Like Mother Like Daughter

Last Thursday night I had a bit of a mishap on my way home. It was about 8:45 at night and I had just gotten off the bus at the local park and ride. The Northgate Park and Ride has a walking path down the center that is lined with trees and has tree roots pushing up the sidewalk in quite a few places.

I was in a hurry to get to my car and get home and carrying my heavy purse and tote bag. Sure enough, my left foot tripped on the pavement where a tree root had pushed it up. I was afraid I was going to fall but then felt I could catch myself first by getting my right foot under me quickly.

Unfortunately the path for my right foot was blocked by another tree root. Down I went. I fell forward with my arms mostly outstretched. I landed on my knees and base of my hands, jamming my left shoulder and left wrist. My body hit the ground pretty hard.

When you fall suddenly like that it takes a couple minutes before you know if anything is broken or if you will be able to get up. I was eager to get up as quickly as I could to head for the safety of my car. It was dark out and I didn't know what nefarious types might be wandering about. But I had to take a couple minutes for the shock to wear off and pain to subside.

In that couple minutes before I knew the extent of my injuries my first thought was "if I'm broken or unable to get up, how will I get home?" followed quickly by "if I am seriously injured how will I take care of my mother??" Fortunately, these thoughts were short-lived because I was able to get up (albeit slowly) a couple minutes later.

I was pretty shaken up but not seriously injured. I had new empathy for what my mother probably went through in her last fall. It's scary. You feel suddenly helpless and vulnerable.

I got myself to my car and called Walter to let him know what had happened and that I would be home soon. Over the next couple days I came to realize the full extent of my injuries - soft tissue ones for the most part. My shoulder still bothers me if I raise it above my head. I slightly bruised my lower ribs on the left side and my tummy is quite black and blue. And then there's the sore muscles: arms, neck, sides, back and abdominals. I'm healing up really quickly and none of my injuries are obvious from the outside. In a few days I will be good as new. I'm feeling grateful to be in one piece.

I love sharing things with my mother but falling is not something I care to repeat. When I told my sister Diega about it she told me she fell a few days ago - also with minor injuries. When noticing my sore body this morning I asked Walter to remind me not to fall any more. He said "consider yourself reminded - for the rest of your life."

As for my mother's last fall she's still in a fair amount of pain when she walks. We head back to the doctor's office tomorrow provided snow doesn't stop me from getting to Olympia.