Hi Dina,

I first noticed problems when I was about 18-19, I was falling a lot,
and often fell while crossing busy main roads.  I'm pretty sure I
wasn't "freezing up", my knees would give way suddenly without
warning.  I also periodically had problems with my left knee swelling
and giving me a lot of pain - I knocked it v. hard by accident age 11,
and had probs. with it on a regular basis ever since (every 12-18
months), since I started using the scooter - 8 years ago- it hasn't
flared up at all.  I think (and doctors and physios agree), that I put
my body through so much when I was a child, forcing myself to keep up
with a v. active sporting family even when I was dropping with
exhaustion and pain, that my body has just started to wear down, much
like prof. dancers and sports people's body's wear out earlier than
most.
Now I use the scooter outside for long distances and crowds and malls,
and if I am fatigued, the quad cane for shops and other contained
spaces, also in places I'm unfamiliar with and places that have steps
and rough floors.  I walk without it at home and in libraries, and the
supermarket (lean on the trolley instead), places that I am familiar
with, and also if I have someone with me who can provide an arm up
steps  etc.  As far as possible I want to keep using this variety of
methods because it gives me the best of all worlds, don't want to use
a scooter or w/chair fulltime unless/untill I have no choice.  I like
having the advantage of height (5ft 10) over people!!  Having 3
mobility options has reduced my exhaustion considerably, it is BEYOND
wonderful to be able to take notice of my surroundings and have
conversations with people when I am on the move!  I love being able to
think about other things than trying not to fall over, it is so
incredible to be able to keep a train of thought going, and actually
REMEMBER what I'm thinking about!

Rayna


On Wed, Aug 15, 2001 at 07:57:54PM -0400, [log in to unmask] wrote:
    Hi,

    I have a question for you all that are falling and having recent problems. I
    am curious. I am in my late 30's and I am not experiencing a lot of these
    problems. I'd like to know (off the list if you prefer) how old you are and
    what kind of problems you are experiencing and when these things started to
    happen.

    I am curious to determine if there is a specific pattern or not. Are you guys
    "freezing up" when you have a day that you can't do something and then
    thinking that this is IT? meaning if you have a day where you suddenly can't
    go up curbs or whatever without aids or with aids ... then you start looking
    for help instead of chalking it up to a "Bad Day" kind of thing.

    I have times where I can manage hills without any problems and others where I
    just "freeze up" but I know that it's because I am thinking, "Okay, here's
    that hill, now, how am I going to manage it?" However, I don't think, Oh my
    G-d, this is IT, I need to get a cane or whatever. I am just wondering about
    this.

    Or is it that you wake up one day and you really can't function and it's
    downhill from there? I have spoken to people about it ... but this has me
    really curious at the moment.

    Dina