Day 14 - Dystonia and Falling

Probably one of the greatest things I dislike about dystonia is the falling. I fall a lot! Although, I must admit, I haven't fallen in awhile (which probably means I'll fall tomorrow - ha!) It's the one "symptom" that has always been there. It showed up in the beginning stages of dystonia and has been there ever since. It used to be, I would fall out of nowhere - meaning, I had no prior indication that I was going to fall. Now, I can sometimes pinpoint it. There's the "pre-fall" :) where I can feel my muscles tightening and am pretty sure it's coming up. But sometimes it still surprises me - haha!! I have permanent marks on my knees where I've landed - and I always seem to fall the same way (in the same position). It's just a normal part of life now, I guess you could say. It never gets any easier though. I've been super blessed to NOT have hurt myself other than bloody knees and a bruised ego. No broken hips or broken anything thankfully. I know this could change, but for now, I'm very thankful I've not seriously injured myself. I've even fallen while using the walker and it takes real talent to do that! But, that's exactly why I use a walker - to minimize the amount of falls. I'd probably fall a lot more if I didn't have it, so looking at it from that perspective, I'm thankful for the walker. Falling is a lot less likely when I'm walking on carpet or sand, but it still happens occasionally. I was at my parents house this afternoon and it amazed me how well I could walk on their carpet and I wasn't using a cane or a walker!! But then, I went to leave and walked out on the driveway by myself and was sure I was going to fall. BUT, God was good and I didn't :) It's a strange beast, this dystonia. I never know what a day will entail. I'm grateful for the days when no falling takes place and on the days it does, I thank God that I am not seriously hurt, or that it wasn't in front of a crowd of people :) Hey, there's always something to be grateful for, right?!