I Fell Down and Couldn’t Get Up

Yet I feel blessed because help was available

My mother several months ago cutting a cake a friend bought for us. This is not what we had for breakfast this morning — Mom made me an omelet. But it’s the picture I had.

So this morning I was going out to my back patio. I felt a little weak and dizzy but didn’t think anything of it. I’ve been dealing with this on and off for months now.

Due to the chemotherapy, I have peripheral neuropathy that makes balance a challenge on the best of days.

Recently, the new medications I’ve been on to help with the neural edema seem to be throwing my body chemistry off.

So I went out back and started to do what I’ve done a million times before through this cancer, and fell down.

And then I couldn’t get up.

I called Mom to help.

Of course, even with the patio chairs and the table, we couldn’t get me up. Neither of us were strong enough.

She helped me drag myself inside, and then when I still couldn’t get myself up, even with her help and the back of a couch, we called the EMT.

In less than 5 minutes, firefighters showed up and immediately got me up. They are trained to do this, so it’s much better to call them rather than even a strong friend. They can also test you for any issues like a concussion which might warrant a trip to the ER.