1st major fall

[nunhead_man]

As somebody with arm onset I had not really thought about what would happen if I fell over and my arms had got to the stage where they would not allow me to get myself back onto my feet.

That is what happened this morning at around 9 AM – I bent over to pick something up, usually not a problem but overbalanced and fell over, then could not get up by myself nor could my wife help me as she is a lot smaller than I am. So we had to call out the ambulance service on a non-emergency basis.

I now know I have this vulnerability but I'm wondering about preparing for it happening again – I need something to connect me to my wife so that I can attract attention if it happens again and perhaps that's all I need in the short-term as getting hold of a mobile hoist seems ridiculous as I may not fall over again in a place where we can get the hoist to.

So on we go.

[denise]

Oh Andy it's a worry. I bought Stephen an alarm but if he falls it would be under him. I struggled for 20 minutes to get him up. I have no idea who to call. He slipped in the bedroom the other day. Can't use his hands and weak arms. I have no idea how he got up again. I'm going to talk to the hospital because we really need help. There should be training for carers in how to help.

[Double D]

I wear a falls detector on my wrist which works really well.

[Deb]

Hi Andy,

Hope you're ok. A fall makes you feel so vulnerable especially when you can't get up. I wear a" buddi" falls detector on my wrist linked to my families phones. We got it when my husband ( who hasn't MND ) slipped in our wet room on a non slip floor ! I was on my shower wheelchair in the shower and we realised if he had hurt himself there is no way we could have alerted anyone.

You can adjust the sensitivity settings. Mine goes off if I shake my wrist and I must have done it in the night recently. For some reason our sons weren't overjoyed to get an alert.

I think you can get something like a lilo that slips under the person who has fallen and you can then inflate it to make it easier to get up. You would need quite good mobility to do this however.

Hope you're not hurt,
Love Debbie x

[slp]

Hi Andy

Maybe get your OT involved and get a personal alarm connected. I remember having falls and it's frightening and it hurts

I hope that you are OK

stay safe Sarah xx

[Barry52]

Hi Andy,

Falls are never pleasant so I hope you are not injured. Fall detectors are prone to being sensitive so you need to consider this, however a call alarm worn on your wrist is a good idea. I wear one managed by Saga and if I press the button it calls the centre. If they get no response from me they call my family and the emergency services. You can get an inflatable cushion to help your wife get you up but it is expensive. Be prepared because unless you take to a wheelchair, you will fall again as this is the nature of the disease.

[Nettie]

I too have call alarm managed by community link with the local council, also have the buddi wristband so I can alert the hubby if I need anything in the night especially now I’m downstairs x

[GaryM]

Sorry to hear about your fall Andy. When I fell a few weeks ago, the OT offered me one of the inflatable cushion type things. She said it is fairly bulky to store. We declined the offer, for the time being.

[Bowler]

When Ann got to the stage of no movement I set up a text system with our 3 children and a close friend so if anything happened to me they would at least be aware. Each person had a specific time of day ( 8am, 12noon, 4pm and 8pm ). If they hadn’t received a simple “ OK” text from me by their allotted time they would phone me. If I didn’t answer they had the numbers of 3 neighbours who had keys to the house. They would call them to come and check on us. Not perfect but it gave us some comfort.

[GaryM]

https://www.nrshealthcare.co.uk/mobility-aids/moving-transferring-handling-aids/stair-climber-emergency-evacuation/elk-emergency-lifting-cushion

[Ellie]

nunhead_man Sorry about your fall - the complete lack of balance is an odd thing, isn't it...

Andy, some smart watches have a fall sensor and automatically call a designated number - if you have a smart watch, check to see if it has such a function.

Love Ellie.

[matthew55]

I'm very very close to my first fall. Several times I have suddenly lost control and been lucky enough to grab something. Happy Days 😁x

[richard]

I had a bad fall on Saturday. My last fall was in March 2020. I cannot get up on my own and my wife cannot help me. Fortunately it was a Saturday and my two sons came to my rescue within 30 minutes. I am still in pain with a massive leg bruise. What has shook my confidence is I don’t know what caused my fall. My legs just gave way, I didn’t trip or stumble they just went.

Richard

[Ellie]

Sorry to hear that, Richard, hope you recover quickly, mentally & physically.

Yes, our confidence can take a heavy knock from a fall, particulary from an unexpected fall. Glad you were able to get help from your sons (I hope you took note that you must only fall on weekends and Bank Holidays 😉)

Sending you a big hug.

Love Ellie.

[richard]

Ellie ❤️