Reader’s Digest Australia & New Zealand – May 2019

May• 2019 | 37

HEALTH

ALCIDESMORENOANDHISBROTHEREDGARwerewindow

washers. On December 7, 2007,the brothers tooka lift to the

roofofa 47-storeybuildinginNewYork.Theysteppedontothe

five-metrebyone-metrealuminiumscaffoldingdesignedtolower

themslowlydowntheblackglassofthebuilding.Buttheanchors

holdingtheplatformgaveway,plungingit,andthem,150 metres

to the alley below. The fall lasted mere seconds.

atthebiggestriskofinjuringthem-

selvesina fall.Ina studypublished

inthepeer-reviewedsciencejournal

PLOSOne, in2017,nearly 18 percent

ofmenaged 18 to 44 hadreported

a fall-relatedinjuryintheprevious

threemonths,morethandoublethe

percentageofmen 65 andolder.

Fallscanhappenany whereatany

timetoanyone.Spectacularfalls

fromgreatheightsoutdoors,suchas

theplungeoftheMorenobrothers,

areactually extremelyrare.The

mostdangerousspotsforfallsare

notrooftopsorcliffsbutthelow-

levelinteriorsettingsofeverydaylife:

showerstalls,supermarketaislesand

staircases.

Anyfall,evena tumbleoutofbed,

canchangelifeprofoundly,tak-

ingsomeonefromrobusthealthto

gravedisabilityinlessthanonesec-

ond. It’s no wonder that scientists

Edgartumbledoffthescaffolding,
hitthetopofawoodenfence,and
waskilledinstantly.Butrescuers
foundAlcidesalive,crouchingamid
a tangleofcrushedaluminiuminthe
alleynexttothebuilding,breathing
andconscious.
Fallsareoneoflife’sgreatover-
lookedperils.Wefearterrorattacks,
sharkbites,Ebolaoutbreaksand
otherremotedangers,yeteachyear
anestimated646,000peopledie
worldwideafterfalling.Fallsarethe
second-leadingcauseofdeathby
injury,aftercaraccidents.
Fallsareevenmoresignificantas
a causeofinjury.Thoughnotfatal,
approximately37.3 million falls
severeenoughtorequiremedical
attentionoccureachyearworld-
wide.Andwhileelderlypeoplewith
fragilebonescertainlyneedtobe
careful, they may not be the group