I have broken a few. There isn’t much you can do except be miserable. Avoid watching Seinfeld and take some advil.

I broke two when I took a tumble down my deck steps , backwards and in the dark.

Because of other injuries, I got to spend six days in hospital on morphine. Then I was sent home. I used a bedroom on the first floor and had a walker to help me navigate. A friend installed grab bars in the shower. It was very uncomfortable. I guess I must have taken Advil.

I had a friend bring me dinner daily for three weeks, by which point I could drive, carefully, and stagger about.

I did pay for extra help…cleaning, laundry, shopping, picking up mail..all my chores of daily living for those three weeks. But I was living alone. Had I had some family, I could have skipped this part.

The last two weeks were OK. I just had to be very careful about how I got dressed and moved around.

I have broken a few while performing CPR, but never my own.

I broke my ribs playing football, at 32. I know… What was I thinking?
6 weeks of pain. Avoid getting a cold, because coughing is pure hell.

@johnpowell

I’m gobbling down Advil by the handful :) since it seems to be the only thing that helps even slightly.

@WestRiverrat

So I guess the most helpful advice I can take from that is to never be in the vicinity of WRR if one needs CPR.

:D

@filmfann

Just blowing my nose hurts like hell and that’s an unavoidable part of my waking up routine to clear out all the accumulated sinus congestion of the night before :). A cold would really finish me off.

@gailcalled

Yowch. I’ve seen pics of your deck and that looks like a mighty long fall.

I only had a 5ft. 2” fall (my height) which pales by comparison.

And, all told, I guess I prefer my busted ribs rather than an arm, wrist or elbow fracture.

And as I suspected, the only cure for this is time.

But in the meantime, scooping out the cat box is it’s own kind of torture. It’s the bending forward that does it.

It’s days like this when I wish I had an outdoor kitty :)

Maybe you could take some Sudafed or something before bed so you wouldn’t wake up so congested?

@Buttonstc:If there’s ever a time to get some help, this is it. Is there a high school nearby? If you call the guidance office, maybe you can hire a teenager to stop by daily to empty the box.

Or a nice neighbor?

(I had forgotten about the inquisitional problems with coughing.)

Try a hot, squeezed-out wash cloth over your nose and sinuses to loosen the stuff a little and make it easier to blow. Ouch is right.

Due to my knees, I now put Milo’s food and water dishes on a little foot stool that is about 12” off the ground. Every little bit helps. He seems not to mind.

Yes, I have broken a few ribs. The pain seriously affected my sex life for 6 weeks.
Moral of the story: When over 63 years of age do not try and impress a new girlfriend by jumping off a swing when at the highest point, especially when drunk and at 2.0am in the dark. She could not help me for laughing. Not a lot you can do except take it easy and rest. No major physical activities for a couple of weeks.