My answer is yes, but also terrifying.
Yesterday evening while Will & Kate were out, I attempted to walk downstairs when I stumbled on a dog toy and then moments later found myself in a pile at the bottom of the stairs.
Fortunately, nothing's broken; I'm just banged up & bruised with a swollen knee. As I was flying down the stairs, I had the wherewithal to put my arm up which kept me from crashing face first into the table/wall. This gesture, though, sent a picture crashing to the floor with me. Once my momentum stopped, I pulled myself forward - like a soldier pulling herself out of wreckage - to get my awkwardly bent leg off the stairs. As I began looking at the fallen picture and my forearm to check for glass breakage and/or bleeding, our 5 month old puppy (Lofn) thought me being in the floor could only mean one thing: puppy play time! As I tried to hold her at bay to keep her from stepping on broken glass, one of our cats (Rue the Ruiner) barreled down the stairs to investigate by sitting on my chest. The scene looked something like this:
I learned two very important lessons as a result of my fall.
1) You're never too young to get a LifeAlert system. Sure, I'm only 36, I live with two other people, and I am rarely home alone. But, as the LifeAlert website clearly states: "In most catastrophic emergencies, the victims are not within reach of a phone, and become totally helpless."
Amen, LifeAlert, amen. Helpless and covered in pets. Which brings me to my second lesson...
2) Pets are great emotional support, but they're total jerks in a physical crisis.
Rue just sat on my chest, and Lofn didn't even bark to alert neighbors or passersby that something was amiss inside. Our other cat, Poe, didn't even show up to investigate the scene. Had I been immobilized, I am certain that Lofn would have eaten my fingers and/or face and gotten herself a nice taste of Tami-meat before anyone found me.
