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I have heard that falls are a serious case of injuries when we get older. I’m starting to believe these stories.

About 10 days ago, I had a nasty fall in my shower. It is one of those four-foot by four-foot showers with two glass walls. I quite enjoyed it, with nice hot water, and it had a suction handle to grip on one wall and a specially-armed shower chair to enable me to sit and completely soap up my body without bending over.

It was wonderful. My body, head to foot, was well washed and soaped. I was quite comfortable while sitting in the shower chair.

Time for rinsing came and I reached for the support bar in the side of the shower to assist me in getting up on my feet. But disaster occurred – my feet slipped on the floor. I grabbed the support bar but it couldn’t hold my weight and it came off the wall. I fell hard on my left hip. Nothing broken, but I did suffer a king-size bruise.

The result was that I was sitting on the floor of the shower with my legs under my body – everything was slippery. I couldn’t move. My wife was getting ready to go out for a few hours so I yelled as loud as I could.

I had panicked and she came to my rescue. If she had already gone out, I can’t figure out how I would have got out of the shower. I couldn’t raise myself up and Leah couldn’t pull me up. I was like a dead weight. There I sat (sort of) like a sick puppy hoping for help from my master. Thank goodness the master arrived.

It took half an hour for me to wriggle my rear out of the shower.

It then took another half an hour to figure how to get my body out of the shower.

And another half an hour to get into a standing position.

It was the worst fall that I have had to date, or, should I say, that I remember. I’ve had a few falls.

– don’t use soap – supposed to be good for itches and but it makes the shower slippery;

– never have a shower without someone in the house, in case of fall; and

– try to keep at least one hand free at all times.

In addition, we have had an occupational therapist come in and we all resolved that:

– I will use a walker when walking in the streets;

– I will use my “urban walker sticks” – one for each hand/arm – for longer walks outside;

– I will use my single cane for walking around the house; and

– I will tell Leah when I intend to shower.

The real problem is that since the fall my balance has become a greater problem. I even have developed swelling and rashes to my body between my waste and head. Plus, the rashes and swellings itch like crazy. I suspect that my dermatomyositis (DM) – my systematic autoimmune disease – has become more pronounced.

The primary function of these columns is to follow my dementia through my voyage. However, more and more, I suspect that the relationship between my brain disorder and my immune system are growing in significance.

“The brain runs the body and the body feeds the brain” is becoming more and more important to me. I feel that something in my diagnosis is being missed. The search for a ‘healthy me’ continues and “My Voyage with Dementia” becomes more and more complicated. But I am still alive and kickin’.

Bob Murray is retired from the graphic communication (printing) industry and has been living in Seaforth since 2015. Murray was diagnosed with Dementia in 2013 and works hard to stop the progress of the disease to AD. He shares his experiences in his column entitled “My Voyage with Dementia.” Follow him on his blog entitled Voyage with Dementia – https://myvoyage553264702.wordpress.com.

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