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Someone wrote: >All I really fear is falling down the stairs and pulling a Christopher >Reeve. How about a strap which hooks on to a special belt you wear whenever >you ascend or descend stairs. The strap, or tether, is connected to a >mechanism which travels up and down the stairs with you on a track imbedded >in the wall of the stairway. If you start to fall the acceleration is >sensed and a brake is quickly,but not totally abruptly, applied to prevent >you from going too far. Would anybody else clip this on whenever you were >about to use the stairs? This reminds me of when we were in New Zealand recently. We had to walk (?straddle) a narrow embankment to get to the Franz Joseph Glacier. I was so scared that Bob would plummet over the edge that I made him take his belt off, and I then hooked it around his bum bag so that I could hold it from behind- in an effort to prevent such plummeting. It did cross my mind that if he went, I would too --- but neither of us did on that occasion. He did fall down a small embankment before this exercise and was caught expertly by our tour guide (whom I had warned about such events) Hence this caution on my part. He tripped a few times coming out of buses too, so I always rushed out first, so that I could stem the fall....Hence on two occasions I left my back cushion on the bus seat. Once I got it back but someone in NZ is now enjoying my soft round wool cushion. When Bob picks up big or heavy boxes, he is likely to festinate and fall forward. I try to position myself behind so that I can grab him if needed. But I am not always there, but you can bet I am listening for any sudden falls or thuds... These are a few of the side effects of PD as it affects both PWP and carers. Joy Graham