June 24 is a day I will always remember for it is when the most embarrassing moment of my life happened. And probably one of the scariest, too. You see, just days after I turned a year older, I got into an accident at one of my clients' office. You could probably guess that the scene of the crime is my biggest client's office, hence the extreme embarrassment.
Anyway, nothing to worry about since I am all good. I guess it really pays to take calcium supplements because my bones were rather strong to take the fall. But I'm not writing to tell you about my attempt to defy gravity. I am writing to share the 5 things I learned when I fell down 10 marble steps.
1. ALWAYS, always hold on to railings especially if you are going down. Yes, these railings can be very dirty with germs & all but they can save your life. If I wasn't holding on to the railing, I would have fallen at a different angle and could've been badly injured. Or I could've died. Me holding on to the railing helped break my fall. I was wearing 4" heels & my right heel caught the grout of the marble steps that were there to prevent it from being slippery. I have been wearing heels since I started working, and this is the first time I have ever had an accident. I even run with heels at the office or when on business trips but I don't think I will ever do that again after this.
2. Presence of mind is important. I knew was gonna fall to the ground so I braced myself & lifted my head as high as I could so my head wouldn't bump the steps and the landing. I bumped my head still but not as hard as I could've and my x-ray showed no cranial fracture (thank God!). Speaking of x-rays, I had four -- head, left hand (which was holding on to the rail & supported my full body weight to break my fall), lower back & left leg. Praise God, no broken bones. Only bruises, particularly on my pride. Miracle!
3. I was conscious the whole time so I was able to call my husband and a friend at work to let them know what happened to me. Make sure your phone has enough battery all the time. You will never know when you need to make emergency calls. Invest in power banks. And carry an ID with you wherever you go.
4. Wear decent UNDERWEAR because you'll never know when you'll find yourself exposed. When I reached the landing, I was in a compromising position. It wasn't a pretty sight. I was wearing a mini shift dress (slightly above the knee) so when I was lying down, the dress had gone up to my thighs. I couldn't imagine myself lying down there in the cold marble worrying about getting exposed after putting on a thong in the morning. Ack! Thankfully, I was wearing a proper pair of M&S knickers so when I was asked to put on the x-ray gown at the hospital, nothing was "exposed" (you know how these gowns are open at the back part).
5. No matter what happens to a Mom, she will instinctively think of her kids despite the circumstance. After getting discharged from the ER (yes, I got 999'd!), I went back to the office limping because the breastmilk I pumped during the day was in the office fridge. I was due to express milk at 3:30 pm but I was at the hospital then so before heading home, I pumped one round more despite my sore left hand (thankfully, I have a hands-free bra). I fed Avery as soon as I got home & rested for a bit. By 11:00 pm, I went back to my normal routine despite the beaten up feeling: washed & sterilized the bottles and prepped Dade's baon for school. A Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do.
So to everyone, be careful when taking the stairs and escalators. Railings are there for a reason. You can wash your hands or sanitize your hands afterwards. Better to deal with germs through hand wash than broken bones or fractures through cast.
