By ROBERT JUMPER
One Feather Editor
I have been out of the office for a couple of days on a home improvement project. Fortunately, it was an affordable change. Unfortunately, the work took up most of two days (and a third sometime in the near future). As I grow older, getting my body to match some tasks has become more challenging and more hazardous. By no means do I feel old, and in many ways, I have the physicality and mentality of a younger person. The Toby Keith tune comes to mind. “I am not as good as I once was, but I am as good once as I ever was”. That includes things like raising my leg over a bathtub wall to get my routine shower. I can get it done, but I surely notice balance issues from time to time and I do not want to wait till it is a necessity to get to a place where I can take a lower step into the shower. One more media reference, from the 1973 film Magnum Force, “A man has got to know his limitations.” Okay, I’ll stop.
This from the Center for Disease Control, “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 injury death in this age group. One out of four older adults will fall each year in the United States, making falls a public health concern, particularly among the aging population. About 36 million falls are reported among older adults each year-resulting in more than 32,000 deaths. Each year, about 3 million older adults are treated in emergency departments for a fall injury. One out of every five falls causes an injury, such as broken bones or a head injury. Each year at least 300,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures. More than 95 percent of hip fractures are caused by falling-usually by falling sideways. Women fall more often than men and account for three-quarters of all hip fractures.”
Sounds like some pretty bad odds for us who are headed in that direction, age-wise that is. But studies also show that falls are not inevitable. Most falls come not from aging, but from not paying attention to the changes in a body. Balance is a relative thing. It almost totally depends on our willingness to educate ourselves and family, exercise, and make changes to our environment to lend support and minimize fall hazards. Education includes knowing what your body is telling you regarding your balance such as medications that might cause dizziness or an unbalance state of mind or physical conditions that might cause sudden “swimmy” head or weak knees. Exercise includes physical activity specifically designed to address muscle fitness and memory, especially in the legs and abdomen, even upper body strength so that we have the ability to “catch ourselves when we fall”. There is exercise equipment that is specifically designed to increase coordination and balance. And then there is making our homes safer. Adjusting things like the height of our step needed to get into the shower. Cleaning up clutter and not taking unnecessary chances. Slowing down to take just a moment to assess our environment before proceeding in our activities might prevent a disastrous fall.
Several weeks ago, I was working in my tool shed. It is a nice big one, but I am kind of a packrat and the shed is an obstacle course of things of necessity and junk I have accumulated over the years. So, this shed that could pass for one of those new mini-homes is so full that there is barely room for a footpath through. Now, I know this. After all, I created it. I also know I have big feet, but not usually clumsy feet. I was trying to do a little organization, and was hopping, yes hopping, back and forth over my lawn mower to get to an area I was working on. Suddenly, one of those big unclumsy feet caught the arm of the lawnmower in mid-hop. And, just like in the movies, everything went into slow-motion. As I fell, I even had time to pray for the landing. And land I did. Fortunately, no bones were broken. Unfortunately, my nose connected with the edge of some object and managed to add a half-inch gash in my nasal bridge. And any facial laceration bleeds. Lots. So, I am getting up from this fall and first thinking how stupid it was for me to be skipping over the lawnmower in the first place and checking myself for injury when I touch my face and see a hand covered in blood. At the time, I wasn’t thinking of how extensive the injury was, but how I was going to get in the house to treat it without scaring my wife to death. I didn’t know how much blood I had on my face, but I knew it was still bleeding. Not what your spouse wants to see. I did manage to get it inside and get my nose treated. With a little help from the wife, we got a good bandage on the cut. Other than soreness and bruises, and a direct hit to my pride, everything else, by God’s grace, was spared damage. Even the lawnmower got through the experience without injury.
I tell you this because it was so easy for me to over-estimate my balance and dexterity. Because I had always been so sure-footed, I neglected some basic safety precautions. I let personal pride allow me to be careless. And a split-second of carelessness is all it takes to end up in tragedy. Whatever your belief, you may call it good luck or divine providence, the fact is that in my little incident, the outcome could have been much more serious than a bloody nose and bend pride. I got off easy.
We, as a Tribe, repeatedly talk about the importance and value we put on our elders. As elders, we can be a stubborn bunch. I am a fan of the line of t-shirts that speak to the mentality of most of us as we march toward those “golden years”. One such shirt reads, “I am a grumpy old man. I do what I want, when I want, where I want! Except I gotta ask my wife…one sec.” We all like to feel in control. But to be in control, we must have a sense of balance. I can tell you that sometimes I hear things, from family, friends, and my doctor that I simply do not want to hear or believe. If I choose to ignore those voices, I ignore the balance those voices bring to my life. The good news is that I have always had an inquisitive mind, researching things that either interest me or affect my life in some way. I hope to never lose that. I hope you are similarly inclined to search for answers, to find balance for your life. You impact more than just yourself. That circle of family and friends, and possible many who may never have direct contact with, need your wisdom and guidance. We never know who is watching us and learning from us. Protect your wisdom and your ability to share it with others.
