In November of 2014, my Wonderful Husband and I were sitting on our back patio when we spotted something large and orange in the desert behind our house. We sat there trying to figure out what it was. We thought it might be a discarded prison jumpsuit, or an inflatable Halloween pumpkin or perhaps a child's swimming pool. Whatever it was, we decided to go get it and put it in the trash.
I was extra careful climbing over our low back wall and my Wonderful Husband held my hand as we negotiated a steep ditch created by runoff water. All that was left was a very shallow secondary ditch. The next thing I know, I was lying in the sand and my glasses were a few feet away.
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| Steep ditch |
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| Shallow ditch |
I was okay; I just had some scrapes on my leg and the palm of my hand, but my glasses weren't damaged. I was achy for a few days, but at least I fell in soft sand and not into rocks or on gravel. But why did I fall?
I've been replaying the fall over and over in my head; there was nothing for me to trip over and I was watching what I was doing, so how did I end up in the sand? The answer I have come up with is ... brake failure.
Yes, brake failure.
It seems that if I get some forward momentum, I can't stop! Since the fall, I've noticed that if I step off a curb, due to the forward momentum, it takes a few extra steps before my gait returns to normal. The same thing happens if I walk down an incline. I have trouble stopping. No brakes!
So, that's what happened when I tried to navigate the shallow ditch; my brakes didn't work and I fell forward into the sand. Now that I realize my brakes don't work, I adjust how I handle steep driveways, curbs and ditches.
The large orange thing out in the desert? Yes, we went ahead and got it. It was a section of temporary construction fencing that probably got swept away in a rainstorm. We untangled it and put it in our trash. Just because I took a tumble, didn't mean we shouldn't pick it up, right?
I have NOT fallen again, but my balance problems were getting worse. I wasn't sure what to do about it, but decided to join a group exercise class called SilverSneakers® at a local gym. I went to these classes because I was bored. I figured I'd meet some nice people and maybe even lose a pound or two. I never expected for my balance to improve.
The first class was interesting, to say the least. I was in the back row, right next to an 89-year old who did the entire class seated. It only took a few minutes to realize I have two left feet. What happened to the disco dancer and gymnast of my youth? I kept tripping over my own feet! When the instructor added arm movements to the footwork, I found I could NOT do both. I found myself holding on to the chair for balance and I sat down frequently.
Towards the end of class, we did some simple balancing exercises and I failed miserably. Here's video of me trying to balance after that first class.
I noticed, the more classes I went to, the more my balance improved. After a few weeks, I began to really notice a difference. Here's me again, after 15 classes.
That's quite a difference, right?
I've made some new friends, educated the whole class about Parkinson's and am standing up straighter. As for the pounds, unfortunately, they are still there.
