Editor’s note:
Raymond Leo Blain is a retired medical doctor a
nd was a regular contributor to California Update prior to his injury.  

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My Fall  

To understand what happened to me in 2026, we have to go back to 2024.  

That was when I first noticed something strange. Every so often, my arms would suddenly become very pale and cold. I suspected thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition in which the arteries and nerves supplying the arms can become compressed between the clavicles—the collarbones—and the first ribs. X-rays, however, were normal.  

Then came 2025. My wife underwent knee surgery, and I became her nighttime helper, getting up when she needed assistance with her medications.  

On September 5, sometime during the night, I apparently got out of bed to help her. My first conscious memory was of falling forward.  

The wall beside the bedroom door seemed to rush toward me with astonishing speed. Then my forehead and nose slammed into it.  

The impact was hard enough to fracture my nose and my C6 vertebra in my neck.  

My nose began bleeding profusely. As my face slid down the wall, the blood made the surface slick. I ended up face down on the carpet, my right arm pinned awkwardly beneath me, while blood continued to pour from my nose. I had to stop the bleeding.  

I called to my wife for help while struggling to free my right hand enough to pinch my nose and control the hemorrhage.  

I knew I had fractured my neck. As a physician, I also knew that I was in serious danger if I moved carelessly. A broken cervical vertebra can turn a fall into a catastrophic spinal-cord injury.  

So I tried to become a statue—from the neck up.  

My wife had seen me fall from her walker. She was already calling 911.  

Very carefully, I pulled myself up by one of the legs of her walker. I backed toward the bed, slowly and deliberately, and sat down. Then I waited.  

In Roseville, a 911 call brings an impressive response. Before long, the paramedics, ambulance crew and fire department arrived.  

Despite the pain and the blood, I was able to answer their questions. After they placed a neck brace around me, I was even able to get myself onto the gurney.  

I remember being loaded into the ambulance. I remember the doors closing. Then I lost consciousness again.  

To be continued. 

Raymond Leo Blain, M.D.