Don’t Get Tripped Up: Avoiding Falls Will Save Your Life

While I Fall into a Trap

Remember the opening to the Dick Van Dyke show when he trips over the ottoman and lands flat on his back? Over the years, celebrity falls, slips and tumbles on stage have filled Entertainment Tonight’s YouTube reels. Falling is serious business and could happen to anyone.

In February, former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman flew to Munich and participated in a Security Forum. According to colleagues present and reporting on the event, he was active and completely mobile. This week Lieberman died from complications from a fall. He was 82 years old.

Every second of every day, an older adult (age 65+) suffers a fall in the U.S.—making falls the leading cause of injury and death in this age group according to research from the Centers for Disease Control. Multiple studies have shown seniors prefer to ‘age in place’ at home, where many missteps occur. Three tips to prevent falls include:

• Talk to a physician about your concerns including balance issues, vertigo, vision changes, and other fall risks. Your healthcare team can help you find resources covered by Medicare.

• AARP has a free guide: 10 Tips to Help Make Your Home Fall-Proof and Hazard-Free

  https://www.aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2021/fall-prevention-safety-tips.html

• Inquire about certified aging-in-place specialists in your area, some have a home modification certificate. They can help you live safely in your home as you age.

There’s a higher incidence of falls among seniors, although younger adults are also at risk and may be less aware. Researchers at Purdue University studied young adults (in their 20s) specifically for falls on stairs. Talking while walking on stairs, using an electronic device, footwear choices, and not using handrails were among the factors impacting their rates of falling on staircases.

“While I fall into a trap,” my subtitle is not about the slips, trips, and physical issues discussed above.

My weekend messages are intended to exercise the literary muscles I’ve honed over the past four years. During the pandemic, I discovered the Lafayette (IN) Writers’ Studio. As a 2020 birthday gift to myself, I bought a series of writing classes. I’m hooked. LWS founder, Melissa, is also a Chicago South Suburb native, growing up in Lansing. She’s helped me find my literary voice—metaphors, imagery, alliteration, setting, foreshadowing, action, and more. Melissa and the LWS community inspired my work-in-progress memoir when it was an essay.

At my core, I am a news editorial journalist. I collect facts, research, write, and edit information you can use. I reverted into my comfort zone in today's blog post, less literary and more journalistic. A more rigid version of myself would have scrapped this and written, “It’s Just Life” which I will share soon. The older, bolder, and better version of me knows when you write from the heart; it is not a mistake. If I help one person avoid falling or you, my readers, help keep someone standing tall, that’s literary enough.

“Talk to yourself like someone you love” Brené Brown