Last week, an interesting thing happened. I came home from work, dropped off my bag and proceeded to clear the latest snow deposits from my steps. For good measure, I added some salt, as there were a few small ice patches here and there.
I was looking forward to a lovely meal from my wonderful M. He was making chicken pasta with mushrooms, and the aroma, particularly upon entering from the frigid outside environs, was especially enticing.
I went inside again, dropped off the shovel and picked up the garbage to take it outside.
As I turned to go down the steps, I managed to find and slip on the only bit of unsalted ice at the head of the stairs, and slammed my teeth together as both feet went out from under me and I whacked the edge of the first step on my way down.
Sliding and banging, I managed to hit the edge of all seven of them with my back and ribs, accompanied by glancing butt hits on the stair treads.
When I came to a stop, I could tell there was some damage, but I wasn’t sure which part I should moan about first.
My M came bursting through the door, as he had heard me fall.
Back inside, I started to note the injury: bruised ribs and spine and an overall sense of having been jarred, hard, especially my teeth. And later, I discovered a broken tail bone. All things considered, it could have been worse. But the thing that sticks out the most is how I tried to grab the doorbell to save myself. What the hell was I going to do with that??
All’s well that ends well, I suppose, especially on the part that ends with my rear. I’ve always been a bit of a pain in the ass, so I guess it’s only fair that the sentiment has been returned, literally.
How karmic.
Happy weekend, and may you always land on your feet. 🙂
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 
Oh my word! I’m so sorry to read this, Lynette. I injured my tailbone when I was younger, but I don’t think it was broken. Are you able to sit? How are your teeth? I hope you’re feeling better soon.
Thanks, Jill. 🙂 I’ve been told that it will take six weeks to heal. Sitting is a new adventure in pain (but it somehow goes numb, too; it’s a strange combination of numb-pain). I’ve got a donut, but that doesn’t seem to help much. My teeth are okay, but my, they took a hit. It’s a good thing my tongue wasn’t in the way. 😉 I don’t feel too bad, just uncomfortable. The best thing is that it will clear up; I just have to be patient.
Ugh, sorry to hear about your fall and that you broke your tailbone. It’s funny to think about your initial reaction sometimes and wonder “what the heck was I thinking!?” Wishing you a speedy recovery. Stay warm (and safe).
I don’t get what I was thinking! Grabbing the doorbell? There’s nothing to grab! Any port in a storm, I guess. 😉
Thanks so much for your good wishes. 🙂
Ouch. So sorry to hear of your fall. A hazard of being Canadian in winter. Unfortunately, we no longer bounce and that is where the hurt comes in. We all do some strange things when we try to avoid impact. I recall only thinking how to protect my camera when I went over my bike handlebars in Nice, and then my teeth and nose met the pavement. Camera, what camera? Hope you heal soon Lynette. Allan
Thanks, Allan. Yes, that reaction was so odd – how can one grab a doorbell? Yikes. The railing was right there. I think the doorbell was the last thing I saw before I starting falling, so my brain decided it was good enough to hang on to. 😉
I hope your teeth and nose survived all right. 🙂
My teeth and nose got adjusted, I got a free French ambulance ride, treatment in the hospital and then 5 days of home nurse visits. Not a tour I booked, but… Nonetheless, I did my best to keep on vacationing. P.S. put in a bigger door bell….Get well soon. A
Oh Allan, that sounds quite bad. An ambulance and five days of nursing visits? Wow. I’m assuming that you recovered with few or no ill effects and also had out-of-country medical insurance. Must have been rather scary.
Oh my. I hope everything heals quickly.
Thanks you very much. 🙂 It’s quite uncomfortable – I just need to be patient. 🙂
As a Mainer I understand life with ice, I have been fortunate enough not to break anything myself but coincidentally my husband fell about the same time you did and broke a bone in the lower lumbar region of his back. I hope you have a speedy recovery, he is out of work for at least two months. 🤦🏻♀️
I’m glad it wasn’t my back! Given how long he needs for recuperation, it must be very painful and difficult for him.
This will take about six weeks – I just have to be patient about it. Thank you very much for your good wishes. 🙂
Oh dear Lynette, sorry to hear this. No matter how hard we try accidents happen, especially on icy snow. If only we could bounce (ref. Allan’s comment) then all would be well. Wish you a speedy recover, take good care x
Yes! Bouncing would be good, except they would need to be nice soft bounces. 😉 I think I did bounce, but much too hard.
Thank you very much, Mei. I really appreciate your good wishes. 🙂
Oh, ouch! I’ve slid down steps on my tail bone before, possibly breaking it, so I know how utterly horrible you must feel right now. So glad it wasn’t any worse. I think I’d take the broken tailbone over a broken head any day. I hope you heal up soon and aren’t too miserable.
I agree! It could have been a lot worse, so I’m happy it was the tailbone and not something more critical. It feels painful and also sort of numb at the same time- very odd, but I’m told that’s how damaged tailbones behave. It will heal (sooner rather than later, I hope). 🙂
Well…what you sow.life lesson
We all get them. 😉
Yikes! A broken tail bone doesn’t even get you a cool cast to sign. 😉 I hope your teeth are okay. Winter is hitting everyone hard this year.
Right? And people wonder what’s going on when I try to get up (I move very slowly and boy does it hurt). Standing is better than sitting, for sure. My teeth are fine; it’s good that my tongue wasn’t in the way, though. 😉
Ouch! I did that two years ago and still have some lingering aches that will probably never go away, but I always thank my lucky stars I didn’t break a hip. The tailbone is bad enough. Hope you mend quickly.
It’s still lingering? I’m concerned that I might be like that, too. I’m getting to an age where things just don’t mend as well as they used to. I was initially worried about my back and teeth because they seemed to have been jarred and whacked so badly, but they turned out to be okay. I really am happy that it wasn’t worse, but I could have done without it altogether …
I think if your back is okay, you’ve been lucky. I had two swollen ankles and a wrenched rotator cuff. The shoulder joint still sticks out a bit but it’s the ankle (or who knows? maybe small bones in the feet) still ache when I drive. Something didn’t heal right. I should have gone to the doc, but we were on a quilting retreat – in the boonies – and after that I didn’t bother. I hope you’ll mend fine.
Thank you. 🙂
Yes, Anneli, I totally agree. I would rather have a tailbone issue than a back issue. Wow – you must have had quite a fall. Rotator cuffs can be beastly about healing, I believe. And both ankles, as well. You must have been really hurting and stiff for a long time if it’s still bothering you.
Bad for a while, but functioning okay now. Still it’s something you never forget. The teeth jarring would be most unpleasant!
It was. Glad that you’re doing better.
Thanks, Lynette. Hope you mend well too.
Ouch! That, as you say, Lynette, could have been so much worse. But it was bad enough. Make sure you care for that coccyx, it may be small, but it can be a troublesome little beast if not allowed to heal. Glad to hear the teeth remain intact. And bear in mind you’ve had a fall; the body thinks it’s been assaulted, so give it time to rest and restore some stability.
Thank you, Stuart. Yes, it can be troublesome, from everything I’ve heard. After a bad night (everything hurt) I took an afternoon from work to just rest and that helped a lot. I have to be really cautious about sitting for too long – getting up for a stroll every 30 mins is a good thing.
Hope you’re soon back to normal health. The breaks from sitting are a good thing anyway. Take care of yourself, Lynette.
Thanks, Stuart. 🙂
Very frightening, and so easy to happen, even with — as your example shows — precautions taken and perfectly sane behaviour. I’m glad it wasn’t even worse, but I bet the repercussions linger for a while — that was a hell of a jolt for your entire system.
Hi Penny, yes, it was quite a jolt, for sure. My body felt a bit like it was vibrating for a while afterwards. It happened so easily, yes! Sitting is not a comfortable position.
Oh my goodness! Praying for a swift recovery for you! Tailbone pain is the worst! I had troubles with mine for many years after the birth of my son. You have my complete empathy! ❤
Thank you very much, Vanessa. 🙂 I hadn’t thought much about how troublesome they can be until this happened, and now I’ve been reading up on it. So uncomfortable and at times, a sort of painful numbness. Having that for years must have been nasty.
Oh my goodness!
I didn’t want to click “like” on this, a broken tailbone is not fun! But as you said, it could have been worse. Hope you’re feeling better.
At least your sense of humor wasn’t harmed!
Thanks, Christi. 🙂 It’s slowly getting better, and it’s forcing me to stand more, which is a healthier position.
It’s great to see you again, btw. 🙂
Feel better!
Thank you very much – it is getting better. 🙂