Falling in love is so much better than falling down

[Music]

i’m a pathologist by training

that’s a doctor that does autopsies and

lab tests in some ways

i deal with death and dying but what i

learn

can also help save lives i’m going to

talk about falling down

the serious injuries that can happen and

what we all can do

to prevent falls why is talking about

falling down so important to me

it’s personal i have my own story to

tell

and my sister fell and was seriously

injured

she’s recovering but it’s taking a long

time

falls can be a common occurrence as we

get older

but they don’t have to be falling down

is not a normal part of aging

the truth is most falls can be prevented

once we know the risks associated with

falling

let me tell you my story i don’t

remember

exactly how it happened i was watching

my favorite tv show

deadly women on id and i got up to go to

the kitchen

and then i was lying on the floor with

broken dishes

i couldn’t explain what happened

my family was concerned that i might

have had a mini stroke

how can you not remember falling down

so i went to the doctor and i got

checked out

and everything was fine

you might have seen that video of oprah

falling on stage

she got up and she went right on with

the show

she didn’t even drop the microphone

i’m still trying to figure out how she

did that

afterwards she was talking to her friend

gail

who said that she would have been

embarrassed falling

oprah said she was not embarrassed at

all

people fall but when i fell

i was embarrassed

when we’re children we fall down we

laugh we get up and fall down again just

for the fun of it

but as an adult falling down that’s seen

as

shameful or something to be embarrassed

about

and i’ll be honest if no one had known

that i had fallen

i would have kept it a secret

so with the information i’m going to

share today

i want to take the secrecy

out of falling down

so as a doctor after my experience

falling

i wanted to find out as much information

as i could about the risks associated

with falling

the cdc website has a wealth of

information

all of us are affected by falls

either personally or someone that we

love or care for

falls are the leading cause of injury

related deaths

in people 65 and older

every 19 minutes an older person

dies from a fall that’s 73 deaths

a day the risk of falling down

and breaking a hip and sustaining a

brain injury

increases with age and once a person

falls

the risk of falling again doubles

and then there’s the whole baby boomer

situation

i looked at census data and in the next

few years

the population 65 and older will be the

majority population

in the united states so we expect to see

more falls

but there are actions that we can take

falls have a tremendous cost in terms of

dollars and cents and on our

independence

every year we spend over 50 billion

of our health care dollars on injuries

and fatalities related to falls

brain injuries sustained in the fall are

important because many of the elderly

are taking blood thinners and an injury

to the head

can lead to bleeding into the brain

which can be life-threatening

and sadly once a person is injured in a

fall

they may not be able to live

independently

and some people will require expensive

in-home care

and the use of assistive devices such as

lifts or wheelchairs or access ramps

which can cost thousands

and then there is the fear of being

placed in a nursing home and this can

lead to

secrecy and not telling the doctor or

family member about falling

so what if we asked ourselves what can i

do

to prevent falls first

get educated do what i did

learn more about the risks associated

with falling

if you fall tell someone

your doctor or a family member

oprah had it right she got up she went

right on with the show

and hopefully she would have told her

doctor about falling

and my sister she did tell me that she

had fallen

get an annual eye exam as we get older

our vision changes and wearing the

proper eyewear

is incredibly important do exercises and

activities

that increase strength and balance

like tai chi or yoga and if there are

mobility issues

any activity that can be done standing

up can be done sitting down

or lying down and make the home

environment

safer by removing clutter

trip hazards and improved lighting

so we all have the power to prevent

falls

once we know the risks and the actions

to take

if you fall tell someone

and do activities that improve strength

and balance

what am i doing to prevent falls

i’m using the hula hoop

and i want to leave you with these words

falling in love

is so much better than falling down

be well