I fought the lawn (mower) and the lawn won!

[crusader rabbit]

Frank, you and I had nearly identical experiences with a trailer tongue.  But my experience ended a little worse.  I had just moved a small trailer into my garage to keep a load of drywall from getting rained on.  Wife and contractor were upstairs at the other end of the house (we'd just closed on it the day before) when I made an attempt to close and deadbolt the garage door.  The deadbolt was off maybe a 32nd of an inch, so I figured I'd give it a good solid donkey kick to ram it home.  I kicked.  It kicked back.  It spun me around, and my toes caught under the trailer tongue.  Both knees slammed into the cement floor while my head broke through the plywood sheathing on the garage walls.  The fall severed the quadriceps tendons in both knees.  It took emergency surgery and 6 months of PT to walk again.  It's been 4 years and the knees still aren't right.  My advice is if you are over 70, don't fall.

Crusader Rabbit

[Big Frank]

I can't even imagine how much that must have hurt, Crusader. It sounds like one of those things we all do without giving it a second thought. Even if you did think, what could possibly go wrong, you would never expect that! A sore foot or something, maybe, but not that. I think I read that 1 out of 4 people over 70 has a serious fall. And a long time ago I heard that half of the people who break a hip when they fall die a whole lot sooner than they should. The next year, or something like that. I still can't believe I had osteoporosis a long time ago but I don't anymore. Taking 1,200 mg of calcium with vitamin D every day, in addition to a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral like Centrum or One-A-Day fixed it.

The only thing that has kept me from breaking more bones than I have is that I'm big boned. Not just fat, but actually big boned. Several years ago I wiped out on a scooter I was riding standing up like a skateboard. My chest hit right on a tree root as I bounced down the driveway at my friends cabin. It was nice soft sand on both sides of the root I landed on. That's what caused the accident when my front tire sunk in. But with my luck, you know I'm going to land on the hardest object in the area. If there was a big rock in the driveway, I would have landed on that instead of the root. It hurt, but there was no permanent damage. I was in my 50s at the time and bounced, but didn't jump up and feel fine like I would if I was a kid.

[Rastus]

Dang it Wabbit...that hurts just to read it.

[alfsauve]

I guess I've been spared of this experience over the years because I've never owned a riding mower of any description.   The largest lot I was responsible for was my parents' home and it had about 3 acres.  It was all Centipede grass so I only had to go over it twice a year.  Dad did buy one of the original Snapping Turtle mowers with the front skid pan and the solid roller drive "wheel". 

Hope the healing process goes smoothly.  Stay safe everyone.  You never know what freaky things might happen.  (Thinking of the DOT guy working on the traffic light that go hit by a truck.)

[crusader rabbit]

Dang it Wabbit...that hurts just to read it.

Rastus, you have no idea...  After surgery, they braced both legs from crotch to ankle, so if I could get vertical, I could penguin waddle for short distances using my walker.  Problem came about with the daily need to address the porcelain facility.  Bunny would install the braces and pull my feet off the mattress which was elevated enough to where, with a bit of help I could become vertical.  With walker and braces I could then get to the pot, but without flexion in my knees I could not actually sit thereon.  Best I could do was an uncontrolled fall--which left me precariously and painfully perched on the pot with my legs sticking out in front of me.  Now, that was enough to take care of business, but it left me unable to regain my feet without assistance.  And that's how I reconfirmed Bunny really loves me.  With almost superhuman effort, she would lever me back on my feet so I could reach the walker and waddle back to bed where she would remove the horribly uncomfortable braces until next time.

We are going to celebrate our 38th anniversary in November, so I think the immediate danger of her leaving has passed--at least for the time being.

I now hit the treadmill three times a week and put in a mile and a half to two miles at 3mph each time.  Not going to win any races, but I can still enjoy the outdoors and light hikes.

As my late grandma used to say, "Getting old ain't for sissies."

Crusader Rabbit

[Sponsor]

[Rastus]

<snip>

We are going to celebrate our 38th anniversary in November, so I think the immediate danger of her leaving has passed--at least for the time being.

<snip>

Glad to hear she's not going to be exiting anytime soon.  My wife and I got married in '87...isn't that also 38 years?

[Majer]

I met my wife in 1981, married her in 1987, I claim 44 years , she says the first 6 didn't count and it's only 38 years , I call BS on that, What say all Y'all?

[Rastus]

I met my wife in 1981, married her in 1987, I claim 44 years , she says the first 6 didn't count and it's only 38 years , I call BS on that, What say all Y'all?

I would say that depends on the residential status during those 6 years. 

[crusader rabbit]

I met my wife in 1981, married her in 1987, I claim 44 years , she says the first 6 didn't count and it's only 38 years , I call BS on that, What say all Y'all?

Confucius say, "Happy wife, happy life."  I agree with Confucius and recommend conceding the point to your wife.  Also, "meeting" doesn't count as "married."  So, for what it's worth, I think she's right, too.

The Wabbit

[Majer]

We moved in together in 1988