We've been in our condo now for 7 months, and during that time I have fallen once, that I will admit to. For some reason known only to it, MS has a ball pestering my left big toe, and it hurts something fierce. I was at my local physical therapy pool ( from our new location everything is 5 minutes away) and the toe just pounded. After sitting in the hot boiling water four about seven minutes so that I could de-numb the body. Then I did my exercises as well as I could, except for the one where I stretch my toes, and stepped away from the pool. I had my usual walmart flip flops waiting for near me my towel and the door. I opted not to use the flip flops due tp the agony of the Toe. So I hobbled into the men's changing room. Now I am usually the last guy in there for the pool day, which meant it had been waiting for me for a long time. Bright lights greet me as I step into Sanitary Land. I take two steps toward my locker, my right foot finds the only bit of water still on the floor from every other guy of day. Boom, out go both legs and I hear that cry from my brain that is never good - Oh, no I gonna die right now!
Did I mention the coffee? In my right hand was a Dunkin Donuts Iced Dark Roast - large size. I picked up a hot or cold coffee to sip in my "Don't Move Anything!" rest stops in the pool. Anyway, the coffee went first, then me. I think I yelled out "Not the co-" and then hit the floor, and my head. And since I was the only person in the room I could have said a lot more things that no one heard. I took a few breaths and checked that everything was in working order, and slowly rose, despite the personal alarms going in various parts ofund the damage my person. My first full idea was clean the floor, then 2) grab towels covering it and me, 3) clean both the floor, the walls, and my sports bag. These could be done sitting down. Getting up, well, that was a bit of a chore, and dressing was slow. Finally I crawled up and out the door, sans coffee and some dignity. Should I tell the front desk folks? Nah, just wanted to get home.
When I got home I found out the damage was my arm gashed and and the back of my head was dripping off. After some first aid, my wife asked me if I wanted to go see if I had a concussion. But really, when you've got PPMS, how could you tell?
Look, the concussion symptoms -
Headaches or neck pain that do not go away
Difficulty remembering, concentrating, or making decisions
Slowness in thinking, speaking, acting, or reading
Getting lost or easily confused
Feeling tired all of the time, having no energy or motivation
Mood changes (feeling sad or angry for no reason)
Changes in sleep patterns (sleeping a lot more or having a hard time sleeping)
Light-headedness, dizziness, or loss of balance
PPMS Everyday, baby! So I grew my hair out to cover the head mess, and today spent three hours with razors and my wife getting the hair back off. So I look more like me. And no more falls. As far I know.
