Just call me grace...

It's amazing the number of thoughts that go through your head as you are falling. Last thing I remembered I was standing on the other side of the kitchen door - on the top of the basement steps - and the next thing I knew I was falling backwards....down 15 steps and hit the basement floor...HARD.

I stayed there, flat on my back, for what seemed like 20 minutes trying to decide if I was all in one piece. Was anything broken? Did I have a concussion? What about my neck and back? Broken? Cracked? I felt like I had just been in a gigantic dryer, spinning out of control and watching all the contents of my purse and briefcase flying through the air with me as I tumbled. I can still see it all as if in slow motion.

Nothing seemed to be bleeding so I tried to roll onto my knees and slowly get up. I decided I should make a phone call first. Since my son was still close to home - he had just left to take my daughter to school - I called him and asked him to come back home right away. I figured if I were to pass out or if something were more seriously wrong with me that he would get here before my husband could from downtown.

While I waited for Charlie to arrive, I managed to get up and eventually stand up. I made my way upstairs to survey the damage. Most of the bruising and pain I was feeling was on my left side. About this time Charlie came charging into the house and I heard him head straight for the basement. I called him upstairs to give me a hand. I had a bruise on my left leg from 5 days before while working in the garage. I noticed it was bigger or rather it appeared to be swelling. That worried me a bit. Plus the fact that I hit my head - all those stories about Natasha Richardson dying after hitting her head skiing went through my head... Then Charlie asked me "did you call dad?" I said I hadn't yet and he said "well if you don't call him right now I will!"

Now my sweet husband is one of those guys who reacts so calmly to situations like this. I mean, he keeps a clear head and asks the right questions and doesn't get hysterical or anything. I joke that he gets more upset by things like letting cookie slip out of his hand or getting all the way to the basement garage and realizing his keys are upstairs in the kitchen! True to form, he was calm and collcted and said I needed to go to the Urgent Care center and get checked out - have x-rays and make sure all was in order.

Charlie helped me pick up the contents of my purse and briefcase and he followed me to the Urgent Care center. I was hobbling along but not dizzy or anything which made me feel better about NOT having a concussion. Got the x-rays and went through a checkup with the doctor and found out I was fine - just very bruised and banged up. He prescribed pain meds and plenty of ice packs for all the bruising. What a relief...

I'm still puzzled at how exactly I wound up at the bottom of the stairs flat on my back. You know how sometimes when you start to fall you can feel yourself slip? I don't remember that. And sometimes you catch your foot on something and you start to stumble? That didn't happen. All I remember is falling straight back and flipping about one and a half times before hitting the floor. I joked with a few folks that I got a low score from the Russian judge. Guess my form wasn't quite good enough! I spent a lot of time laughing off the "tumble down the stairs" but the reality is...I was very lucky yesterday. It could have been so much worse.

I'm so grateful that it wasn't...