Obviously the best bet is not to fall at all, but sometimes it just happens! I experience a lot of near falls, stumbles, trips and bumping into things and sometimes end up with a few bruises.
I take a few precautions to keep as safe as I can – using my stick, holding on to furniture, linking arms with whoever I’m walking with and staying focussed on what my feet are doing (even when I can’t really feel them!). Despite this, I have still managed a few spectacular falls.
Recently I’ve been reading advice in “How to fall safely”. The general advice is …
- Protect your head and face
- Bend your arms and legs and try to “stay loose”
- Try to land on a fleshy part of the body (rather than on bones or joints)
- Roll with the momentum of the fall
I think I may have to practice, as most of my falls involve landing on my knees and hands …and really hurt ☹️
————————————————————
I have just added the following to the “Where to begin” page. I’m aware that I have quite a few new readers so thought it was appropriate to update it …
31st January 2019
Its’s been almost 6 months since I wrote this first post. A lot has changed since then , so I though I’d add an update to explain …
Since August, my MS has continued to progress with no major relapses. I now use a walking stick daily and have been issued with a Blue Badge and work place parking permit. I have also reduced my hours at work in order to cope with my ever increasing fatigue.
My neurologist has left the country! He has returned to his home country of Malta and I have been allocated a new one. He has offered me Copaxone but I have declined.
I have decided that I want to go for the most effective treatment for MS currently available …HSCT (Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant). Unfortunately this isn’t widely available in the UK and I don’t quite meet the very tight criteria for treatment on the NHS. This could possibly change in the next few years but I don’t think I can wait that long.
After much research and discussion with my family, I have decided to go abroad for treatment. I am booked to go to a clinic in Moscow on 23rd April. The clinic is experienced in treating MS patients and has an excellent record in terms of successful outcomes and patient safety.
The cost of the treatment, flights and visas is around £40K. We are working hard to raise the funds and will borrow if we have to so that I can make that date in April.
There are lots of posts in this blog which explain this in more detail, so feel free to browse and search.
Thanks again for reading