#239 PD, Falls, and Flowers
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| Upper Butte Creek Falls, OR |
The photos in today’s post fall into two categories. First is a set of old photos finally accessible on my hook up of external hard drives and my main computer. The subject of the photo set will in a very twisted way fit this post’s Parkinson’s disease information. The second set are all new photos taken in the past couple off weeks. Now on with the show ( thanks, Ed S).
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| Glen Etive Falls, near Glencoe, Scotland |
PD and Falls
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| Glencoe, Scotland |
Many of the main motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease are balance issues—tremors, dizziness upon standing, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), freezing of gait, rigidity or stiffness, and others. All these conditions increase the likeliness of falling so much so that 60% of those diagnosed with PD will experience one or more falls a year. And any kind of fall is usually not good.
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| Horsetail Falls, Columbia River Gorge,OR |
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| Latourelle Falls, Columbia River Gorge, OR |
My own recent history with falls might serve as an example. Shorty before I was diagnosed with PD (March, 2023) I had two falls that certainly would indicate balance problems. While on a photo tour of the Rio Grande valley near Taos, NM, I misjudged the height of a rock I was on and jumped down a slope higher than I had anticipated and strained a thigh muscle. Before that incident I had a fall in Death Valley when I stepped off a sidewalk onto what I thought was dirt (turned out to be slick mud). I slid and couldn’t catch my balance and fell into the road. Two locals helped get to my feet. Lots of bruises from that one and one lost camera lens.
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| Linn of Braan River, Highlands, Scotland |
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| Glen Lyon Roman Bridge, c 1600s |
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| Sma'glen Burn, central Scotland |
Since my diagnosis of PD I have journaled about thirteen different falls—simple things like sliding off the bed onto the floor and stumbling into a sand trap on the golf course from a sloped edge. Most of these have had only mild consequences—a bruised hand or arm, or mild embarrassment. Some though have been more serious. At the Canby Senior Center in December I stumbled over a slight roughness in the parking lot and hit my face on the pavement. The Canby Fire Department had to send the rescue truck to help me get up and check me out. No permanent damage. Luck me. A month ago I stumbled over my shuffling feet in the bathroom and hit the floor hard. Lots of sore spots that still hurt, but no big damage. My last fall was while getting into bed I missed the bed and crumpled to the floor hitting my head a glancing blow on the wall and straining a thigh muscle. I am now using a walker while giving my leg a chance to heal.
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| Small burn in the Birks of Aberfeldy Park, central Scotland |
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| Burn O'Vat, Cairngorm National Park, Scotland (Anne's picture) |
So far I’ve been lucky and not done major damage to any thing important, but the falls are dangerous. Broken bones are always bothersome, but some, like broken hip, can be debilitating. Concussions and head trauma are a major danger and along with hospital stays for surgeries can increase the risks of Parkinson’s Dementia. Like with my last fall, injuries from falling can increase the risk of decreased mobility. One of the dangers of falling that absolutely makes good sense is a lessening of self-confidence, which both protects us and restricts us. I’m finding the loss of confidence harder to deal with than much of the physical pain.
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| Rumbling Bridge Falls (one of many), Scotland, taken by Anne |
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| Anne at Multnomah Falls in Winter, OR |
To end this look at Parkinson’s and falls I quote a statement I heard on Bryce Perry’s Parkinson’s podcast: “Those with Parkinson’s Disease are one good fall away from a very bad day.”
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| Daylily |
Very Local Flowers
Canby is located in a very flowerful area. Within our grasp are The Oregon Gardens in Silveerton, forty-five minutes away. Parks such as Molalla River Park and Champoeg State Park are even closer than the big gardens. There are plenty of flowers to browse at shops like Bauman’s Farm and Al’s if you’re looking to plant your own garden.
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| Dahlia Fantasy |
So why did I limit myself to the very local flowers in our home garden? Two falls, doctor visits, appointments to radiological labs to see that no structural damage was done by the falls, and several planned visits to Speech Therapy and specialized Movement Therapist is why. I was just too tied up to go far afield. Besides, Anne does a nice job of caring for her small garden and it deserves to be shown. The one flower not in our garden is the lovely daylily of our next door neighbor Stan—anyway, the flower is next to our shared driveway, so it’s practically in our yard.
There you have it, Parkinson’s, Falls, and Flowers. Next will be a surprise….for me as well.
