebrae & back that fits nicely right where the fabric of my waistline wants to rub and it is swollen and sore and the waistline doesn't help. I have a football sized bruise on my thigh.

Gorgeous red rocks, 2008
And I keep thinking...I've got to learn to stop being such a klutz. This is brought into stark relief by the fact that the Marlboro man fell down a flight of stairs in my sister's house the same day and shattered his ankle and is now in the rehabilitation part of the hospital. You can majorly damage yourself falling down - downs stairs or otherwise.


Desert Mountain Sheep, 2008


I went to lovely the lovely Peach Growing City in the Shadow of a Mesa (I'm taking lessons from Jo(e) on pseudonymous place names) for the weekend to visit with old friends and new and we were going on a lovely red rock desert hike when my new friend gasped and asked "are those bruises?" on my legs. I looked down, and sure enough there were - there always are because I am forever running into things or knocking things down. Luckily I'm only a klutz within man made structures - out in the wilderness I look much more like these desert mountain sheep we saw (pictured), hence my graduate school nickname of "mountain goat". I sure don't feel like one today though.

23 comments:

  1. Ouch!!! I hope you heal quickly - that sounds painful!

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  2. Ouch! That sounds painful. If it's any help, I'm also a selective klutz. I'm not clumsy at work at all, but I've walked into every piece of furniture in my house.

    When my parents visited me last year, I took them with me to lab one day when I had a bit of work to do. As we were leaving the lab, my mom said to me, "You know, your dad and I were so amazed you could move around the lab so quickly and gracefully. You're not normally like that!" :-)

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  3. OMG! My heart goes out to you! I have done the same on more than one occasion. The first time I cracked a rib and the last serious mishap was while we were attending our alma mater and I tore a ligament and chipped my ankle bone. Thanks to a mutual friend of ours in the Kinesiology program I have full use of my ankle today. I am very glad you managed to get away with mostly bruises. I hope some salve and a few days will find you quickly on the mend!

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  4. ai, I fell down some stairs ten years ago and has been a bit frightened since then. outdoors I'm fine too

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  5. That hurt to read! But I don't think - unless one does it a lot - there's a good way to fall. I knew when I missed a step and injured my ankle, there was only time to gasp and wait until I hit the ground rather than decide what to drop or how to catch myself. So I hope you don't fall down enough to become really good at it. And that your bruises don't stay too painful for very long.

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  6. Ouch!
    As someone who can fall off of stairs, hills, bikes, horses, and just about anything else, I sympathize.

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  7. I fall down the stairs in my house once a year. My husband says it's like that Eddie Murphy routine about his Aunt Bunny falling down the stairs.

    Take care of you!

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  8. OMG - be careful! I am a klutz too, and while I don't fall often, when I do it is usually something spectacular...

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  9. Ouch! I hope the pain and bruising subside quickly. I'm a klutz too, especially when I'm PMSing for some reason - is this a common thing?

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  10. I'm so glad no serious damage was done. It sounds painful though.

    Protecting the glass objects and forgetting about the fragility of the body - this really speaks to me and reminds me to take better care of me.

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  11. ouch! Sorry about your fall, and glad to hear no serious damage was done! (you had me worried there at the beginning) It's good your klutziness disappears in the wilderness....

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  12. I'm glad you're more like those mountain goats out in the field. Hope the bruises (and pain) go away soon!

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  13. In a way, you're very lucky - I'm sure if I tried that, I'd have ended up in hospital(!)

    I hope you're quickly fully recovered.

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  14. Ow! How is the back? Better I hope? Do you also find yourself in situations where you have bruise or three, and cannot remember where you got them?

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  15. poor dear...I should offer some sage advice...alas, i have none ,except Don't Bump the Glump.

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  16. Ouch! I fall down stairs a lot, much to my husbands' dismay. My clumsiness is contextual like yours though- 20 years of ballet training but I can't handle stairs! Hope you are feeling better soon!

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  17. Ouch! I bump into everything. I don't think I've ever had a day of field work where I didn't collect a bruise or cut, and at home I'm not much better. Hope you are recovering quickly.

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  18. You're not alone, but I doubt that's consoling. Take it easy, and allow your body to mend itself.

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  19. oh babe. i fall all the time. i fell today. i hate the falling.

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  20. Oh my word, I hope you're starting to feel better - sounds bad, but lucky that you didn't cause some serious damage.

    Take good care of yourself! x

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  21. ouch.

    I was chest pressing 35's today and you came to mind.

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  22. Oh my gosh, yes, take care! That sounds OUCH! But lovely photos.

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  23. sciencegirl, thanks! The bruises are fading.

    mad hatter, it's always encouraging to know you aren't alone!

    ladyintheredwoods, yes, I was VERY lucky.

    hypoglycemiagirl, strange that, isn't it?

    post-doc, well, I fall enough to be told I do so "gracefully", what ever that means!

    dr. lemming, thanks.

    seeking solace, it hurts doesn't it?

    qt, I'm working on careful....

    cae, judging by the comments on this post it may be!

    hel, it is funny how our instinct is not always about taking care of us first.

    bean-mom, indeed. I would be in real trouble then!

    silver fox, thanks!

    but why, I AM very lucky. And perhaps when one does such things often one is less apt to end up in the hospital?

    veo, the back is better thanks. I do indeed find myself with inexplicable bruises all the time.

    doris rose, I thought of that too... laugh.

    dancingfish, i had a similar number of years of ballet training - it is somewhat related I think - after all we are always told not to look down!!

    sciencewoman, thanks!

    ms chica, it is amazing how many fellow klutzes came out with this post.

    jen, me too but I'm just glad that I'm young enough to recover from them so quickly!

    trousers, thanks. I agree, I WAS lucky.

    crazymumma, smile.

    julie pippert, thanks on the photos!

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