No I didn’t take a sabbatical after Easter. Instead I did my Humpty-Dumpty imitation and needed lots of care to put me back again.
There is something unique about a fall. One never intends to go tumbling down a flight of stairs or land on a concrete sidewalk. A fall may be caused by stupidity, such as mine, but falls are not usually the result of intention. There is a unique sensation. During that moment one leaves control, time slows down. One’s thinks he or she can still be in control, grab a railing, or cushion the fall, but the reality is that during a fall you are only a witness. Nothing can be done.
What is even more interesting is that the body goes into slow motion as well. The scraps of skin against concrete don’t hurt at first, the knee continues to swell but one has no memory of the initial blow, and the internal organs take days before they start to react to the violence. It takes days before the rally serious injuries to start rearing their ugly heads.
Modern medicine does perform miracles these days, the body does heal, and the memories of the knee pain will hopefully keep me alert enough not to fall again. They say at my age one should not fall. Now if only I could learn how to accomplish that.
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