What’s wrong with this picture?

At first glance it’s that one foot has a slipper and the other just has pretty red toes. But what’s really wrong is that I’m sitting on the floor. And not on purpose.

My right knee has been wobbly since I tore my MCL back in May, throwing my balance off. The right foot has neuropathy from spinal stenosis which began 18 months ago. And I’ve been dealing with back pain with injections and nerve burns but my right SI joint is still a mess. In fact, I was supposed to get an injection in the joint yesterday until they rescheduled the appointment.

So in a way I’ve been expecting to fall. At least yesterday I was inside when I lost my balance and crashed to the floor – the carpeted floor. There were chairs for leverage in getting up. Oh, did I mention that both knees were replaced 8 years ago? Kneeling is like being on broken glass, which is why getting up is so difficult. So having pillows to support the knee helped, though my first attempt to get up did something to my right foot (naturally, the right side again) and I almost cracked my head on the brick hearth. The next attempt was successful and didn’t cause any more injuries.

Being a klutz, I know the R-I-C-E routine of rest, ice, compression, and elevation and always have several ice packs in the freezer as well as frozen peas. I iced both foot and knee last night but by this morning, I could barely walk on the foot. I don’t think anything is broken and suspect it’s just a sprain but am going to the doctor later today to get it checked out to be sure.

I need a better plan for dealing with possible falls since I live alone. Using a cane, at least until I can have knee surgery (after I lose enough more weight). I’m giving a house key to the security guard and making arrangements with friends I could call if/when this happens again. My upper body needs to be stronger and I can work on that with weights. I need to think about some kind of alert system, though the idea of being that “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” old lady is hard to swallow. But the idea of falling and not being to get up is even worse.