Break a Leg
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
In the world of theater, directly wishing someone good luck is considered bad luck and wishing for a broken leg is actually a prayer for success. Yes, the logic is a bit convoluted.
On Monday night, I told my better half we have to be very careful when we go up and down the stairs with our infant grandson, especially in the middle of the night. It’s easy to skip a step or slip. We both agreed that as we are getting older, this is a challenge and we must be alert.
As we drifted off to sleep, he wished me good luck for nighttime infant care.
He should have said, “Break a leg!”
For the early morning feed, I carefully went down the stairs with both arms cradling the crying baby. On the very last step, just as I was feeling proud of myself, I slipped.
I hung onto the baby for dear life and he stayed snuggled in my arms. My back, on the other hand, landed with full force on the last step. Long story short, I don’t have a major break and I will recover from the injury in due time.
This made me think about how we avoid falling down the stairs.
Lights on.
Hold the handrail.
Install nonslip treads on the stairs.
Step carefully especially at night when our joints and reflexes are not fully awake.
It’s all common sense but when you go up and down dozens of times a day, it’s easy for that common sense to fly out of the window. In the United States, 14 million older adults fall each year, and stair-related falls account for about 14% of those incidents. Among people aged 65–74, roughly 30% of emergency room visits from falls involve stairs. That’s a lot and now I am part of these statistics.
I am not here to give medical advice but here’s what I learned from the accident. Stay still and do not move too quickly after a fall. My older son checked me out for any serious injuries before helping me up. X-rays will show major breaks but may not show hairline cracks. A helpful tip I got is to ice for the first 48 hours and then switch to heat.
So, what’s my wish for you?
Break a leg, of course!
Please stay safe as you multitask with grandbabies in tow and otherwise. Take your time to do what needs to be done. The universe can wait while you take life one step at a time.
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