We all have those times when we realize how close we came to disaster. A very similar thing happened to me back around 2009 or so. I was visiting my Mom at her house in New Orleans and I woke up early to go to a meeting I had in town. I was sleeping on the second floor, and it was still dark as I was walking down the hallway to the bathroom. The next thing I know, I'm falling. Its really hard to describe the complete sensory overload that happens when all of a sudden, without warning, you're flying through space in the dark. I'll never forget it.
Something in my brain stem told me to turn and curl up in the fetal position within a split second. I bounced only once on the stairs I think, then hit the wall at the bottom with my back. There was a window there, and my back hit the window ledge. I was fearing the worst. Now my adrenaline is off the charts, but I remained motionless, worried that if I had a bad back injury that moving could cause further damage. My mom, her brother and sister came running out of their rooms when they heard the commotion. I told my mom to call 911 and I told my aunt to get an icepack and put it on the center of my back where it was hurting, to keep down any swelling that might damage my spinal cord. I wiggled my fingers and toes and a huge relief passed over me. Other than that, I remained motionless until the EMTs arrived. They put me on a backboard and chauffeured me to the hospital (ox would no doubt have preferred to drive himself :lol), where after an exam by the doc they got me to my feet and walked me to get an xray. I did have a broken vertebrae but it wasn't serious.
I still think back now and then to this and other incidents as a reminder of just how quickly things can go permanently south. However, the lesson for me isn't to hide in the closet with a helmet on, but rather to live life today because you don't know if it'll be over tomorrow.
