Freak accident

Two days ago, I had a freak accident. I was about to leave for work, and
decided to leave one of my living-room lights turned on, as the day was
very dark and rainy. The light in question is plugged into a lamp timer
in an outlet behind my couch. I slid the couch away from the wall just
enough to have room to reach behind it, and knelt down on the couch,
sticking my left arm down behind the couch. Unfortunately, in the
process, I accidentally slid the couch back towards the wall, pinning my
left arm between the couch and the wall. A cross-bar at the top of the
couch was pressed against my upper arm. Since the arm-bone is larger at
the elbow than in the middle of the upper arm, I couldn't pull out. I
tried pushing against the wall with the other arm, but that just pushed
me further down into the springs, rather than moving the couch. After
trying for 10 minutes to move the couch, without success, I finally had
to use my cell-phone to call my next-door neighbor to come rescue me. If
he had not been home, I would have had to call the fire department to do
the rescue. As both house doors were locked, my neighbor had to break
the door jamb on my side door in order to get in. I then had to nail
that door shut before being able to go to work. One of my tasks today
will be to buy and install a new door jamb. My arm is a bit sore at the
elbow from my unsuccessful attempts to free myself, but, had the cell
phone not been on my belt, I would probably have had to do serious damage
to my arm in order to get free.

So, if you have to reach behind your couch for anything, make sure that
you slide it far enough away from the wall that this won't happen to you.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

John F. Eldredge wrote:
Two days ago, I had a freak accident. I was about to leave for work,
and decided to leave one of my living-room lights turned on, as the
day was very dark and rainy. The light in question is plugged into a
lamp timer in an outlet behind my couch. I slid the couch away from
the wall just enough to have room to reach behind it, and knelt down
on the couch, sticking my left arm down behind the couch.
Unfortunately, in the process, I accidentally slid the couch back
towards the wall, pinning my left arm between the couch and the wall.
A cross-bar at the top of the couch was pressed against my upper arm.
Since the arm-bone is larger at the elbow than in the middle of the
upper arm, I couldn't pull out. I tried pushing against the wall
with the other arm, but that just pushed me further down into the
springs, rather than moving the couch. After trying for 10 minutes
to move the couch, without success, I finally had to use my
cell-phone to call my next-door neighbor to come rescue me. If he
had not been home, I would have had to call the fire department to do
the rescue. As both house doors were locked, my neighbor had to
break the door jamb on my side door in order to get in. I then had
to nail that door shut before being able to go to work. One of my
tasks today will be to buy and install a new door jamb. My arm is a
bit sore at the elbow from my unsuccessful attempts to free myself,
but, had the cell phone not been on my belt, I would probably have
had to do serious damage to my arm in order to get free.

So, if you have to reach behind your couch for anything, make sure
that you slide it far enough away from the wall that this won't
happen to you.

I'm so glad you had your phone with you and you're okay, it's frightening to
think what could have happened.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy, Bagheera & Shadow)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in
:

Two days ago, I had a freak accident. I was about to leave for work,
and decided to leave one of my living-room lights turned on, as the
day was very dark and rainy. The light in question is plugged into a
lamp timer in an outlet behind my couch. I slid the couch away from
the wall just enough to have room to reach behind it, and knelt down
on the couch, sticking my left arm down behind the couch.
Unfortunately, in the process, I accidentally slid the couch back
towards the wall, pinning my left arm between the couch and the wall.
A cross-bar at the top of the couch was pressed against my upper arm.
Since the arm-bone is larger at the elbow than in the middle of the
upper arm, I couldn't pull out. I tried pushing against the wall with
the other arm, but that just pushed me further down into the springs,
rather than moving the couch. After trying for 10 minutes to move the
couch, without success, I finally had to use my cell-phone to call my
next-door neighbor to come rescue me. If he had not been home, I
would have had to call the fire department to do the rescue. As both
house doors were locked, my neighbor had to break the door jamb on my
side door in order to get in. I then had to nail that door shut
before being able to go to work. One of my tasks today will be to buy
and install a new door jamb. My arm is a bit sore at the elbow from
my unsuccessful attempts to free myself, but, had the cell phone not
been on my belt, I would probably have had to do serious damage to my
arm in order to get free.

So, if you have to reach behind your couch for anything, make sure
that you slide it far enough away from the wall that this won't happen
to you.


Good warning and glad you weren't hurt. Also anybody who lives alone
should give a key to a trusted neighbour.

Bobble

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
...
Two days ago, I had a freak accident. I was about to leave for work, and
decided to leave one of my living-room lights turned on, as the day was
very dark and rainy. The light in question is plugged into a lamp timer
in an outlet behind my couch. I slid the couch away from the wall just
enough to have room to reach behind it, and knelt down on the couch,
sticking my left arm down behind the couch. Unfortunately, in the
process, I accidentally slid the couch back towards the wall, pinning my
left arm between the couch and the wall. A cross-bar at the top of the
couch was pressed against my upper arm. Since the arm-bone is larger at
the elbow than in the middle of the upper arm, I couldn't pull out. I
tried pushing against the wall with the other arm, but that just pushed
me further down into the springs, rather than moving the couch. After
trying for 10 minutes to move the couch, without success, I finally had
to use my cell-phone to call my next-door neighbor to come rescue me. If
he had not been home, I would have had to call the fire department to do
the rescue. As both house doors were locked, my neighbor had to break
the door jamb on my side door in order to get in. I then had to nail
that door shut before being able to go to work. One of my tasks today
will be to buy and install a new door jamb. My arm is a bit sore at the
elbow from my unsuccessful attempts to free myself, but, had the cell
phone not been on my belt, I would probably have had to do serious damage
to my arm in order to get free.

So, if you have to reach behind your couch for anything, make sure that
you slide it far enough away from the wall that this won't happen to you.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria


Certainly one of those "could happen to anyone" things. Purrs for the pain
to go quickly.

--
Theresa and Dante
drtmuirATearthlink.net

Stinky Forever: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh

Welcome to my world, I thought ONLY I could do something like that. Glad
your arm is ok.
"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
...
Two days ago, I had a freak accident. I was about to leave for work, and
decided to leave one of my living-room lights turned on, as the day was
very dark and rainy. The light in question is plugged into a lamp timer
in an outlet behind my couch. I slid the couch away from the wall just
enough to have room to reach behind it, and knelt down on the couch,
sticking my left arm down behind the couch. Unfortunately, in the
process, I accidentally slid the couch back towards the wall, pinning my
left arm between the couch and the wall. A cross-bar at the top of the
couch was pressed against my upper arm. Since the arm-bone is larger at
the elbow than in the middle of the upper arm, I couldn't pull out. I
tried pushing against the wall with the other arm, but that just pushed
me further down into the springs, rather than moving the couch. After
trying for 10 minutes to move the couch, without success, I finally had
to use my cell-phone to call my next-door neighbor to come rescue me. If
he had not been home, I would have had to call the fire department to do
the rescue. As both house doors were locked, my neighbor had to break
the door jamb on my side door in order to get in. I then had to nail
that door shut before being able to go to work. One of my tasks today
will be to buy and install a new door jamb. My arm is a bit sore at the
elbow from my unsuccessful attempts to free myself, but, had the cell
phone not been on my belt, I would probably have had to do serious damage
to my arm in order to get free.

So, if you have to reach behind your couch for anything, make sure that
you slide it far enough away from the wall that this won't happen to you.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

John F. Eldredge wrote:

Two days ago, I had a freak accident. I was about to leave for work, and
decided to leave one of my living-room lights turned on, as the day was
very dark and rainy. The light in question is plugged into a lamp timer
in an outlet behind my couch. I slid the couch away from the wall just
enough to have room to reach behind it, and knelt down on the couch,
sticking my left arm down behind the couch. Unfortunately, in the
process, I accidentally slid the couch back towards the wall, pinning my
left arm between the couch and the wall. A cross-bar at the top of the
couch was pressed against my upper arm. [snip]

Yikes! That's really scary. Do you live in a separate house (ie, not
an apartment)? I'm in an apartment building, and in that situation I
might be able to get attention by yelling. But thank god you had your
phone with you!

So, if you have to reach behind your couch for anything, make sure that
you slide it far enough away from the wall that this won't happen to you.

My couch is hard to move - it's a pull-out bed, so it's heavy, plus
I have carpeting on the floor - so I can't imagine being able to move
it back accidentally. But the more general lesson here, for people
who live alone, is to have some way of getting help when you're stuck.
Figuratively or literally!

One time several months ago, I was coming down with a bad cold or
flu, and at one point I started to feel really dizzy, clammy,
nauseous, and like I was going to faint. These sorts of sensations
can make me anxious, so I called my downstairs neighbor and asked
if she would mind coming up and keeping me company for a little
while. We're on very good terms - we have each other's housekeys,
do pet care for each other during vacations, etc - but we don't
really socialize, and she isn't someone I discuss my neuroses with.
So I wasn't sure it was socially appropriate to ask her for this,
but she came up very obligingly and made sympathetic jokes to cheer
me up. ("It's the single woman's worst nightmare - that she'll choke
to death on her TV dinner and nobody will find her for weeks.") Well,
it was funny at the time.

Glad you're OK!

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

On Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:24:06 +0000, bastXXXette wrote:

John F. Eldredge wrote:

Two days ago, I had a freak accident. I was about to leave for work,
and decided to leave one of my living-room lights turned on, as the
day was very dark and rainy. The light in question is plugged into a
lamp timer in an outlet behind my couch. I slid the couch away from
the wall just enough to have room to reach behind it, and knelt down
on the couch, sticking my left arm down behind the couch.
Unfortunately, in the process, I accidentally slid the couch back
towards the wall, pinning my left arm between the couch and the wall.
A cross-bar at the top of the couch was pressed against my upper
arm. [snip]

Yikes! That's really scary. Do you live in a separate house (ie, not an
apartment)? I'm in an apartment building, and in that situation I might
be able to get attention by yelling. But thank god you had your phone
with you!

So, if you have to reach behind your couch for anything, make sure
that you slide it far enough away from the wall that this won't
happen to you.

My couch is hard to move - it's a pull-out bed, so it's heavy, plus I
have carpeting on the floor - so I can't imagine being able to move it
back accidentally. But the more general lesson here, for people who live
alone, is to have some way of getting help when you're stuck.
Figuratively or literally!

One time several months ago, I was coming down with a bad cold or flu,
and at one point I started to feel really dizzy, clammy, nauseous, and
like I was going to faint. These sorts of sensations can make me
anxious, so I called my downstairs neighbor and asked if she would mind
coming up and keeping me company for a little while. We're on very good
terms - we have each other's housekeys, do pet care for each other
during vacations, etc - but we don't really socialize, and she isn't
someone I discuss my neuroses with. So I wasn't sure it was socially
appropriate to ask her for this, but she came up very obligingly and
made sympathetic jokes to cheer me up. ("It's the single woman's worst
nightmare - that she'll choke to death on her TV dinner and nobody will
find her for weeks.") Well, it was funny at the time.

Glad you're OK!

I am in a freestanding house, although it is close enough to the
neighbors on either side that it is possible someone might hear me
calling for help. The lots are long and narrow, so the houses are about
20 feet apart. The couch in question is a pull-out bed type, fairly
heavy, and once I was kneeling on it, my (considerable) weight was added
to it. On the other hand, it is on a fairly smooth hardwood floor. So,
one person can slide it, but you have to have the right leverage. When I
tried to push it back while kneeling on it, I was only pushing myself
down into the springs, not sliding the couch.

I think you were wise to get help the time you felt faint. Your blood
pressure was probably running low due to the illness, particularly if you
had become dehydrated.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

I am alone for the first time since I left high school, many years and that
sort of thing is really a worry.
"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:24:06 +0000, bastXXXette wrote:

John F. Eldredge wrote:

Two days ago, I had a freak accident. I was about to leave for work,
and decided to leave one of my living-room lights turned on, as the
day was very dark and rainy. The light in question is plugged into a
lamp timer in an outlet behind my couch. I slid the couch away from
the wall just enough to have room to reach behind it, and knelt down
on the couch, sticking my left arm down behind the couch.
Unfortunately, in the process, I accidentally slid the couch back
towards the wall, pinning my left arm between the couch and the wall.
A cross-bar at the top of the couch was pressed against my upper
arm. [snip]

Yikes! That's really scary. Do you live in a separate house (ie, not an
apartment)? I'm in an apartment building, and in that situation I might
be able to get attention by yelling. But thank god you had your phone
with you!

So, if you have to reach behind your couch for anything, make sure
that you slide it far enough away from the wall that this won't
happen to you.

My couch is hard to move - it's a pull-out bed, so it's heavy, plus I
have carpeting on the floor - so I can't imagine being able to move it
back accidentally. But the more general lesson here, for people who live
alone, is to have some way of getting help when you're stuck.
Figuratively or literally!

One time several months ago, I was coming down with a bad cold or flu,
and at one point I started to feel really dizzy, clammy, nauseous, and
like I was going to faint. These sorts of sensations can make me
anxious, so I called my downstairs neighbor and asked if she would mind
coming up and keeping me company for a little while. We're on very good
terms - we have each other's housekeys, do pet care for each other
during vacations, etc - but we don't really socialize, and she isn't
someone I discuss my neuroses with. So I wasn't sure it was socially
appropriate to ask her for this, but she came up very obligingly and
made sympathetic jokes to cheer me up. ("It's the single woman's worst
nightmare - that she'll choke to death on her TV dinner and nobody will
find her for weeks.") Well, it was funny at the time.

Glad you're OK!

I am in a freestanding house, although it is close enough to the
neighbors on either side that it is possible someone might hear me
calling for help. The lots are long and narrow, so the houses are about
20 feet apart. The couch in question is a pull-out bed type, fairly
heavy, and once I was kneeling on it, my (considerable) weight was added
to it. On the other hand, it is on a fairly smooth hardwood floor. So,
one person can slide it, but you have to have the right leverage. When I
tried to push it back while kneeling on it, I was only pushing myself
down into the springs, not sliding the couch.

I think you were wise to get help the time you felt faint. Your blood
pressure was probably running low due to the illness, particularly if you
had become dehydrated.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

John F. Eldredge wrote:

On the other hand, it is on a fairly smooth hardwood floor. So,
one person can slide it, but you have to have the right leverage.
When I tried to push it back while kneeling on it, I was only
pushing myself down into the springs, not sliding the couch.

Were you unable to stand up? I might have tried getting off the couch
and pulling the couch away from the wall with my right hand. I don't
know if that would've worked in your situation, maybe the couch was
too heavy for that? I guess if you could have done that, you would
have (duh!).

I think you were wise to get help the time you felt faint. Your blood
pressure was probably running low due to the illness, particularly if
you had become dehydrated.

I often get low blood pressure symptoms when my stomach is upset. Not
just when I'm about to throw up - ordinary nausea from indigestion can
do it, too. I'll get a big rush of weakness throughout my body, my heart
will pound, and I'll get all cold and clammy and lightheaded. I'm not
always sure whether it's caused by low blood pressure or sudden anxiety.
This happens mostly if I wake up suddenly out of a deep sleep with an
upset stomach. In fact, that time I called my neighbor, I had taken a
nap and woke up around 9 in the evening feeling that way. Usually this
happens in the dead of night, and I wouldn't call my neighbor in that
case.

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

On Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:54:51 +0000, bastXXXette wrote:

John F. Eldredge wrote:

On the other hand, it is on a fairly smooth hardwood floor. So, one
person can slide it, but you have to have the right leverage. When I
tried to push it back while kneeling on it, I was only pushing myself
down into the springs, not sliding the couch.

Were you unable to stand up? I might have tried getting off the couch
and pulling the couch away from the wall with my right hand. I don't
know if that would've worked in your situation, maybe the couch was too
heavy for that? I guess if you could have done that, you would have
(duh!).

I was kneeling on the couch, not reaching in from the end. Because my
arm was pinned between the shoulder and elbow, I could only move up or
down a few inches. The couch had moved in to the point where there wasn't
enough clearance for my elbow joint to pass through the gap. If you feel
your upper arm with the other hand, you will find that the bone is larger
at the elbow than it is higher up. I tried pushing against the wall with
the other hand, but the couch springs were absorbing the push, and the
couch itself wasn't going anywhere. Since I had originally moved the
couch out from the wall only enough for my arm to fit through, having the
couch shift back towards the wall as I knelt down was enough to trap my
arm.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria