When you are a kid, the world is your playground, and you will have explored it in many ordinary and extraordinary ways. That also means cuts and bruises for most of our childhood. Although I had my share of bruises and scratches, I cannot say I was an accident prone child (unlike my own kids), but I do remember one particular incident that caused quite a commotion.
When I was 4, my mom would bring me to this place that was probably like kindergarten. I had gone there when I was 3 and when I was 4, so it could not have been a formal kindergarten. My dad was working a few streets from that place so occasionally, he would drive us and park the car on one of the side streets and then walk to his work.
Where is the car?
It was one of those days, when my dad had parked the car and my mom didn’t really know where, so we were just walking along those side streets to find it. It was in winter and i didn’t have my mittens so i was walking, quietly with my mom, both hands in my coat pockets.
There is a newspaper
I was always told “look where you walk”, so i did. I was looking at the sidewalk to see what was there. And there was a newspaper, or at least one sheet, right in front of me. Just like puddles are magnets for kids, so was the newspaper for me. So as i walked, i stepped on it. But unlike a puddle, the paper was slippery, and it slipped as i walked on it. It slipped backward. A little physics lesson here: if the feet quickly go backward, the head quickly goes forward! And with my hands in my pockets, i didn’t have anything to stop the fall, and yes, i went face first.
Quite a cut
I didn’t break my nose and the snow on the ground mostly absorbed the impact, but as i fell mostly on my chin, i bit the inside of my mouth. Badly! I don’t know how long we needed to walk to get to my dad’s work (i don’t think we had found the car yet), but i remember being brought to the in the bathroom to rinse my mouth. That is when i discovered that i was bleeding.
Brought to the ER
Next thing i remember was to be brought to the ER. I have absolutely no recollection of the time we waited but i had heard my parents, years later, mention about long hours. What i remember though was to be brought into an examining room, and have a cloth put over my head. That cloth had a small opening that was lined up on my mouth, and from the corner of my nose, i could see hands and instruments through.
Stitched up
I don’t remember any pain, any crying (although i probably was), or any fear. Just a weird sight from that little opening i could see. Days later, i remember telling my parents that there was a thread in my mouth. Well, of course there was: they had to stitch that cut. But, being that young, i had never experienced stitches before. That was all new to me.
What is the lesson?
To this day, i always am somewhat fearful of walking with my hands in my pockets. I have told my kids the exact same thing over and over again. And also, never walk on a piece of paper on the ground, in winter! It can slip!
How about you? Do you have stories of a memorable fall? or visit to ER? What does this story bring back to your memory? It is your turn to share your story. Go ahead. All the stories are interesting to read.
10 thoughts on “Remember when…? – Falling”
I have many memories of falls. Most notably my mum being taken to hospital when pregnant with my brother after tripping down the stairs. I was less than 2 and have vivid memories and a nervousness around stairs to match!!
Amazing how we can stay nervous for so many years after a single event that happened when we were young!
My fall story is about a very minor fall but one that I have never forgotten. I’m not sure how old I was at the time, probably young primary school age, but I had developed an interest in bees and butterflies. This manifested itself as a desire to catch the insects and keep them in jam jars. My mother was unhappy that I was taking all her jars and told me to stop, but I had to have just one more so I snuck under the kitchen window where the jars were stored, grabbed one and ran down the garden path. Of course I tripped and fell, put my hand out to save myself and ended up with a small piece of the broken jar in my palm. The cut was only about 1 cm long but it was quite deep and bled quite a lot, enough so I couldn’t hide it from my mum. She didn’t tell me off much but I have a small, crescent-shaped scar to remind me not to disobey!
You should take a picture of your hand now while documenting that past event! Then and now!
My worst fall was in the 4th grade. I was at my Grandma’s house sitting on the floor and I was sewing by hand, a dress for my barbie doll. I stood up to stretch and had laid my sewing on the floor. As a kid, I was clumsy. I managed to somehow trip on my own feet when I stretched and fell. My knee landed right on the sewing needle. I never felt a thing but I stood up and saw thread on my knee. I brushed at it to get rid of it and then realized it was coming out of my knee. That is when panic set in!!! We live in a small town so the Dr was called and we went to his office (it was after hours) and he found part of the needle. It had broken in half and the eye part remained in my knee. Back then, they didn’t have the technology they do now so they decided to leave the eye in there. It was there for 20 years until I fell on my knee one day while playing with my son. It started causing problems and they had the technology to get it out! To this day, if someone drops a needle, I’m afraid to move!
Ouch! I Cringed just reading that! That is definitely a fall to remember (unless you want to forget it!) Thanks for sharing. How often have you told that story with others?
I have shared the story many times. For awhile it was funny that, because I wear glasses and had the eye of a needle in my, I was 5 eyes instead of 4 eyes! There was a good side to this story, because of the needle in my knee, they didn’t want me to fall on it so I never had to take gym class in school again!
Worst fall I remember is not mine, but my mother’s–We were heading into the mall, and she started listing to the right, just like a car with a flat tire. I tried to hold on to her, but she got annoyed with me, and sort of pushed my arm away. Then she really started leaning, and stumbled and twisted right out of her shoes and fell and hit the back of her head on the pavement. I don’t ever want to hear that sound again.
Of course, the bonus was that’s how we finally figured out she had Lyme disease.
I can’t imagine the sound of a head hitting the pavement. Ouch! Good thing it at least led to figuring out something about her health. I guess the sooner you get that diagnosed the better the prognosis?
My mother used to have a friend who lived out in the country. Her daughter had a big old brown horse named Bill, who was the most gentle animal imaginable. Like many little girls, I loved horses and desperately wanted to ride Bill. Well, the daughter obliged (with my mother’s permission). She saddled Bill up and put me on top. I was delighted….right up until the moment that the saddle began to slide. Still somehow in the saddle, I found myself hanging upside down underneath Bill with one of his huge hooves within inches of my head. I don’t remember being particularly scared because I had all confidence in Bill. That horse stayed frozen in place until I was extracted from the saddle. That’s probably not the biggest fall I ever took, but it was one I will always remember. I wasn’t hurt and Bill got an extra carrot for being such a good boy.