The Dreaded Fall

Well, it happened. The dreaded fall. It actually occurred a weekend ago, but I haven’t had time to write about it. We had taken our two dogs for a walk. Since my wife was still in that crazy sling that patients of rotator cuff surgery wear, I was handling the leash for both dogs. That’s not uncommon because I typically walk them every day by myself without any problems.

On this particular day, we were about to approach a corner when all of a sudden, a young boy with a very large German Shepherd appeared from around the corner. This dog was large and powerful, so powerful that the young boy was having trouble holding him back as he was lunging toward our dogs. I’m not sure if he was being aggressive or just curious, but he was pulling on his leash and practically dragging the young boy down the sidewalk. Normally when I see another dog coming down the street, we just reverse course and avoid them, but I didn’t see this one coming. As they turned the corner, we found ourselves in the middle of an encounter before we even realized it.

Our two dogs took the dog as being aggressive and quickly began to mirror his behavior. They both began barking and pulling on their leash, which only served to increase the intensity of the situation. The more our dogs showed aggression, the more aggression the German Shepherd showed. Just for the record, our dogs were at fault just as much as, if not more than, the German Shepherd.

I was holding both of them back by their leashes. Our newest dog, who just turned one year old and still quite the puppy, began to jump and spin to shed herself of her collar. She must have learned this maneuver sometime in her life and it’s often quite effective for puppies, but I knew how to react. I reached out and grabbed her by the collar so she couldn’t twist out of it. In doing so, suddenly both of my legs gave out. I fell to the concrete in the middle of the street. I was able to hang onto both dogs and once I came to my senses, I handed the leash of our older dog to my wife.

The young boy called out, “Are you okay?”, but my wife instructed him to just keep walking with his dog. He was able to get control and walked his dog down the street.

Fortunately, I wasn’t badly hurt. I have some scrapes on my knee and elbow, but luckily I didn’t hit my head or break anything in the fall. I think my ego was bruised more than my body was injured.

With Myasthenia Gravis, we often experience episodes of great weakness. I just didn’t expect it to come on so suddenly and so intensely. They always warn us that falls can be very dangerous, but I always believed that was for people worse off than me. I had previously told my doctor that I often drag my left foot when I get tired and we had discussed the dangers of falling. In this case, there was no foot dragging; it just hit all of a sudden. I was under stress and expending a great deal of energy all at one time, which probably led to the sudden collapse. I was very lucky I wasn’t more seriously hurt. That was God watching out for me.

I’ve read a couple of Cesar the Dog Whisperer’s books, but I think I need to reread them. I definitely didn’t follow his advice during this situation. I could have and should have handled it much better.

I learned some important lessons from this incident. I learned that stress and suddenly having to intensely use my muscles can result in total collapse. I also learned that the unexpected can occur and requires a different reaction than the one I displayed. If I had quickly gathered our two dogs, distracted them and moved their attention away from the other dog, I may have been able to have calmed the situation and avoided falling. I learned that although you think you can handle any situation, maybe you can’t. I’m not a young man anymore and with MG, my muscles may give out quicker than I thought they would. I learned although I think I can handle our dogs on a walk, I can’t control what may walk around the corner, so I need to proceed more cautiously and remain better aware of my surroundings. Finally, I learned maybe I need to take my dogs to obedience school like my wife has been hounding me to do for years. Again, my ego has been in the way.

I’m still going to walk our dogs. Both my dogs and I need that. I’ll just remain more aware of our surroundings and, if I see danger approaching, we’ll either move in the opposite direction or I’ll follow Cesar’s advice and carry treats to distract my dogs’ attention until the danger has passed. That helps them refocus. Who knows, I might even consider obedience school, but more for me than for the dogs. As Cesar says, they feel my stress coming right down the leash and act accordingly.

I encourage you to have the “fall talk” with your doctor. Don’t let fear keep you from doing things in life, but instead, incorporate the precautions you and your doctor have discussed. Make safety part of your normal routine. Remain aware of your surroundings and don’t panic when the unexpected happens. Just stop in place, refocus, gather your strength and then carry on. These are good lessons for all of us with MG.

One more thing… If you’re struggling with something, reach out to your doctor, to your family, to MGFA or to me. Together we’re #MGStrong!