How to Get Up From the Floor Safely

Daisy, a Younger 4 Longer member who is 91 years old

and registered blind, shows us how

Photos taken 5 months after surgery to fix a fractured hip!

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How to Get Off the Floor Safely

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    Lie still for a few moments to recover from the fall, try to assess whether you have sustained an injury - if not, think about how you will get up again

    Roll onto your side so that your strongest arm is uppermost, bend your knees and then rest for a moment to gather your strength

    Push with your strongest arm and lift yourself onto your other forearm, then rest for a moment to avoid becoming dizzy and falling down again

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    Push again with your strongest arm to raise yourself onto two hands, then rest again for a moment

    Push with both hands and lift up onto all fours, then rest again for a moment before crawling to something stable that you can push onto to help get yourself up

    Place your strongest hand onto the chair or other stable object, push down hard, lift the other hand and place it on the chair / object, then rest for a moment

    Lift your strongest foot and place it near to the chair / object, then - you've guessed it - rest for a moment!   Summon up all your energy and prepare yourself to stand up

    Push with both hands and your strongest leg and raise yourself up onto two feet - rest for a moment before placing both hands onto your thighs, pushing hard and raising yourself up to standing

    Stand still for a few moments to gain your balance before turning round to sit down and have a well earned rest!

I'm glad that I've learned how to do this and am sure that you will be able to too with a bit of practice - but, if there is any doubt that you will be able to get up again, before you get down, please make sure that someone is close at hand or you have your telephone close by so that you can call for help if you do get stuck!

When I fell and broke my hip it was late at night, I was all alone and I fell in the bathroom.   There was no phone nearby so I had to drag myself to the bedroom, pull the telephone wire to make the phone fall to the floor and then I was able to phone for help.   It took a great deal of effort and I was in a lot of pain, but I knew I had to do it otherwise I would have had to lie there for hours!

If you are unable to get up:

	Use your personal alarm if you have one
	If you don't have an alarm try to reach something which you can use to bang and make as much noise as you can, or bang your walking stick on the window or wall, in order to attract the attention of a neighbour or passer-by
	If no one hears you try not to panic, have a rest then try again later
	Try to crawl or bottom walk to get something to cover yourself with in order to keep warm, e.g. a rug, towel, additional clothes
	Try to keep moving, this will help to keep you warm and prevent you stiffening up
	Try to move onto a soft, warm surface if necessary
	If you do think you may have injured yourself in any way, or if you banged your head when you fell, it is important to get checked by a health professional.   You may contact your GP, NHS Direct on 08454647 and ask for advice, or dial 999 and ask for an ambulance