Sidelined By An Injury
To say that this weekend didn’t go as planned would be a huge understatement. I had hoped to have all of the walls primed in foyer and bedroom, and to have all of the trim installed in the foyer by the end of the day yesterday. That didn’t happen because I seriously injured my right hand.
The good news is that it wasn’t an injury from my DIY projects, so my safety record there is still very good. I’ve been pretty proud of the fact that I’ve been DIYing as long as I have, and using the saws and other power tools that I’ve been using for three decades, and have had so few injuries that I could count them on one hand. And none of them have ever been major. No, this injury that sidelined me this weekend was from a fall.
On Friday, I had scheduled for the man who cleans up my construction debris to come out and clean up my carport and haul away everything I didn’t want to keep. If you’ll remember, this was the aftermath of my walk-in closet project…
And after they hauled everything away, this is what it looks like now…
I still have to get out there and sweep up all of the sawdust and try to get that oil off of the concrete, but at least all of the mess is gone and it looks so much better…and safer.
To make room in the driveway for their trailer, I had parked our van on the street in front of the house. Since I didn’t go anywhere the rest of the day on Friday, I completely forgot that the van was still parked in front of the house, so it stayed there overnight.
Saturday morning, I needed to go somewhere, so I headed out the front door. It had been raining all night and was still raining when I left. I didn’t think anything of it because I have never even once experienced our front porch being slippery when it’s wet, and this has been one of the wettest summers we’ve ever had. But as soon as my foot reached the edge of that top landing, it was like I had stepped on ice in the winter. My feet went out from under me, I landed on my right hip, and my feet went sliding down to the bottom step.
I was wearing Rothy’s, which have those nubby soles, and you can see where my feet left marks as they slid all the way down to the bottom step.
Had I just kept my arm up and let my hip catch the full weight of the fall, everything would have been fine. Believe me, I have enough padding there to sustain a fall with no pain. 🤣 I didn’t hurt my back or my hip or my legs. Those parts were all fine. But as I was falling, I instinctively reached out with my right hand to brace for impact. And as my right hand landed flat on the porch, it too went sliding right out from underneath me. Again, it was like I had fallen on ice. And my hand, which was flat on the porch to catch my fall, slid with the full force and weight of my freefalling upper body right into this post.
I sat there, completely stunned and in excruciating pain, for a few minutes grasping my right hand with my left hand. Honestly, I was afraid to look at it for a couple of minutes because I was sure I had broken something. Pain was shooting through my three middle fingers, the middle of my hand, and into my wrist. I thought that there was surely no way I had just rammed my flat hand into that column with that much force without something breaking.
I finally gathered the courage to look at my hand to assess the damage and see if I needed to head to the hospital. It hurt so badly, but everything was still moving. My three middle fingers, while in excruciating pain, seemed were all bending properly and on command. Everything else seemed fine with my hand and my wrist. So I decided to forgo the hospital visit and just give my hand time to heal.
By the time I got home, my fingers had swollen up like sausages. I could still move them, but because of the swelling and the pain, there was no way I could have gone on with my plans to paint and install trim. I don’t think I could have grasped a paint roller or a paint brush, and I certainly can’t do those things with my left hand. By yesterday morning, it definitely felt better, but I was still having a hard time grasping things because of my big sausage fingers. And if I grabbed anything too tightly, it was painful.
It’s still not back to normal this morning. My fingers are still swollen, but I have almost no pain today. If I grab something really tightly, the pain level is only a 1, or at most, a 2 (on a scale of 1-10). That’s tremendous improvement over how it felt on Saturday, and I’ve worked through much worse pain in the past. So I’ll be back to trying to make headway on the bedroom today.
I still have no idea why everything was so slippery. I’ve only ever experienced that in the winter when things ice over. I’ve never experienced our front porch being slippery just from rain. At first, I thought it might be the shoes. Maybe those soles of Rothy’s aren’t made for wet surfaces. But that wouldn’t explain why my hand slid so easily like it had also hit a patch of ice. I’m just so glad it was me and not someone else visiting our house. I would have felt so horrible had someone else fallen on our front porch the way I did.
I can’t take the chance on this happening to someone else, so I’m now thinking about painting our front porch (instead of the stain) with a paint made for porches that will provide some traction. If y’all have any suggestions for good outdoor porch paint that provides traction when it rains, I’d love to know!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Oh my goodness! I’m so glad you aren’t seriously injured, not that the swelling and pain don’t count. I hope you’re hand is back to normal today.
Oh dear! That hurts me just to think about it from your description! Glad nothing was broken. If you have had a lot of rain or humidity, perhaps a thin layer of algae on the boards? We have had that show up on our deck occasionally, and a fall has happened – speaking from experience!
Agreed! Wood when wet can be almost slimy and very slippery even if there is not a visible typical green algae. When was the last time the porch and steps were scrubbed?
Oh, goodness. It’s been a very long time. And I did notice some green algae on the front door from our very wet summer, so that’s probably what it is. I can’t believe how wet our summer has been here. That’s very unusual for central Texas, so I’m not used to this problem at all.
My first thoughts exactly! Even if you can’t see the green yet, this is what happens in Michigan!
Glad to hear you are ok
Could you soak your hand in a tub with some Epsom salt? That always helps me.
Rest, ice, compression . . .
I didn’t even think of that! I’m going to do that this morning before I start working on the bedroom. I need this swelling to go down.
You can also try 20 minute ice water baths. It’s brutal but it does work. I’m so thankful you’re not badly damaged!!
So happy that you didn’t break anything and sorry you were in pain. Thankfully you are on your way to normal again
Biofilm. You mentioned it’s been the wettest summer you remember. If that wood hadn’t had a good chance to dry out fully, a biofilm can form that can be quite slippery!
You should still get an xray, says the woman who tipped over from a squatting position around Christmas. Hurt about a 5/10 that day and never swelled, never stopped hurting although the pain level went down. Figured it was a bad sprain but xray showed broken arm (radius) 3 weeks later.
Ouch.
I was thinking the same thing, worth an xray for sure, you can’t necessarily tell from external observation if something is broken. For something as high use as your right hand I would get it checked out!
I second getting the x-ray. My husband fell from a very low height when the rolling stool he was sitting on slipped out from under him. We didn’t have his head or arm, x-rayed, both of which hit the concrete floor. (Stupid of us, especially given the potential for internal bleeding on the head.) Three months later when the elbow still hurt, he had it x-rayed and found he had a depressed fracture of the elbow. So our new rule is with a fall onto solid surface, get checked out
With your heavy rains recently you could have an algae or mold buildup that could cause it to be slippery. Try spraying your porch and steps with Wet n Forget. It’ll clean that stuff up and you should be slip free (until the next monsoon season)
Praying for fast recovery and thankful nothing was broken.
My husband who is athletic broke his kneecap, all he did was step onto tile in a three season room, and the humidity made it like ice. Surgery and weeks of therapy.
Things can happen so quickly we joke that he broke it sky diving or it was a snow boarding accident not stepping on a piece of damp tile.
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If you are going to paint the steps there are silica sand additives you can use to give the wood a bit of grit. Ducan or Rustoleum have some products.
Also, maybe this is the universe telling you to take a break(pun intended) You are driving yourself pretty hard. I know you want to get things done, but life isn’t a sprint.
My mom slipped and fell down our steps earlier this summer. She used her hand to break her fall. She didn’t have much pain and she could move her hand just fine so she thought it was just a sprain but a week later her fingers were still swollen. She finally went to the doctor and she ended up having two broken bones in her wrist. Even if you don’t think you’ve broken anything, you might want to go get x-rays just in case. My mom just needed to wear temporary cast and an arm sling for a few weeks. She’s perfectly fine now.
I chased my green waste bin down the street in the rain, and fell, landing on my hand and shoulder. Shoulder was fine, but broke a bone in my wrist. I also got the temporary cast and sling, and PT, which helped immensely. It’s been 3 years now, and not even a twinge, which is good news when you are old! As much as you use your hands and fine motor skills, it’s worth getting checked out.
Glad you were not hurt worse, as it certainly could have been.
My suggestion for the steps and about 6-8 inches deep of the top step landing area, would be to put enough stain (or paint) into a container and toss enough cheap contractors sand into it, and apply it so that it gives a good solid coating of the sand in the finish when it’s dry.
Kristi, I am sorry for your pain and please consider getting your hand looked at. I fell on ice this year and took it on the side and of course our hands try to stop our fall. i ended up with a crack in side of wrist bone, a splint for weeks and OT for weeks. Did you hit head at all? We often do. Dont let anything heal maybe in a wrong position or without care you might need. God bless
1. The sausage effect is your body splinting your fingers while it repairs soft tissue damage. Same reason a sprained ankle swells.
2. I dislocated my left shoulder in 1999 when I slipped on a wet floor. Like you, if I had not grabbed the DR table, the padded part that hit the floor was just fine. Oh no, out goes the left hand, out comes the left humerus, anteriorly dislocated. Husband did not believe I dislocated it until he saw the X-Ray. Being a nurse, I got rid of the sling as soon as I got home. In 25 yrs that joint has NEVER caused me the problems that all the rest have!
3. Next time you have fingers, toes or other mobile joints swelling, put that joint in ice water ASAP. That will help with the swelling ’cause sometimes, the swelling hurts worse than the injury.
They may have been slippery due to build up of algae if you have had a lot of rain. That would explain your hand sliding as well. Skid treads work well. If you can’t paint right away, I would recommend installing them.
I’m sorry you fell. Glad you didn’t break anything. About 3 months ago I had squatted down, lost my balance & roll backwards hitting my toes on my right foot on the iron leg of the end table. Killed my toe next to my big toe. Went to the dr and x-rays showed toe not broken. Fast forward to July 10. I was working on cutting off my iris when the seat I was on rolled backward. Hit my head on a decorative frog and twisted my knee. Bled all over the patio. By the 12 my leg was hurting, went to the doctor on the 18, another doctor on the 22nd, 29th, 8-6, 8-8, spent 13 hours at the ER. No test showed anything wrong. Aug 4th was the last day I walked. Dr said I had Cellulitis so I took 3 rounds of antibiotics to get rid of that. On Aug 26 I went to a foot doctor and he did what I had begged the other doctors to do……..order a MRI. I got the MRI at 8:15 pm on the 29th. On Labor Day I got the report so I went to the bone and joint Dr Benham. Guess what? My tibia was broken 7.4 cm above my left ankle so he put a cast on it that I am to wear 14 weeks as the tibia is very slow to heal. AND the metatarsal bone in my right foot was broken so I have a boot on my right foot. Happy Summer. Any and all my DYI projects are on hold for a while. Plus my caregiver husband has a hole in his heart and will be having open heart surgery probably in November. Things are in God’s hands.
Hope you are as good as new soon. Have a good rest of the week.
Echoing Wet ‘n forget with a light pressure wash. Its is super effective if sprayed as directed few days before using the washer. you get the results without beating up your body.
We have old surfaces and wanted to clean up the surrounding walls prior to a patio install for personal before/after pics. I just sprayed the wet n’ forget on the seen half the exterior wall to use up my supply and expected the wait for results. I was sharing how It’ll look funny but better to, a friend offered for us to borrow their pressure washer to finish it all, in the upcoming weekend. The wall I missed was more difficult to remove the weathering. The walls I treated 24-72 hrs earlier just needed a quick light spray for the same result, and overall made the task easy and fun.
Ugh that sounds awful! Our grey weathered decks get like that and so once a year I scrub them then use an algae and moss spray. So glad nothing was broken!
Glad your accident wasn’t worse, but the beginning of this post leaves me baffled. Last year you went to quite an effort to create the cutest workshop ever, but it sits empty. I would think you would be anxious to get it outfitted up and running for all these projects. Why finish all the major projects, only to circle back to the workshop later?
I saw the cat house you bought. I forgot all about him. Is he still around?
A ship chandler’s will sell anti skid varnish/paint, as used on the deck of yachts etc.
Praying for your continued healing and recovery.
Glad you’re feeling better and sorry for your mishap. There are products you can add to sealers that add “grip” to surfaces. If you can find some, you could keep the pretty stained look rather than paint. I’m sorry I don’t have a specific resource for this but a quality paint store may have this product.
Kristi, I am so sorry to hear that you have taken a fall, they really foul up the works for anyone. I am glad to hear that you are feeling better. Please go a little slower and try to keep 3-points of contact at all times with something that will keep you upright. As for paint, add some really fine grit sand to a deck paint and you should be good to go. They do sell some stuff at some of the better local paint stores. Try Sherwin-Williams, they have some great out of this world will last forever exterior paint. And again, just go a little slower, and you will arrive at your destination in one piece. Sometimes harder said than done.
Cheers!
Since I haven’t seen a post today, I have to assume your wrist/hand is still bothering you. It feels like you may want to “wish it better” and not seek medical help in the form of an Xray. But I did read in a comment Monday that you were going to ice it so that’s good. You can’t always assume nothing is broken or even cracked because you can move your fingers. It’s a setback to be sure but its my hope that you will be healed soon and back to helping Matt and getting renovations done. Please take care
It’s the old saying: It’s not the fall that will get you, it’s trying to stop the fall. Glad you’re feeling better. I agree with folks who say schedule time to get your hand checked out (no need for the ER).
Also, you can add grit to stain, but it sounds like algae is the real culprit.
Ohhhh nooo! Please go get an x-ray just for giggles to make sure all is set properly because if you do have problems later on then they have to break things and that’s not good. Also for what it’s worth I’m sending you good thoughts and prayers for fast healing
There is an additive that you can get at Lowe’s and probably most big box lumber yards. It is kind of like sand and you add it to your paint.
Sorry about your fall! What about some traction strips? It’s a quick Amazon buy and a 2 minute install. And while they aren’t necessarily the prettiest, they do help you see the steps better.