I'm okay. Not graceful, not comfortable, but okay.

[rivka]

I fell down the stairs this morning.

I was getting ready to leave for work. I'd eaten breakfast upstairs at my computer, so I had my cereal bowl in one hand and my empty tea mug in the other. I was in my sock feet, getting ready to put my boots on at the door.

As best as I can tell, my right foot slipped out from under me. I twisted to the left, and the toes of my left foot got caught in one of the upright slats of the bannister. I managed to keep from hitting my head, and slid down the stairs on my shoulders. For some reason, I didn't let go of either the bowl or the mug, both of which survived unbroken.

It was terrifying. I was crying and shaking as I got up. I also had an intense burning pain in my toes, which didn't subside the way the pain in my shoulders did. I got my sock off with difficulty, and my toes looked okay - but as time went on, the pain settled into a dull, burning throb - not much of an improvement. So I put my boots on very, very carefully, and Michael fetched one of my canes from the attic, and - after some dithering about whether I should just suck it up and deal, or whether I should be X-rayed - we went off to the ER.

Great service. We were seen fairly quickly, by cheerful, friendly, sympathetic doctors. The triage nurse did a careful assessment of how much pain I was in, and shortly thereafter they brought me a Percocet. The resident agreed that my toes were probably broken, based on how I reacted to the exam, but my X-rays turned out to be perfectly normal. Just a bad sprain. He prescribed ice, rest, and tons of Motrin, and sent me home.

The Percocet is doing wonders for my pain - walking isn't very much fun, but sitting still is just fine. It's also making me feel just a little bit loopy - enough so that I decided not to go to work this afternoon.

I feel like an idiot. A clumsy idiot.

Comments

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

I recently fell all the way down our stairs because I was wearing fancy boots with leather (instead of my accustomed rubber) soles. And I fell on the ice and managed to not spill a drop of coffee.

Don't feel embarrassed about it -- it happens to everyone.

[melebeth]

Ow. *hug*. Don't feel stupid. I can't count the number of times I've almost fallen down my stairs due to the lack of traction in a pair of socks. The only reason I haven't actually fallen is that 9 times out of 10 when I'm going down the stairs I've got a death hold on the bannister because I'm afraid of my knee freaking out.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

It could have happened to anyone. I'm glad your toes aren't broken, and hope you feel more comfortable soon.

[ailbhe]

Stairs are so dangerous that since I got pregnant I almost always hold on to something going downstairs. Sometimes I go downstairs backwards, crawling. Slipping on the stairs isn't funny, nor is it evidence of idiocy.

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

Ouch! I'm glad you weren't hurt worse. Are your stairs carpeted or bare wood? I've managed to slip on both surfaces but bare wood seems to be worse with socks.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Lovely smooth bare wood. Sigh.

Re:

[elusis.livejournal.com]

We have carpeted stairs that have apparently been coated in invisible grease. I've skiied down them on my sock feet a couple of times recently.

It didn't help that when we moved in, there was no banister. A complaint to the landlord got us a banister installed on the lower half, but the upper few risers twist round a curve and there's nothing at all to hang on to there.

Glad you're OK, Rivka.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Ouch ouch ouch. *hugs*. Good thing you weren't hurt worse -- that sounds terrifying!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

It was deeply scary, yes. With my artificial hip, I'm extra-afraid of falling. I feel very lucky that I didn't hurt my hip in any way.

[jilesa.livejournal.com]

Ouch. I'm sorry you fell, and glad you weren't more seriously injured.

And, oh, do I empathize with you about feeling clumsy! I fell down so many times last winter that I don't think I ever went more than a week without bruises.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Understandable feeling, but that kind of thing happens to everyone... glad that it wasn't broken.

[geminigirl]

Most of all, I'm glad you're not badly hurt.

[redbird]

The important point is that you're okay, and that the medicine is helping.

[tikva.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you're okay! *hugs* Please rest up and take care!

Yee-owwwch!

[thatwordgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hope ya feel better...

BetN, whose right shin is only NOW just recovering after the second time of smacking it when falling down. Next time, she's aiming for the left shin.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Oh, my dear, I'm so sorry. That sounds horribly frightening. I'm glad it's over with and I wish you a speedy recovery.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

I'm getting so bad with stairs we have decided that the next place we live will be all one level. In the meantime I've stopped trying to act like a bloody mountain goat. Thank goodness they're carpeted.

I hope you heal soon and heal well.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I've felt like I could fall down your stairs every time I've tried walking down them in stocking feet, especially when carrying something. I'm very sorry it happened to you, though. :-(

-J

[neonnurse.livejournal.com]

Poor you! I hope you heal up fast!

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

A clumsy person would have a concussion and shards of bowl and mug in their body. You did good.

"idiot", well, we all feel like idiots when the universe doesn't care about our dignified place in the universe, but it's just the universe being perverse.

I've been told that alternating cold and warmth, while working the muscles, will help sprains recover quickly. I'm *glad* you're mostly okay....

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Owies! Glad to hear you're OK, though

[papersky.livejournal.com]

*hug*

Poor old thing.

It's surprisingly shaking having a fall, even without damage. I'm glad your toes aren't broken and I hope you get well soon.

Oh, and you can be an Awful Warning for Zorinth, who isn't allowed to run around in socks for that precise reason, and yet... does.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Bare wood and socks = slippery! I've taken two tumbles on the nice, smooth, lovely hardwood stairs to my basement, once with a full laundry basket (and wound up with laundry flung *everywhere*). It's not clumsiness, my dear, it's physics!

I'm so glad you're OK. Let Michael baby you for a while (I'm quite sure he won't object).

I've taken to putting my rubber-soled sheepskin slippers on the instant I get dressed and the instant I take off my shoes - too many near misses.

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

The one time that I feared that I had broken a toe, I hadn't. Instead, I had torn a ligament. When the doctor told me this, I expressed relief until he said, "Well, a torn ligament usually hurts more and takes longer to heal."

I assume that if you had torn ligaments, your doctor would have told you, so best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

i'm glad you are OK relatively speaking.

i fall constantly. in fact, the first time i hung out with david i fell on a (unseen) patch of ice, falling gracefully (not) on my ass and being sore for the next week over it. *sigh*

n.
who almost fell about 15 times on the way home from work today.

[pameladean]

How scary. I wear slippers with rubber soles because I've come within an ace of falling down both our front and back stairs. It's annoying that one can't just pad about in one's stocking feet, but it does help. I'm glad your head and hip are all right.

Pamela

[iamjw.livejournal.com]

This is just one of the reasons I hate stairs.

I'm glad you're okay.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Ow! Our stairs are all carpeted, but thanks for reminding me to be careful. I hope your toes recover quickly.

[ex-helygen254.livejournal.com]

Eek! *hugs* I'm glad you're mostly okay. Gets lots of rest.

[saoba.livejournal.com]

Ow ow ow.

I'm sorry you feel like a clumsy idiot. I (speaking as the woman who spent 8 weeks on crutches after a *quilting* accident) (oh, and there was this summer's untoward cat/footstool/ankle incident) think you are neither clumsy nor especially idiotish.

It could have happened to anyone. I am SO sorry it happened to you.

Barbara, whose Indian Guides name would be Falls Over Cats

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Wishing you speedy healing.

Stairs scare me when I'm sock-footed. Actually, now that I think of it, I used to have *lots* of tumbles on the carpeted stairs of the dorm when I was barefoot.

[mittelbar.livejournal.com]

Aiee! I'm sorry I didn't see this yesterday. I hope you're feeling better. How scary! There's not much scarier than that "Oh, shit" when you lose your socky grip on a high place. Having extra-fragile bits, on top of it all...yeeps.

Very important to keep the china in one piece, though, I must say.

[puppytown.livejournal.com]

So sorry! How are you feeling today?

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Just catching up on LJ - you are NOT an idiot! This could happen to anyone, unfortunately :( I'm glad you're doing better.

Sorry to hear about your tumble

[dragon3.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it wasn't worse! I hope you are feeling better and better soon.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Poor toeses! And poor ouchful Rivka. I have broken one toe by getting a quarterstaff thumped upon it, but spraining a whole foot's worth is probably worse, in terms of owfulness. Best of luck on speedy and thorough recovery.