Recently, I fell out of bed. Maybe I had a dream, maybe I just fell. As Aimee informed us in the previous article, “it was a fall”. Though I suffered a mighty coloured bruise on my upper arm, I put the event aside. Some days later other pains started and these were from inside. A visit to my GP resulted in an X-ray at the JR and I was immediately sent to A&E with a suspected vertebra fracture. We are all familiar with the long wait and it was long. But I was seen, questioned, prodded, poked and given a CT scan. A “wedge fracture” of vertebra T10 explains the pain, and I’ve been assured it will heal eventually. After a further GP consultation two weeks later I finally have pain relief medication that does the job.

In addition, I had a visit from OT – Occupational Therapy – at the request of the doctor in A&E. She has promised me a visit to my home to discuss how I can be kept safe from further falls. Like many of you, I don’t want my home of over thirty years to look like a care home, but keeping me safe and well is preferable to being in hospital with injuries. Modification to my home, whatever it may be, is a bitter pill to swallow, but one that could bring long term sweetness.

Was my fall preventable? Yes, with a simple bedside aid.

Please avoid my fall becoming your fall. Contact OT!

Quick contents

• Full table of contents
• Welcome to new members
• Park’s Larks, continued
• A Guide to Walking Well
• Keep up to date with research
• Me and My Theracycle
• Falling and how to prevent it
• My fall - could it be your fall?
• Cream Tea
• Employment survey
• Recycling for Parkinson’s
• First Steps to Salisbury (and back)
• Pub Quizzes - Cheating for Parkinson’s
• Brain Awareness Week: Picturing Parkinson’s at the Ashmolean
• Picturing Parkinson’s Art Workshop
• Committee Profile: Kit Marriott
• The Great Gatsby Ball and London Marathon
• Getting the most out of our website
• Farewell