Said Nikki Haskell, a close friend of Ivana Trump's, quoted in "Ivana Trump’s friends worried about her ‘treacherous’ staircase before death" (NY Post).
July 17, 2022
"I was always so upset about that staircase. I hated those stairs. They were so treacherous. We worried about her falling."
"Her townhouse was four stories high and while there was an elevator, she never used it. It’s a beautiful staircase but I wouldn’t want it. It’s so steep and deep. Friends used to say to me, 'Why don’t you stay with Ivana when you’re in New York?' But you couldn’t pay me to hang out there and go up and down those stairs.... I begged her to sell [the house] and move to the Pierre. But she said, 'No, I’m never leaving here.'"
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21 comments:
So-called friend: It was her own damn fault.
Lady, shut up!
Its not the stairs. Its the age.
Being of the same vintage as our host, I have been paying attention (forced to) aging process and end of life stories. Both my mother and mother in law, started falling, tripping stumbling, etc.
From the onset to death is about 4 years. My mom, fell from a one step foot stool....washing her car broke her hip, it was replaced at 7 pm the same day, but that was the beginning of the death march, culminating 30 months later. I have a friend in his 80's that bikes everyday, has for decades. But he took a tumble about a month ago. I'm paying attention for signs of new falls, unfortunately, I think his years are numbered.
My point is, all of us age, and all of us fight it. Doing stuff we shouldn't be doing. There is a balence between dying, living you life your way, and getting wrapped in bubble wrap, not doing what makes you feel alive.
Here, if not those dangerous stairs, something else was in the wings. Waiting.
"But she said, 'No, I’m never leaving here.'"
You always hear people yadda yadda 'tag on my toe' but they don't mean it. But not with Southern Europeans (btw never tell Czechs that they're Eastern European).
I always believe them when they talk about death, use the word never, or swear upon God. If you don't, you'll regret it.
"My point is, all of us age, and all of us fight it. Doing stuff we shouldn't be doing. There is a balance between dying, living you life your way, and getting wrapped in bubble wrap, not doing what makes you feel alive."
Amen
Iowan2 - My mother followed that same scenario. Two days after her 80th she broke her hip, had surgery the next day and was never the same afterwards. 30 months later she was gone. Before she broke her hip, she and my dad were on their own and managing ok while us kids hovered nearby. After her fall, she was on 24/7 care, which we continued for my dad after she died for two more years.
Sorry for your loss.
The main living space of my house is all on one floor, but there are rooms on a floor below. When I was having a stairlift put in for my husband, I had the option of buying it or renting it. My doctor said to buy it because then if I turned out to need it when it was just me, it would already be there. I can still go up and down the stairs easily, but if I'm carrying something, the lift frees my hands from the railings. It wasn't as big an expense as I had imagined. The installation took a couple of hours. There are other things I did that made the house more accessible for my husband, but the lift is the last thingr I thought I'd love as much as I do.
"But you couldn’t pay me to hang out there and go up and down those stairs."
This doesn't add up. There was an elevator. Just use the elevator if you're afraid of the stairs.
Was Ivana really inviting her to stay?
Come on, stay with me! It will be fun. I have tons of space.
But I'm afraid of the stairs.
There's an elevator, silly. I don't use the elevator. I like the exercise, and the stairs are beautiful, but you can use the elevator.
Well, but, I'd feel like I was being rude, taking the elevator by myself..."
Now, you're just making excuses! You can take my little dog Tiger up with you in the elevator if you're afraid to go up by yourself.
Uh... I'm allergic to dogs...
The philosopher, Benny Hill, was always saying "live every day as though it is your last. Someday you'll be right." I like Sgt. Esterhaus' way... Let's be careful out there.
High heels on those stairs would be risky for anyone lol.
Ironic that she kept herself at home because of fear of a virus and it was her home that killed her instead. I wonder if she was carrying her coffee cup and her dog and that's why she didn't have a free hand for the rail. Even regular stairs can be a challenge for a tiny dog.
In those photos, the stairs don't look especially steep. No worse than any other front-of-the-house stairs I've used. The ones in the backs of old houses that were built for the "help" (or, if the house is old enough, for slaves) are really steep and with shorter treads.
Also, the Post says a gossip columnist commented on the worn carpet, but the photo with that caption doesn't show the carpet!
She was very talented. She used to be able to negotiate that staircase like a walk in Central Park. This I can tell you.
Falling down and getting up in your 80's (or any age after 60). We have trainer who taught us how to get up without getting dizzy. Dizziness might lead to another fall, etc. It is important to practice this often. And work on balance issues as you get older. Join a gym.
All of this is to avoid the phrase in the commercial, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up"
My late mother-in-law was living her life at 90 the way she wanted to in Manhattan, on her own, getting out to restaurants and shows, no fear of Covid. She'd fallen a few times and broken a few bones but recovered. Last summer she was hit by a car crossing the street (with the light). The driver, in one of those high black limos, just didn't see her (she'd shrunk to about 4'10"). Her last words were "I had the right of way." As someone said at her funeral, the graveyards are full of people whose last words were those.
I'm blessed with an arthritic knee and Parkinson's. I find it easier to walk down stairs backward. The plus side of walking down stairs backward is that you fall up not down.... I felt a shadow cross my grave when I read of her death. It will inevitably happen and you wonder how the end game will play out. Ivana didn't have the worst possible death. It was a bit too soon, but by most metrics she had a fortunate life. Horseman pass by.
As we age we lose muscle mass. The first parts of our muscles to go are the "Quick Twitch" muscles. These are responsible for our ability to balance and catch ourselves when we are going to fall as well as being able to jump and sprint.
Walking down stairs is the first place where this weakness manifests for many people with noted results.
Yeah, well. We're all going to die someday. Falling down a "Dangerous" stairwell isn't a bad way to go. Beats Cancer any day of the week.
The main problem with stairs when you get old is its a pain to get up and down the stairs. Not the "Danger". My mother eventually sold her two-story house for that reason. She probably could've put in a small elevator, but I think she wanted to move anyway.
'I begged her to sell [the house] and move to the Pierre.'
As any sensible person would...
A large Chinaberry tree fell on my smaller (8x8) storage shed in a storm. It was slowly crushing the shed and would take out a good piece of my privacy fence. I built them both after we bought the property in 1995.
I climbed all over that tree using a ladder. Cutting up pieces, swung them clear with straps and cut up the pieces. I subsequently split the wood by hand, ax and wedge and maul.
It took a while. I'm 70 (69 at the time) and my wife forbade me from scampering up the ladder. So I worked when she was away from home.
Double dumb, I know. But I like to think I'm bit away from the "can't do that" age.
I’m pretty sure certain medications can have deteriorating effects on our muscles and nerves.
Not all falling stories end poorly. My Mom fell (it’ll be 7yrs next month). Broke her pelvis. At 82. It’s was a bit of a long haul, thank the good Lord the Vicodin worked for the pain. There have been more issues with other things, but she’s tough. I’m hoping I got her tough genes.
Having lost one parent- I know that pain. I’m sorry we have to feel loss.
Keep the Faith.
I’m curious as I am now about all sudden death, what was her jab status and schedule? Syncope a relatively common effect. My MIL had an unexplained fainting spell a week after a booster.
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