I Was Thinking The Other Day ( About Clown Shoes, Head Wounds and Cool Data. OM…FG )

Trigger Warning: stupidity, blood and death.

So, yesterday I was up, spry and energetic…ready to get stuff done. I took the kitchen garbage can out and washed it and when that was done, I got distracted by some yard stuff that needed to get done. Instead of going inside and changing my shoes, I just got stuck in. le sigh

So, embarrasing story short, my stupidly large shoes tripped on the hose and I literally fell head first into the house. Of course, I called for my husband, forgetting for a moment that he was dead. Which of course made me burst into tears.

So, ugly crying and bleeding profusely I get up and into the house to get my phone and call 911. (Of course, the ambulance shows up with three young, awkwardly good looking men and I’m bawling like a baby while looking like an extra from SAW. )

Anywhoo, a few hours later, I’m home bundled up, watching some nice gentle British murder mystery shows and thinking, what the hell? So I do some digging and find out that within 90 days of a spouses death, mortality and injury risk spikes ~66% higher than normal!! And, in addition to natural causes, there’s a documented rise in accidents—including falls, fractures, and household mishaps.

And while I’m a little pissed that I fell (hee hee) so naturally into a common data set, I was thinking that this is a great piece of data to build a campaign around…we never talk about the physical response to grief and a health care company truly interested in preventative medicine (side eye emoji here) would be talking about how…

• Emotional exhaustion and stress—commonly seen in bereavement—can impair reaction time, attention, and motor skills. These are key factors in routine household accidents like slipping, cooking burns, or falling
• After years of shared roles, tasks like refilling prescriptions, maintaining the home, or washing out the fucking garbage can get neglected, leading to missed medication, unsafe living conditions, or overlooked health issues
• Widows/widowers face increased rates of hypertension, inflammation, heart events, and weakened immunity—all of which can make even minor accidents more serious

Just here to help, one ridiculous accident at a time.