Of CAT Scans and Clumsiness

How not to ride your Peloton..

So I am going to be ok. I am just a klutz.

I was trying to refit the gelseat on my Peloton, lost my footing, and fell over the damn thing knocking over the fan that is kept behind my bike along the way. I knocked my head on the ground so hard I heard it. Apparently, I have trouble figuring out where my two feet belong.

Now I am an old Peloton rider. Well old in the sense that I have been doing this for over 6 years now. Always loved spin classes when I belonged to a gym. But we gave up that membership for a variety of reasons. So for several years I had watched the Peloton ads and finally as a Hanukkah present to myself bought one and never looked back.

Glad I was active before the pandemic. I understand there was a huge backlog of people getting their bikes at the time.

I love it. I love the exercise videos. The simple ab exercises and the light weight exercises. I love having the choice of joining a live class or revisiting a class gone by.

Many say well I would not keep it up. Believe me I think you would if you took it slow.

By the way, it’s not my only exercise outlet. I do other things for my heavy cardio workout.

Meanwhile, to be on the safe side, I ended up in the ER. Had xrays and a CAT scan.

A little bit of information, that when you hit your head and are over 60, protocol is to have a CAT scan. Apparently your brain begins to shrink as you age, making room for a higher propensity to have a concussion or cause a tear or rip in the membrane. Luckily there was nothing apparently wrong, so I simply had to go home and wait to see if I exhibited any symptoms of a concussion. We were given a discharge sheet on what to do if I felt sick.

Now the PA who helped me (very kind young man) told me to make sure not to hit my head again for several months since some kind of bain bruise was inevitable. Of course, I told him thanks, but was thinking that it’s not like I was planning to topple over. And you can rest assured I have no plans to smack my head again any time soon.

But a shrinking brain would account for so much that has been happening in my life over the past few years. Crossword obsession notwithstanding I feel at times like I am part of that old Reiner-Brooks comedy sketch where old men are trying to remember the name of a movie and the starring actor. They can’t remember the names but they know who they are talking about. This is a familiar event in our home between the husband and myself.

Well I spent the rest of the day on bed rest. I have figured out how to type with a possible broken finger (I will survive) and am a little achier today. But not really worse for wear.

I just thought the CAT scan was an interesting event. I was prepared to have to demand to have one. Throw a semifit, as it were, in the ER in order to have the proper medical care. Instead I was pleasantly surprised that it was suggested and highly recommended. (For those who don’t know me, 10 years ago, my mother was denied a CAT scan after a car accident and ended up dieing from a subdural hematoma, so I was ready for a fight).

I am glad to know that the protocols have changed. That elder medicine is important. That sometimes those of us encroaching on our senior years are seen and heard.