First Fall

In the previous post, I reported that when the nurse comes this Thursday to change the dressing on my PICC line, I will have to announce that I've fallen twice this past week.

The previous post described my second fall. I am here now to report on my first fall.

It was last Thursday, July 2nd, and I was out in the yard working around Shawn and Alex, who were working on our new deck.

Right now, it's just a frame. They are doing the final prep work before laying the decking.

I was working across the frame towards the Carriage House door when I lost a step. There was nothing there for me catch myself, so I fell. Shawn rushed over to me and helped up. Before I could really get my balance, I fell again, this time, really tangling myself in the framework.

No damage to me other than my pride.

Bum Knee

I have just returned from an evening bike ride that didn't go well.

After dinner, I decided to go out on a little ride since I had not yet been out on the bike today. I traveled up the Post Street hill, diverting off to the side road and across the top of the bluff over to Division. 

When I'm on the bike, I sometimes like to slalom. That is to say, I will pick opposing spots on the street to turn toward, thereby weaving back and forth across the street. The spot can be anything. A dot of oil, a leaf, a manhole cover. 

One of my favorite things to do is the go through a wide-open parking lot and do a really tight 360-degree turn. I like the feeling of tilting way over and holding a turn.

At the top of the Division Street hill, there is a little mini mall with a coin shop and a decorative clock on top of the building. I traversed through their parking lot. At that point, I decided to do a tight turn. I tilted way over and the turn did not hold. 

The asphalt in the parking lot was really quite slippery. My front wheel went out from under me and I went down.

My damaged pride is matched by my road rash. The main issue is my left knee. I have a good scrape, and it has swollen impressively.

Here's a photo of my right knee for comparison.

So, as I said, my pride is sullied and I'm off the bike for a few days, which is the most distressing aspect of this whole fiasco. That, and I have to report a fall to my infusion nurse this week. Two falls actually, but that's another story.