As the title says, “Not quite Jackie Chan but”… my former personal trainer would be proud of me. Yesterday was one of the less good days, but an amazing silver lining emerged, which I think is really important to raise as an idea for people and one I need to thank my former PT for.
When I stopped driving, I had to stop my weekly sessions with my former Personal Trainer. We had worked together for a few years, and he was, and is, awesome. He is trained in Parkinson’s and came through the organization Rock Steady Boxing, which is focused on helping Parkinson’s patients.
Anyway… after my first couple of falls, he spent many sessions trying to teach me to fall. He said that if I was going to fall anyway, I needed to learn how to fall properly—until it became intuitive and natural. Yesterday it worked!
What does all of that mean?
After a good start, my day turned dark, and I could literally hardly walk—a full shuffle-mode day. I was back to 90-year-old territory. Stubbornly, I pushed on (a theme) and made friends coffee. On passing one of the coffees over, I completely lost my balance and fell. Somehow, in an incredibly tight space in the kitchen (and this was seen by my friends and wife), I twisted between the chair and fridge and, most importantly, deployed the tactics taught by my trainer—kept my head high and rolled as much as possible through the fall to lessen the impact. It was instinctive, and apart from being a bit sore, I was fine, and most of all, my head was protected.
I realized it was instinctive, and I believe that is thanks to my tutor’s (and friends’) very hard work and inspiration. So thank you!!!!
I don’t recommend falling, but with a fundamental balance issue, which probably comes from PSP or PD, it is a sad reality. I do recommend working with someone to learn to fall properly—from a statistical study of one, it seems to work, and not just yesterday. I thought I had gotten lucky that in all the falls I’ve gotten away with a few scrapes and bruises, but I think it’s due to this training.
This morning, I feel a lot better—not up to a walk outside—but at least more stable, and I hope for better days. At least the skills I’ve learned helped.
This is a reminder to all of us to thank not just our doctors but equally our Physios, Trainers, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, etc., who do such an amazing job, which is no less important and, in many ways, more important than pure medication and medical treatment—thank you!!
