CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Richard Schroeter of Cornwall will be the first to acknowledge, where slippery surfaces are concerned, the bigger the pedestrian the harder he or she falls.
“The weight doesn’t help with the speed of the fall,’’ says Schroeter, who describes himself as a heavyset man weighing in at about 250 pounds.
The multi-media specialist at Veterans Affairs Canada headquarters in Charlottetown is no stranger to hitting the pavement during the winter.
The winter of 2018-19, though, seems to have been icier and more punishing than normal, Schroeter and others have observed. Or, to use the Island vernacular, it has been a “slippy’’ season.
“You’ll get black ice and then you will get some slushy snow on top of it and then you will get like a powder coat on top of it and it is hard to judge,’’ he says.
Such precarious conditions got the better of Schroeter twice this winter.
His first fall came in early January as he was walking back to work after leaving a coffee shop in the capital city.
He stepped off a curb, planted a foot heavily on a concealed sheet of ice and crumbled down on his knees.
“It’s wasn’t comfortable,’’ he says.
No bones were broken, but Schroeter was sore for a few days. His ego was also bruised as some passersby seemed to find amusement in what he refers to as a somewhat comical tumble.
Adding further insult to the painful experience, Schroeter’s well-shaken can of Coke exploded all over his computer back at work.
A little under two weeks later, Schroeter was again slipping out of control. Stepping on a patch of ice sent both feet flying skyward. He landed on his back on the road, hit his head and lost consciousness for a few moments.
“Just lying there, staring, listening to the cars honk their horns…I didn’t want to get up,’’ he recalls.
“I just lay there for a few minutes.’’
His shoulder and the back of his head were banged up. His blood pressure, as it did in the first fall, “shot through the roof”.
After getting to his feet, he wasted little time heading to a store to purchase metal cleats to attach to his footwear, which he has worn regularly since. He has also been paying more attention to his walking surfaces and now stays off his phone while pounding the pavement.
“You’ll get black ice and then you will get some slushy snow on top of it and then you will get like a powder coat on top of it and it is hard to judge.”
-Richard Schroeter
While January took its toll on Schroeter, a particularly slippery stretch in February seemed to rattle quite a few bones of other unfortunate walkers.
Health P.E.I. notes conditions were notably icier the week of Feb. 3-10. During this time, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital emergency department did note an increase in visits with a diagnosis of bone fracture.
Specifically, the average number of emergency department visits was 124 per day, with a total of 16 bone fractures diagnosed that week. Comparatively, during the previous week there was an average of 130 visits per day, with a total of four bone fractures diagnosed that week.
Health P.E.I. does not keep a tally on the causes of fractures, so the actual number resulting from slips while walking is not known.
“We really cannot say with validated certainty that increase in emergency department visits and/or injuries such as fractures are a direct correlation with slippery conditions,’’ Health P.E.I. says in a statement.
More wrist braces handed out
Mary Beth McGuirk feels comfortable, though, saying more people have been injured in the Charlottetown area this winter falling on icy surfaces.
The manager of Murphy’s Home Health Care in Parkdale says more wrist braces than normal have been sold to people injured from a fall this winter.
The store has also sold far more ice cleats this season than in past winters.
Mike MacDonald, nurse manager in the QEH’s emergency department, says pedestrians usually injure upper extremities when crashing to the ground. The common reaction to losing balance on a slippery surface, he notes, is to extend the hands to break the fall.
What often breaks is a wrist or two.
Fractures like broken wrists, says MacDonald, typically take six weeks to heal.
He adds elderly people are more susceptible to fractures when they fall.
“(It) can be quite painful,’’ he says. “Some people after fractures may have pain for the rest of their lives.’’
“Accidents happen, but you can mitigate accidents…the best thing you can do is reduce your risk.’’
-Beth McGuirk
People of all ages, naturally, can lose their balance when stepping on a slick surface. And people of all ages end up in the ER as a result of a wintry spill.
“It’s not that people are unsteady on their feet,’’ says MacDonald. “It’s really about the snow and ice under their feet.’’
He urges people to follow his lead and take precautions.
Wear footwear with good grips. Use handrails where available. Pay attention. Look down to see what is underfoot.
“You do see the lapses in judgment that bring people here,’’ says MacDonald.
“Accidents happen, but you can mitigate accidents…the best thing you can do is reduce your risk.’’
A bad fall can be more than a painful inconvenience, he adds.
A hard clunk of head on pavement can result in brain injury or even death.
“Just walk very carefully and watch your step,’’ says McGuirk.
