Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Adults aren't supposed to fall out of bed

It started on Friday - leg muscles a little shaky, feeling tired and weak. Could have been caused by the long time sitting on the airplane over the course of Tuesday/Wednesday (flight problems, or should I say - non-flight problems since we never did get up in the air on the second leg of the trip, after sitting on the plane for 6 hours (I finally got to Isla the next day)).

Or maybe it was the heat and humidity causing my leg muscles to cramp; loss of sweat and valuable electrolytes. I drank lots of water but I've found that isn't enough when one sweats through several changes of clothes; time for the gatorade to restore the electrolyte balance.

On Sunday morning we worked to get the house ready for family, and then we went to one of our regular places for breakfast. Eggs, rice, beans, tortillas, orange juice. Nothing seemed 'off', but by mid-afternoon both of us were clearly 'off'. Miguel started with symptoms of stomach upset about an hour before me, but I soon caught up and then passed him. I threw up violently three times, once each hour until there was nothing left.

So yesterday, although on the road to recovery from the bad something-or-other, my rib cage hurt from using muscles that normally never get used. Feeling weak, I spent most of the day in bed, and although Miguel was tentatively out and about, by 6 pm we were both in need of a siesta. It was about 10:30 pm when I was woken up by Smokey, who knocked something off the night-stand.

I couldn't quite see what it was in the dark, so switched on the bedside lamp and leaned over the side. Still nothing - must be under the bed. So I leaned over farther and saw it - the cordless phone.

I reached down to grab the phone and all of a sudden I was falling - slamming my shoulder into the night-stand on the way down, and rattling the house as I landed hard on the floor. Startled Miguel out of a deep sleep.

Falling out of bed uses muscles I don't normally use, apparently. Although my knees took the weight of the fall, I am sore in places that didn't make contact as I fell. At least nothing is broken. As my grandmother would say, in order to apply humor to a situation - 'good thing you didn't break the floor'. We never got much sympathy from Grandma, she figured we usually deserved what we got.

8 comments:

Life's a Beach! said...

Ouch in so many ways! So sorry you were both sick, and sorry you fell out of bed. And glad you bounced and didn't break. As Craig told me awhile back, you only have so many years left before a fall like that will break something!

I'd been having big problems off and on lately with strange muscle cramps, Charley horses in the middle of the night, etc... So I take a potassium pill every few days to replenish what I lose with the blood pressure diuretic.

Islagringo said...

When it rains, it pours! How are your legs feeling now? Sitting for hours on those stupid planes like that has been known to cause blood clots in the legs. If they still hurt, go get them checked.

jeanie said...

I fell out of bed last fall and landed smack on my knees. Somehow I broke my big toe on the way down. It took forever to heal. I hate getting old.

Ann said...

Ooh, that hurt! Things get knocked off the tables here, mostly by the dogs big tail......

KfromMichigan said...

Ouch .. that hurts! I've had a tummy upset for the past couple of days. I think there is a bug in the air. Hope you are feeling much better.

Bennie said...

Wow, I can't imagine the shock of falling out of bed like that. And hard floors to boot.

I hope you two are feeling better.

Jackie said...

Ouch!
Something similar happened to a man I work with. The edge of the bedside table just missed gouging out his eye. He had quite a cut near his eye but we still had to give him a hard time about falling out of bed.

Sue said...

Beck - my thoughts too, I'm getting too old to get away with falls like this without something breaking. Got lucky this time.

Wayne - my legs are fine now, I think it was just heat exhaustion plus muscle complaints from so much sitting during my two days of travel.

Jeanie - I wasn't sure I hadn't broken my patella on the one leg, but it didn't really hurt, so I figured it was ok. I've broken my big toe too - that hurts! And yeah, I hate getting old...

Ann - Loco is the other problem, the other day he knocked a plastic tumbler of water off the coffee table.

K - hope you're feeling better! Our tummy upset lasted 12 hrs of acute illness, and then another 12 hrs or so to feel back to normal.

Bennie - we're feeling better, thanks! And yes, the floors are hard.

Jackie - the table is higher than the bed (it's a makeshift night table), so no danger to the eyes (although I am having eye problems - different issue). I imagine your co-worker had a nice black shiner for a few days.