It’s been a long long time…

toooooooo long !

It’s been a long time since I rock-and-rolled

It’s been a long time since I did the Stroll

Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back, let me get it back

mm-baby, where I come from

It’s been a long time, been a long time

Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time

Yes, it has

Indeed it has but not out of intent…the hands are decidedly slower and unresponsive although as a one finger typist I rank up there with the best ! I hadn’t realized my ramblings had taken a sabbatical. Blame it on Covid and the Balloons…or the weather …or … nope its just the slow erosion of finger skills and a general disconnect from worldly affairs …yup that’s about it.

The colder weather hasn’t done me any favors although its not entirely to blame. As with many MS bearers you don’t notice the decay until it slaps you in the face …literally.

I have been immersing myself in books for the past year … countless books from the likes of James Patterson and Michael Connelly …lately a Lee Child spree ( I can see why there was such a furor over Tom Cruise being cast as Reacher…lets just park that there 😊)

Anyhow…between the book reading and music I have begun a bad habit…walking around with my headset on ( it’s a Beoplay H4…the Beats died ☹). It just makes it easier to carry what I need to in as few trips as possible, in fact I usually just take my coffee in the kitchen near the machine and watching the birds outside.

So…I should have known better (sorry George !) but I know from experience when I was seeing the MS doctors that when I needed to stand on one foot and close my eyes there was ALWAYS the vertigo and imbalance …that on a good day.

No real surprise then that on a bad day…or rather bad month the likelihood of a fall was inevitable , despite all the usual precautions …a clear runway between espresso machine and the window chair….

This was about three weeks ago, we had been having a colder spell, temperatures hovering around freezing for a few days…all the right conditions….or not !!!!

You’re gonna trip, stumble and fall

 And though I know you’re having a ball

 You better listen, my friend, this is the end

 Someone’s gonna make you crawl

 You’re gonna stumble and fall

 You’ve no respect, you see it, you grab it

 You’ve got yourself a very bad habit

 You know you’re on soft ground

 You better look around

 One wrong step and that’s all

 You’re gonna stumble and fall

On a return from the kitchen, headphones on, walking stick firmly in one hand , other hand free to grab walls, aluminum water bottle tucked in pocket, phone on lanyard around my neck…the usual.

This time however I think….my foot drop dropped and my left leg dragged, right hand leant on the walking stick…cold floor, cold walking stick tip, boom !

Hello darkness my old friend.

Lying on the floor, face feeling numb, pain not yet imminent I did the usually quick check…no broken teeth, no major cuts …managed to turn on the lights …warm feeling on my face….crimson ….

Tuck and roll they say…tuck and roll. Perhaps on grass , not on a tiled floor.

By now sitting on the floor, next challenge…get up as quickly as possible. Not so easy when Jake the Retriever is bringing all his toys…he thought playtime, I’m thinking get up and get stable. Fortunately I had fallen close to two walls near my front door and using legs and back I managed to get upright fairly quickly…by now with adrenalin charging.

In the next few minutes I discovered a few things…aluminum water bottles bruise ribs, tiles are harder than they look, the floor is not your friend and Retrievers like licking blood off the floor !

The outcome, as expected …bruised ribs (not broken luckily ) a smashed lip, damaged nose and a seriously dented confidence…

Not pretty but decidedly fortunate…I missed all the walls, head not rearranged and just my ego deflated (again ☹)

Of course there’s no shortage of quality tunes to help me immortalize my experience ! Uncomfortably Numb indeed but wait…I discovered something even better…

Life can go your way

Or it can go to hell

Too soon to say

Can’t seem to tell

In a stagnant state

Trouble finds me

I’m making my move

There’s no time to lose

You gotta fight

Keep up the pace

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

Keep up the pace

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

Stuck in a bind

Principles in question

I stick my neck out

This fight I’ll choose

A punch in the side

A blow to my pride

Kicked to the ground

Gotta pick myself up

You gotta fight

Keep up the pace

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

Keep up the pace

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

A little roughed up

But back on my feet

A bump in the road

But I’m still running

As Uncle Nemo said

“In life there’s certain death”

No time for that

Gotta keep with the pack

You gotta fight

Keep up the pace

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

Keep up the pace

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

You gotta fight

Keep up the pace

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

You gotta fight

Keep up the pace

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

Stand tall, even when you trip and fall

To be honest I had never heard of them before but they’re right up there with these lyrics !

So here we are three weeks later…the ribs are still tender and not in a delicious “eat all you want” way but still difficult to twist and sleep on. The first few nights were a matter of sit up and sleep…avoiding anything touching the face…

All I can say is Arnica gel…best thing I have ever used for bruises 😊

Once again Life is a cruel teacher and the lesson has been dealt out…don’t get too cocky, stay humble , hold the wall, hold the rails and leave those blasted headphones off when walking…

Get up stand up…don’t give up the fight !

“Better to die fighting for freedom, than be a prisoner all the days of your life” – Bob Marley