It depends on your insurance plan but most plans do not cover an ambulance. It is expensive … 500 US $ .
From NC in the USA
Disappearing contributors - part 2
When I started doing 30 seconds balancing on each leg whilst cleaning my teeth in the morning, my family and friends thought I was nuts. After a year and a half my balance improved substantially. I can now stand on one leg and put a sock on the other foot without holding on to anything. At 74.5 I was reckoning that it was very good.
Forward to last week Thursday evening, I was taking my granddaughters to swimming when I tripped and fell, hearing an enormous crack and saw my right knee swelling rapidly. The people at the gym/swimming pool couldn’t have been more helpful. My daughter came to collect us, rang an ambulance and then took us all to her house. 4 hours later the ambulance arrived. They checked all my vitals, including the pulse in my foot then gave me lots of pain relief and took me off to A&E. I’m not sure how long I waited but I had an X-ray and the staff there were great.
I was admitted and spent 2 nights in hospital before being sent home with crutches, pain killers, a cricket splint and diagnosis of broken patella. I’m likely to be off my feet for a while. They are hoping not to operate.
It’s changed all our Christmas plans BUT my balance exercises have paid dividends. Being able to balance means my good leg is in full use getting up and down. I can balance to do all sorts of things such as picking up stuff from the floor by keeping my injured leg straight and bending my other leg, keeping balanced.
Thank you Michael for “Just One Thing”. Thank you NHS
for all your help and support to keep pain free, at home and on the mend. (BTW an ambulance in the USA costs about £5k! and is not covered by general health insurance). Let’s count ourselves lucky and hope the NHS is saved.
Happy Christmas Everyone
It depends on your insurance plan but most plans do not cover an ambulance. It is expensive … 500 US $ .
From NC in the USA
Nodj
It depends on your insurance plan but most plans do not cover an ambulance. It is expensive … 500 US $ .
From NC in the USA
Has anyone seen the news clip about the course run at Kendal Judo club , sponsored by BJA . showing -people- seniors how to fall so that you don't injure yourself. There may be courses in other areas. They are not trying to recruit Judo players.
When my American SIL called an ambulance for his daughter, it certainly cost $5k, but with their health insurance it only cost them $600. She waited in the emergency room, was given the once over and a prescription from a doctor, another $5k, and he pays $25k a year for health insurance! We just don't know that we are born over here with our wonderful NHS
I’ve lived in both Republic of Ireland and in Turkey. My ex had to have a prescription for psiorias and it cost £50 Euros per tube and that was the reduction for those on medical cards (because of low income).
Turkey was following in the footsteps of the USA. I’d be happy to pay a tenner to go to the local GP but unless you’ve lived abroad under different medical systems you cannot understand how valuable our services are for a huge number of people, earning low incomes.
Germany and othe EU countries do use private medical insurance and it’s very well controlled by the government. It’s noth8ng like the American system. My great aunt lived in the States for many years and had sufficient medical insurance. However, there was a time when she had to wait a week before she was able to have her next lot of medication. I have no faith in a system that doesn’t treat on need
Milest0ne
I totally agree with this. I did Jujutsu in my youth,but have not done it for very many years. Last year I fell off my worktop(decorating) I instinctively remembered how to fall. I did bruise my arm slightly but I think it could have been so much worse. X
wibblywobblywobblebo
ttom There are much safer ways of practising your balancing than standing on one leg whilst cleaning your teeth. That's madness.
It's not madness; that's hyperbole.
Balancing on one leg might help you with your wibbly wobbly bottom since you'll be tightening up your gluteus maximus.
Lovely chap. Intelligent & so helpful to keep it simple ! Very sad indeed
A loose woman friend of his said he reacted badly after long spell in cold water the hospital said he didn't have a TIA but had a condition his brain reacted to 'extreme' as in freezing water, intense heat She said she wondered if indeed, this affected him in his walk maybe even took the wrong turn making it very lengthy. We will never know but it kind of makes sense
Sad, he has left a helpful legacy & way of thinking I hope it's followed
Milest0ne
Has anyone seen the news clip about the course run at Kendal Judo club , sponsored by BJA . showing
-people- seniors how to fall so that you don't injure yourself. There may be courses in other areas. They are not trying to recruit Judo players.
Sounds like a good idea. It's not unusual for me to slip on something but I'm able to relax as I go down! Apparently I have thinning bones so I think I'm lucky not to have broken anything so far.
Yes my blessings for his family this year- such a sad loss..I tried to stand on one leg but i fall over🙁☹️
I also do the balance thing whilst cleaning my teeth. I’m still not great on the left leg but it’s a habit now so no effort. I struggle with his recommendation to have a glass of water with every meal but will keep trying. I’ve changed my eating habits substantially also which has made me feel so much better so thanks MM, and others such as the Zoe nutrition programme.
I've been thinking about Michael Mosley's family this Christmas, such a terrible loss for them. We think of the public person that he was, but he was so much more for them.
I enjoy listening to him on the radio and learnt a lot from "Just One Thing" - he always seemed to be such a friendly, knowledgeable man, full of common sense.
Canada has a form of social medicine however ambulances cost! When I was over there helping with my dad, I was shocked to see his bill for over $600 for a trip from his care home to hospital to check him over after a fall. When he was declared fit to go home, they told me he had to return in an ambulance even though I had a large SUV type rental.
Standing on one leg can also be practiced without cleaning teeth, in case that's not obvious. 
If you are teeth cleaning at the same time, there's less wobbling if you use an electric brush.
It's easier with one foot tucked behind the other, rather than hanging in the air.
Best wishes for your recovery, Ayse, I do hope it isn't proving to be too painful.
I agree with your comments about MM, I liked him, found his programmes friendly, non-judgemental and helpful, and I too do the balancing on one leg while brushing my teeth; early days, but definitee signs of improvement.
Some comments on here are harsh, we have no idea what led to his death.
I agree with you wwwb about the dangers of tooth-cleaning while trying to balance in one leg. Stand on one leg while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil by all means, but doing it with a toothbrush in your mouth is dangerous & could result in traumatic injury to the soft tissues of the mouth if you lose your balance.
And as a retried dentist, I’d question whether your tooth-brushing, not to mention your flossing and use of interdental brushes, is going to be effective if you’re concentrating on not falling over.
Tai Chi and Pilates have helped me improve my balance, and of course my oral hygiene is impeccable 😬
Ayse I do hope your knee heals well. Yes we’re fortunate in the main in the north-east with our NHS services but sadly that’s not the case in many parts of the country. And I hope you never need the services of the Audiology Department!!
Ayse I hope your recovery goes well and so pleased your perseverance and determination to continue with your balance exercises have indeed helped.
I’m same age as yourself and I endeavour to practise balance daily. However I can’t manage what you have with balancing and bending right down! - Amazing! Bravo!
You’ve set the bar high! 
Ayse - speedy recovery and a big thank you for emphasising the benefit of balance exercises. When my physio asks me to do this I simply can't, I fail every time, feel dispirited, and think it's just not worth it. Now, I will definitely incorporate this balancing on one leg when cleaning my teeth even if it means I have to lean a little on the sink sometimes.
wibblywobblywobblebo
ttom There are much safer ways of practising your balancing than standing on one leg whilst cleaning your teeth. That's madness.
Correct. The balancing I have done for years I just stand upright, look out of my bedroom window to the garden and focus on something. Then i lift one leg and rest it against the standing leg, count to 30 and do the same on other side.
Michael Moseley was a nice enough guy but he was in it to make money, hence a long list of books with similar titles which made him millions. Each book featured new ideas (but often recycled ideas from years ago) which would appeal to a younger audience. He also did columns in many magazines and newspapers (largely the Daily Mail). He achieved his aim as he left many millions in his Will and encouraged people to think about their health.
Ayse that’s great. Just wondering why your daughter phoned an ambulance instead of just taking you to A & E??
MM was a super chap, very inspiring, I miss him & hope they find someone else to do similar. I hadn't heard of the stand on one leg thing but now I have I'll do it starting as someone said the easier & safer way.
ayse
TerriT
Sorry to hear of your broken leg as it definitely will make life difficult when you are an active person. I broke my ankle some years ago and not being able to drive caused a lot of disruption to my life. Re the ambulance cost in the USA And you saucing it would cost $5k and not covered by insurance. Is this a fact or somebody said to somebody thing. My relatives are in the USA and obviously have insurance for medical matters. They have never told me ambulances aren’t covered for their cost and find it hard to believe that they aren’t.
Listen to Girl Gone London and another couple on UTube comparing the USA to GB and the NHS. This is what they said about the costs of ambulances in the USA. I’m just repeating what I heard from American Citizens. Happy to be corrected. Maybe depends on how much insurance you can afford.
I live in the US and ambulance cost is not covered by health insurance. You are quite correct. I have managed to fight to get costs down when ambulances have turned up on an occasion when an accident has occurred when I felt I could easily have done the short hospital drive myself and I was not asked beforehand if I was happy to pay thousands for an ambulance. We have excellent medical insurance but the ambulance service is private and is part of the local townships.
Following a hip replacement in Oct 23, I wasn’t given any physio so had some issues with mobility difficulty walking any distance and low back pain. Tried various exercises/pilates etc, with limited success. I self referred to nhs physio several months ago, and finally saw a physio on Monday who gave me 3 exercises to do daily they were side to side stepping building upto the length of three songs. Standing on tiptoes build up to one set for each year since birth and sit to stand again building up to my age. The physio also said being discharged from hospital without any physio is now quite common, and has resulted in a lot of self referrals.
Cateq
Following a hip replacement in Oct 23, I wasn’t given any physio so had some issues with mobility difficulty walking any distance and low back pain. Tried various exercises/pilates etc, with limited success. I self referred to nhs physio several months ago, and finally saw a physio on Monday who gave me 3 exercises to do daily they were side to side stepping building upto the length of three songs. Standing on tiptoes build up to one set for each year since birth and sit to stand again building up to my age. The physio also said being discharged from hospital without any physio is now quite common, and has resulted in a lot of self referrals.
Can’t even tell you how disappointed I am with NHS Physio service. Studying for several years and then all you do is hand out photocopied exercises to patients. Nothing seems to be hands on now.
I am planning to speak to the physio service tomorrow because my husband has had precious little physio after nearly 5 weeks in hospital and Stroke Rehab Unit. I could actually cry.
😥
wibblywobblywobblebo
ttom There are much safer ways of practising your balancing than standing on one leg whilst cleaning your teeth. That's madness.
I’ve been doing that for years.
Btw, you don’t have to clean your teeth while doing it.
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