Rugs are a big risk. Slipping and tripping: fall injuries in adults associated with rugs and carpets - PMC

Not having stairs in most of our homes in TV is helpful for avoiding massive falls, but it also does not help keep muscles strong. I agree avoiding falls is paramount for seniors.

she was not healthy, needed help walking and was alone in the apartment. With a penthouse like hers, I would assume the floors and stairs were marble. She probably lost her balance and fell down those marble stairs, hitting her head and body.

To quote my wife, "getting old is not for sissies".

True. We had such a place up north, 4 bedroom w/a large finished basement. Washer, dryer, etc. downstairs. Huge, two-tier yard. In other words, lots of upkeep. We'd recognized the basement stairs as a risk for some time but it wasn't the only one: deck, front porch, garage doorway, etc. all had steps. I'd had a couple of close calls but each time managed to rationalize it away as something OTHER than advancing age.

But it's not just stairs. We were fixing the place up to sell it and one day I was working on our deck; multi-level deal with crossbeams and lattice on the top. I was on a step ladder replacing the lattice, 2nd rung from the top of the ladder and sure enough, it went out from under me. The crossbeams were close enough so I managed to get one under an armpit, but that still left me with the problem of how to get down. It was a long drop, and I was scarcely six months removed from a total knee replacement. My wife was in the house so I tried calling out to her. Didn't work. Well, the only way down was to drop, so I grabbed a beam with both hands, let myself down far enough so I looked like an orangutan swinging from a branch, gauged the distance, made sure I'd land on the non-operative leg--and dropped. It worked, though the ankle of the leg I landed on was sore for a few days.

I laugh about it now, but I was VERY lucky. It was an eye-opener.

Other reports describe her out in the public and in poor health, unstable, lacking appetite, etc. age is just a number.

Exercise
 

This is why everyone should be attending “balance” classes at the gym, and working to keep as fit as possible!


QUOTE=Tvflguy;2117386]I always warn my better half here at home. Please be so very careful around the house and outside. We seniors are susceptible to falls, and if that happens seriously enough it can be life-changing.

Case in point, the news several days ago. Ivana Trump dies supposedly after a fall down the stairs at home. And to top it off, she was 73. That’s both of our ages. Yikes.

Funny, about ten days ago I updated our Roman shower area. There was simply too much walking between the corner of the shower where there is a diagonal seating and the exit area where the towel is hanging. I thought “oh oh” here’s a potential fall area. So I installed a new 3’ long grab bar on the wall there. Better safe than sorry.

I know it’s easy to get paranoid over this stuff. But one unfortunate fall folks, and who knows how that may impact the rest of your, and your partner’s life.[/QUOTE]

We appreciate your post. A friend of ours in TV fell walking his dog, broke his hip, caught pneumonia & died. We are not 18 anymore, even if we forget that from time to time.

I’d suggest everyone getting their bone density test, men as well as women

Yes, a favorite pastime on here seems to be correcting people. My mother always told me that was rude, unless it was she who was correcting me! 🤣

From the OP.

2 years ago I was replacing the batteries in our smoke detectors. I’m the type of guy who tends to do things fast. Sometimes not quite thinking through.

Well, got to the detector in our Great Room. Rather than bother to move out a couch and end table, then get the ladder in there, I moved too quick. Stepped onto the end table and reached up to the little door on the detector for the battery. Had to twist a bit and lost my balance. Fell back-first onto a sofa. Holy crap I thought, startled. But no harm done other than to my manly ego. I moved the stuff out of the way and got the ladder.

Shortly after I thought, that could have ended very badly…. Lesson learned, hopefully. Now when doing projects I tend to go slower and more safely.

Grab bars are $10. But a fall can cost you your mobility. First thing we did when I moved into the house

And I am sure in her case the fall was a result of medical conditions. We have heard of a lot of friends that simply pass out either due to heat, low blood pressure, low sugar levels, low water levels and fall on a hard for surface which we have many of here. we had a friend who passed out for a full 5 minutes and luckily was revived by the ambulance corps

There was an elevator in her house.

Why such negativity? We all do the best that we can with what we have.

Unpaid commercial recommending the "Grab Bar Guys" here in the Villages. They know what they are doing and are very reasonable.

Most common cause of ER visits due to falls is from tripping over pets. That’s according to an ER nurse. Lots of people in TV have pets.