My First Post-Stroke Fall

Since my February 1st stroke I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve not fallen.  That record ended this past Wednesday evening.

I was at a pub with friends for dinner — we had just sat down at the table.  I was reaching to lean my cane against the chair on the opposite side of the table.  I was on the end of the table with one friend to my right and the aisle on my left.  My stroke had impacted my left side.  So I’m stretching to lean my cane against the chair and I didn’t have my left foot positioned as I should and I simply fell over into the aisle.  I’m sure this place has had plenty of people fall over but I was drinking my new favorite beverage, tap water.

Here is the cool thing.  My friends jumped up to assist me but I got up by myself — very instinctively, very normally and very fast.  In therapy we practiced getting up off the floor (hospital in April & out patient in October) but it was always a challenge for me.  This showed me how far I had come.

I met other friends later after dinner and had a beer to celebrate.  I even showed off by handing my cane to one friend and walking a bit without it.

When I came home at the end of April I was terrified about falling.  I’m glad to have it out of the way now.