Geezer Takes a Fall
The other day, while hiking the River Trail in Kerrville, Texas, I spotted a little yellow bird high in a tree. Instead of stopping to get a good sighting through my camera lens, I continued walking and staring until my right foot stepped off the paved walkway to the ground about ten inches below. It wasn’t one of my finest moments. I actually heard my mother’s voice in my head saying, "Watch where you are walking, Jimmie!"
After stepping off the trail, I was very aware that I was losing my balance. I tried some wacky maneuvers to try and stay upright, but fell in a heap on the side of the trail. I remember going down. I remember landing on my left side. But, I don’t remember how I achieved that landing position, which seems to defy the laws of physics.
Now when I say that I fell, let me explain what that entails. This was no "fall for a second and quickly jump up looking around to see if anybody saw" kind of fall. Nope… Those are definitely a thing of the past. This was more of a hard jarring fall that left me breathless and motionless for a very long minute or two.
I remember thinking that I just might be dead. Everything was way too quiet. I seemed to be looking through a translucent glass window. It wasn’t until I suddenly noticed that my heart beat was pounding in my ears, I knew I had survived. But, I still didn’t move. I didn’t feel any pain, but was terrified that something was going to be broken.
I slowly got up on my knees. Then I pushed upward and shakily got to my feet. I was dizzy at first, and, for just a moment, thought I was going back down. I stood there taking deep breaths until I felt my balance coming back. Then I walked slowly over to an iron bench and had a seat.
As I sat there, I worked through all my joints to make sure they were working. I was surprised by the lack of pain anywhere in my body. In fact, my left shoulder, which has bothered me for months, actually felt better. I wondered to myself, if I had knocked it back in place or something. Is that even possible?
I noticed that I was really filthy. I took my hat off and set it on the bench. Then I started to take my camera from around my neck when my heart stopped. I hadn’t even thought about it. Was my camera broken? It must have hit the ground hard. I could see that it was covered in dirt. I did my best to clean it with my t-shirt before turning it on and testing it. Like me, it seemed to have come through unscathed.
I left the bench and finished my hike. I had about a mile to go to get back to where I had parked the truck. I took it nice and slow, but honestly, I felt fine.
Back at the trailer, I cleaned myself up. Then I took an Aleve just in case anything wanted to flare up and ache later. Nothing ever did- not even the next day.
When did I get so old that falls are terrifying? What would I have done, if I had broken a hip? Would I have remembered to use my cell phone to call for help? Or would I have just lain there on the side of the trail until some good Samaritan came along and found me? I honestly don’t know. And the fact that I am so unsure terrifies me even more.
This fall led me to question if I should stop going on solitary hikes anymore? My answer is no, I should not give up on hiking by myself. I’m not quite ready to move into the nursing home and sit in a wheelchair hoping for visitors, yet. But, I do need to be a lot more mindful of watching where I am walking. I need to make myself stop walking when I am staring up into a tree looking for a bird.