About five minutes after taking this shot, I tripped and tumbled forward, falling spread-out kaboom, flat on my face on the narrow trail. My forearms and knees took most of the blow.
I was moving quickly descending a hill, probably not standing up straight, and my stick wasn’t positioned to help. The stumble sent me right past the tipping point into an impossible slow-motion crash I could do nothing about. The fall was so strange, a bizarre moment of calm, but I landed quite hard in packed dirt with a layer of cushioning dust, missing most of the rocks. The first thing I saw was my telephoto lens that had come out of the case. Damn. I lay still on the ground in no hurry to move, taking inventory of all of my parts. Then slowly I pushed myself up with my arms: amazingly, nothing was shredded, but the sharp pain in my left knee came from a nice gash in the skin. Not very deep, but starting to bleed. I stood up and washed out the wound with plenty of water. Dammit, no band-aids, but not after this.
Somehow my camera survived. I picked up the telephoto lens (capped at both ends) and wiped off the dust with my handy bandana. Next time I’d keep the case zipped all the way up, wouldn’t I? Glad that no one had seen me go down, at first I decided to finish my hike. Then I looked at the blood on my leg I had no way to fix and reluctantly quit: back to the parking lot after less than a mile, what a disgrace with only a flesh wound. Never mind feeling so stupid for falling down in the first place! Some days you just have to start over, so that’s what I did.
Now it’s just after midnight. Feeling sore here and there, but overall good, like I’d actually done stuff.
Isn’t that weird?
John Hamilton Farr lives at 7,000 feet in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. As New York Times best-selling author James C. Moore tells it, John is “a man attuned to the world who sees it differently than you and I and writes about it with a language and a vision of life that is impossible to ignore.” This JHFARR.COM site is the master writing archive. To email John, please see CONTACT INFO on .png)
Hi John,
Fortunately you’re alright and came away with only a flesh wound. Recovery may not be a quick as you would like…the aches stay with us longer. I’m 67 and very active, so I can attest to that part of it.
Stay well and by the way, like your new photo…it suits you..!!
Cheers,
Fw
It’s amazing how little damage there was, probably because I fell relaxed, somehow. I’ve also been doing a lot of walking, so the ligaments and joints are all firmed up. And thanks for the Flickr link, I’ll check those out!
Forgot John,
You can check some of my photos over on Flickr;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96400616@N05/
Fw
Oh boy! Glad the damage was not worse…but maybe see a Dr to verify? Thankfully, no cholla were in the area you landed in. Whatever pain relievers you use, try ’em tonight 😉
I’m fine,thanks! It was a good tumble, though.
FYI
http://www.drjohnm.org/2011/05/cw-more-on-the-dangers-of-nsaids/
…Your knee hurts
Your back aches.
Your muscles are soooo sore the day after trying that new exercise.
I get this; I race bikes.
Yet I urge you to avoid seeking relief in the form of the pain-relievers called Non-Steroidal-Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, or NSAIDs. You have heard the names before: ibuprofen (Advil), naprosyn (Aleve), diclofenac (Voltaren), celecoxib (Celebrex.) There are others…
–John Mandrola,MD
[ when yrs truly fell off the roof,landed on the hip,tore the groin…the best pain fix was homeopathic Arnica…have used it on crazy Cockatiels,hurting hounds,etc with super results as well. In fact, keep a ‘just-in-case ‘ vial in the truck.]
[sounds like Legalised russian roulette,eh?]
just in:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZS6ZNQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl
Back Pain Death! Your Backache Medication Is Killing You! (My Back Hurts) [Kindle Edition] Dan Eitreim (Author)
Book Description
Of the five most popular varieties of pain removing, anti-inflammatory pills…
all of them include side effects which are well known and well documented.
The unwanted side effects literally kill thousands of people every year
and could easily kill YOU!
One particular type of sore muscle relief medication
accounts for about the same number of deaths annually as AIDS.
One of the popular sore muscle relief medications
murders more people EACH YEAR than were killed in combat
in both Iraq wars plus Afghanistan – put together.
One type is responsible for MORE panic stricken phone calls to poison control centers than any other reason – and more than 56,000 people wind up in the emergency room
each and every year because of getting poisonous quantities of this OTC medication in their systems. I know I became one of them. (BTW – this particular one is a physicians preferred non-prescription “go to” pain reliever.)…
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