And this is why so many people retire to FLORIDA! :)

Ouch! Those falls can be so dangerous. Take it easy, you don't want to end up with a cast or worse, surgery!

We just went to our doctor Thursday, she was limping and stiff leg walking. She had been on vacation the week before, fell in the ice and snow where she was on the first day, destroying her knee. She had to have complete reconstructive surgery.

You never expect that!

Stay safe and warm.

What a vacation for your doctor, Raven. My dad broke his leg at the beginning of one vacation, and his foot at the beginning of another. The latter happened when I served in tennis, and did such a bad job of it that instead of returning the ball, he stepped on it. :-)

Arkansas Girl, I was thinking the very same thing. Many of my friends are down there right now.

Geez Louise girl...sorry you fell. Hope you are ok and that the soreness goes away quickly. Smooch

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This is not good, and maybe you should take it as a warning. Worst case scenarios: broken hip, broken leg, concussion, or another sort of permanent injury. When you continue unloading, please do everything possible to protect yourself. Don't to too much at once. Maybe you fell because you were getting tired. Wear non-slip shoes. Maybe you are carrying too much at once? Are there any school kids around who could help, local workers?

As for your neck, sometimes when we fall it can be like a whiplash, so maybe that's what happened. I'm so sorry and know it's upsetting to fall. Please take care of yourself.

I hope that you are okay after that fall! I'm always more sore a day or two later.

I'm very wary of falling. This is why I don't have a dog right now. We've never been without at least one dog, usually two, but I don't dare risk walking them and falling on our icy road any more. I have to be careful of my knees, for one thing. I have two kinds of ice cleats, but didn't think I'd need them for this. I was standing on the steps, sweeping the tailgate, when I fell. Wouldn't have predicted that!

Thanks for the good thoughts and advice!

I hope you mend soon and that all it is, is aches and pains, but if you have persistent pain go to your doctor.

I've been putting in some new garden beds but am hiring out the job of wheelbarrowing the dirt from my driveway to the beds because it is heavy work and because the ground is wet and slippery. Maybe you could hire someone to put up your firewood?.

Wheelbarrowing dirt is very heavy work, Lucille! If I absolutely couldn't do the firewood stacking, I know my son would take care of it. But he has enough to do--for one thing, he cuts the trees down and then cuts it into lengths for the stove--and I actually like the job because it gives me some winter exercise (with frequent rests) and accomplishes something good too. So I hope I'll be able to keep it up indefinitely.

I fell in June. Landed in a parking lot on my knee. Was very thankful I didn't break anything but I think I did damage the knee. Never had knee problems before but it hurts when I turn a certain way. I worry most about the head. It wouldn't hurt to discuss it with your doctor.

Sorry about your fall and hope the soreness disappears soon! I fell last year on ice and really tried to be super careful this winter but it can happen so fast.

Gosh, THIS is NO FUN! How about *just this once* you let your DS stack the wood for you? Will you see some family over the next hours? I concerned that you could be concussed. Can you have someone telephone you, just to check? Can you keep a phone ON you?

Susan, glad that your fall didn't result in any severe injuries. I know what you mean about being wary of falling. I broke my ankle last Christmas day and I'm still limping as a result, it wasn't a bad fx. It's come a long way as to how much pain it's causing me, but there's still some pain and weakness when I walk on it. The ortho said that it could be 9 mos before it's 100%, if there is such a thing when the fx is on a 68 yr old ankle. I was pretty sure footed before the accident, but now I'm scared to death if there's one little patch of ice any where within my eyesight. The fall wasn't related to a slip an fall, I stepped in a hole that was filled with leaves, in a cemetery. I was wondering what kind of cleats you have. I've been looking online to get some, but I was wondering if the metal golf shoe type that go over shoes would be slippery when walking on concrete surfaces, non ice covered.

So sorry, friend. Hope you're not full of aches and pains tomorrow.

Oh I can relate to your day. My biggest fear, as I get older is falling and really hurting something.

Take it easy for a few, getta good cuppa, kick back and relax alittle.

I agree about asking someone to call you a little later, just to make sure you are ok. I'm sorry this happened to you Susan, but admire your gumption and strength!

You don't need to actually hit your head to suffer a concussion. DH was hit from behind in a vehicle accident. Felt OK except for a bit of an achy upper back/neck. About a week later his vision would go out of focus. Two weeks later it was fuzzy all the time. Turned out he had sustained a concussion. So if anything seems out of the norm get yourself to a doctor/ER ASAP.

Go right ahead and whine - you can even moan too. Join the club! This has been a treacherous winter in your area - much worse than what I'm getting here near Philly. We had to cancel dinner reservations last Saturday and then again today because of the dangerous ice conditions.

Our driveway has about 2 inches of icy slush covering the surface and it's still coming down. By tomorrow it will be all ice. I'm so grateful that DH retired last year because he never missed a day of work because of weather. His job was considered essential. There were many days when he'd leave for work and I'd wait for him to call to let me know he arrived safely.

I hope your late return last night was at least because you were out having some fun because if my weather is heading your way you're in for lots more ice. So please be careful. Stay warm, stay safe and pick up a good book to read.

Thank you all for your concern. I had a bad concussion when I was 19--lost consciousness and everything. Nasty. I remember that the neurologist had me close my eyes and walk in a straight line, and touch my index finger to my nose. I can do those things, so that's reassuring.

I feel so much better now, and the headache is gone. My neck doesn't feel quite 100% though. My doctor is in Italy for a month (the nerve of him!), but I'll probably make an appointment with my chiropractor. (Ye gods, I hope Snidely isn't reading this!)

The symptom that's occupying my thoughts right now is trigeminal neuralgia. The right side of my face is sensitive to touch . . . some of my teeth hurt a bit, the right side of my throat is a little sore, and it hurts to blink my right eye. This is typical of what happens before a herpes cold sore outbreak. I hope that's all it is, and not another shingles event. I'll take some l-lysine and try to head it off.

Yes, I was out having fun last night. After so many cancelled plans because of the weather, a bunch of friends and I went to a jazz club to hear a Brazilian singer, Clarice Assad, and her Japanese percussionist, Keita Ogawa, perform with a friend of ours and some other great musicians. It was a terrific show, and a yummy dinner. I don't go there often because of the long (90 min.) ride home late at night. The temperature was zero.

You can hear Clarice and Keita too. :-)

Susan, so sorry you took a tumble. It happens so quick. Hope all you aches will soon be gone. We heat with wood too and it is work getting it in an easy spot for carying inside. My hubby finally fixed up some racks that fits on the back of his tractor and he can wheel in a huge load right into the garage. He knows he can't do it like he used to either.

I have to be so careful with falling because I can't get myself up with my arthritis. I pay real close attention to where I go and when. I make sure I have my cell phone with me at all times. Life is just different being older.

Thanks, Susie. You remind me that I forgot to mention that I don't have much of a cell signal at home, so I don't carry one around the property. But I will soon be switching to another carrier, and maybe that will help.

I'm glad you're feeling better. Continue to take good care of yourself.

i personally know of 3 people who have died after hitting their head falling on ice. Last week I fell on ice in my driveway. My left leg twisted under me. Yowtch! I went to an Urgent Care center, they said I have a sprained knee but no broken bones. I will be seeing an orthopedist on Wednesday.

You have my sympathy, Vicsgirl. I live on a dirt road, and there's ice under the snow all winter. A few years ago I fell twice in quick succession--on St. Patrick's Day. I first landed hard on my hip, and thought uh-oh, but it was the second fall, twisting my knee, that caused the bigger problem. The next day--and for many days after that--I couldn't walk on it. After x-rays, etc., the only fix offered to me was pain meds. Fortunately, it healed on its own, and I hope yours does the same--quickly.

It's a dangerous time of year and we "oldsters and outdoor people have to be extra careful...my husband would kill me if he knew I was sharing this but .I had a chat with my husband about the way he was putting on his pants...hopping around on one leg trying to get the other leg in the right place ....I said will you please sit down and do that and his response was ..men don't sit to put their pants on...and I said ...well that's why you find so many old men in rehab with broken hips...

Glad you didn't hurt yourself to badly.

When the comment was made that the truck is loaded and then it will take several trips to Unload the truck of firewood have someone else younger to do that work.

Anything I have learned this is wet or cold I stay put regardless of the outcome. Someone else do the work!

I'm glad you're ok and that you're switching cell carriers so you might have a backup plan now. Whew. I've had a close call twice recently and both times, I was hugely glad I had my cell on me in case anything had happened. Get well!

This is an old thread. Not terribly old, but old enough so that I'd forgotten about falling on the porch. :-)

Gretchen, thanks for your concern, but the younger person is my son, who loaded up the truck for me and has his own firewood (and family) to take care of. I don't do very well with exercise, but I've found I can commit to tasks involving firewood and the heating of my home. It's not always easy, and I have to take frequent breaks and be careful not to overdo, but the result accomplishes something important to me and gives me needed exercise. So I'll keep doing it as long as I can.

Not this year, though. As I mentioned in a previous thread, we don't have enough seasoned firewood to burn, so I've been burning heating oil instead. My woodstove is cold. :-(

Sorry to hear about your slip and fall. Maybe your son will unload the truck for you. Get that windshield fix soon. Feel better soon and don't try to do so much.

This is like "deja vu all over again"!

Yup, these old threads keep rising to the surface. At least this one is only 9 months old.

If I gave it a serious thought, I would believe that houzz resurrects some of these old threads to make it look like the boards are "busy", or else, hoping to get traffic to look at and/or purchase some of the stuff they flog on here!

Even though this is an old thread, I wanted to comment on something Susan had said: "I don't have much of a cell signal at home, so I don't carry one around the property."

For those who have AT&T wireless... If you don't have a good signal at your home, AT&T will give you a signal booster at no charge. It's like a mini cell tower for your home (looks more like a router than a tower!). You program into it the three (or perhaps it's four) cell numbers that are allowed to access it. In Susan's case, she could program in her cell number, and those of her son and daughter-in-law who live nearby.

Thanks, Lindsey! We do have AT&T, and that could be a big help for me. It's odd, but my son and daughter-in-law have a good signal. Their house isn't on higher ground, so I don't know what the difference is.

Your son and daughter-in-law might be closer to the cell tower so they get a stronger signal, or they might not have as many obstructions between their house and the tower.

They're so close to me though. They're my nearest neighbor; I can see their house from mine. Oh, well, I couldn't begin to analyze the variables. :-)