I left Amsterdam yesterday at 11 a.m, and arrived home about an hour later, taking into account of course the different time zones (the cities are seven hours apart). The flight was uneventful, though the food and movies were even worse than usual are for United.
The only event worth remarking on is that I took a BIG FALL on the plane when they darkened it during the flight and I had to go to the restroom. There were two lavatories, one on each side of a center cubicle behind me, and the one on my side was occupied. To get to the other one, I had to “cross over”, which mean creeping against the outsside back wall of the cubicle so as not to disturb the man who was sleeping and spread out across five seats.
Mission accomplished, I crept back but when I got to my aisle I tripped and fell face-first into the video screen and tray table of the seat on the other side of the aisle (it was the first seat behind a gap, so the table and video were protruding from the armrest. It was a hard fall that laid me out, and people stood up gasping, thinking I had collapsed or at least injured myself badly.
But I didn’t. I scraped up my legs and wrists (somehow you can scrape your leg badly without ripping black Wranglers jeans, and my face hit on the right side, so that my upper teeth cut pretty badly into my lower lip, where I now have a huge and bloody bruise. But no teeth were loosened, and it was just a bad tumble. The problem was that it hurt to eat, so I forewent comestibles after that.
I’m much better now after having spent much of yesterday afternoon with a bag of frozen peas on my jaw. But, as the Aussies say, “No worries.” I’m home now, and have things to do. Posting should be almost back to normal tomorrow, so bear with me. I do my best.
So sorry to hear about your fall. What a blow. I hope you are soon to recover, and able to eat and enjoy your food.
+1
Ouch! You should tell people it happened when they canceled your lecture, and that they should see the other guy.
+1. I hope it doesn’t hurt to laugh.
Ouch! At least you have an excuse to eat only ice cream for a few days now.
Yikes. That’s actually pretty frightening. So many people die from falling and hitting their heads. Glad you are all right!!!
How awful!
Re your teeth and jaw: if I were you, I’d arrange for a visit to my dentist, asap. Even if your teeth all seem firmly attached, you still could have cracked one or two.
Anyway, hope you (look and) feel better soon!
OMG! Falls are dangerous and people often injure themselves more than they think they did. It’s not a good way to end your trip. I hope that you recover without complications.
So sorry! You did not mention how stewards responded. Did they bring you some ice for immediate application to your jaw. They used to be pretty attentive to these types of things many years ago. Glad you were able to spend much of the first 24 hours with the cold pak. Wishing you a rapid recovery.
Welcome back!
Glad to hear the spill was absorbed without too much damage. Those dark cabins are just recipes for spills.
Looking forward to WEIT revving the engines into high RPMs again!
Pamela Paul has a wonderful piece on mishaps that can happen to anyone but do tend to increase with age. I was complaining to myself on seeming to get injured at the drop of a hat when I came across her article. The articles comment section is worth reading as well.
Adding Insult To Injury by Pamela Paul
The New York Times March 31, 2024
Thanks. I will look for it. One of my engineers noted some years ago during ultimate frisbee at an office picnic, that as he turned thirty-fivish he could no longer play sports with “reckless abandon”. I noticed, if not an increase in actual accidents, certainly an increase in noticeable injuries which also took longer to heal. Now please excuse me as I apply my morning bubble wrap.
Ruptured Achilles tendon at 38 was my wake-up call. Consequence of reckless abandon.
Sorry to hear that and glad all is well.
In related news, wife ran over the cats paw yesterday :/ But he finally came back last night and is convalescing well and looks minor. If you can’t see the animal, don’t move! (She’s very sorry so didn’t pile on). They did not evolve their behavior in a world with boxes capable of inexplicably moving in unpredictable directions at any time.
Cats did evolve to seek restful hiding places, especially warm ones. Always look under the car before moving it!
Was this a United flight, or partnered thru KLM? If the former, fly KLM next time. The food’s at least better.
all the best!
Could have been worse! Best wishes on a speedy recovery.
Not a fun way to end your trip, but you seem to be taking it with a positive attitude. Hope you heal quickly!
Terrible about the fall… take it easy and recover. I notice that with aging, we break more easily and repairs take a lot longer. Another’s signature I’ve seen and liked, “I thought growing old would take longer…”
Oh no! Feel better soon.
Sorry to hear of your fall. Those can get dangerous as one gets older.
Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Sorry about your fall. Hoping for a speedy recovery.
I sometimes wonder what happens if I answer yes to a nurse’s query about whether I have fallen in the past 6 months. I’d hate to have to wear the “fall risk” band of shame.
Prof Ceiling Cat is covered on that at least— if he were at home or someplace familiar he would have turned on the lights or nicely asked a friend to please move. Not a situation he was in control off, no shame, no need to alert the computer. Not likely ever to be repeated.
(When I was in my 60’s and still taking falls in jujitsu, I’d think of responding to the “Have you fallen recently?” question with “Regularly, at least once a week.” But I didn’t; no one ever thinks it’s a funny as you do.)
Sorry to hear.
Undoubtedly attracted more attention than you were comfortable with.
On the treatment side, too much cold slows down the healing and can actually add to injury.
Speedy recovery…
So sorry about your fall! Glad it wasn’t serious! Welcome home!