When You’re Old? Gravity is Your Enemy

We live in fear of falling

Photo by Nataliya Melnychuk on Unsplash

I take care of a toddler every morning.

Toddlers aren’t scared to fall over. They do it all the time.

Tessie runs down the hallway dragging her mother’s purse behind her. She trips over the strap and goes down.

No problem!

She pops back up and keeps running.

She falls like this dozens of times a day.

I’ve been falling all my life.

I’m a bit of a clutz. My head is often in the clouds. I don't pay attention to where I’m going. I’ll stumble when stepping off a curb or trip over an uneven patch of sidewalk.

Having double vision doesn’t help.

For most of my life, whenever I’ve hit the ground, I’ve gotten back up and kept on going, just like Tessie.

It was never a big deal.

Now I’m 71 and I have osteoporosis and suddenly falling is a big deal.

If You’re old, A Fall can Kill You

After a certain age, it makes sense to be afraid to fall.

If you’re old, a fall can kill you.

We all know seniors who have fallen — not skydiving or jumping on a pogo stick or competing in the Tour de France, just living a normal life — and broken or fractured something, and suddenly they’re in the hospital and the next thing you know they’ve got pneumonia, and then you’re attending their funeral.

One nine-year study found that 41.7% of older adults who fell were dead by the end of the study.

I don’t like those odds.

So? These days I take no chances.

I do what I can to strengthen my fragile bones. I perform balance exercises. I stay off my phone when I’m walking around and instead focus on my surroundings.

And I ALWAYS hold the bannister.

I’ve always walked for at least an hour a day.

[embed]Unless You’re Actually Reading This On The Treadmill, I Probably Walk More Than You Do “You walk so much,” a friend recently said. “I bet you can eat anything you want without gaining weight!”rosalindwarren.medium.com

I continue to walk for over an hour a day — but now I do it very carefully.

Will all of this keep me out of the hospital? I’m keeping my brittle old fingers crossed.

Young people? When you take a tumble? Don’t complain! Enjoy!

Appreciate the fact that falling, for you, is not big deal.

It’s not a major life event. It’s just life.

Old people? BE CAREFUL. Gravity is everywhere — and it’s out to get you.

***Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, has been featured on both The Today Show and Morning Edition, and has been included in 20 Chicken Soup for the Soul collections, is a [Writing Coach](https://rosalindwarren.medium.com/need-a-good-editor-get-in-touch-c3508093b772?sk=da811ef430b407044d2aff236d7c0570) who specializes in helping Medium writers craft and publish better stories. Interested? Drop her a line at roSwarren@gmail.com. (That’s Ros with an “s,” not a “z.”)***