July 16, 2022

"Ivana Trump, the first wife of former president Donald Trump, died of 'blunt impact injuries' to her torso..."

"... according to a report from the New York City chief medical examiner Friday. The manner of death was classified as an accident, the report added.... Ivana Trump was found unconscious on a staircase in her East 64th Street home near Central Park.... More than one in four Americans older than 65 fall each year, and falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among that age group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths from falling occur at a rate of about 64 deaths per 100,000 older adults...."

48 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...

"More than one in four Americans older than 65 fall each year, and falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among that age group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

That rare occasion when a commercial actually tried to sell you something based on factual information. Damn. I'm impressed.

Carol said...

The mishaps that can wreck a fine old age! My nightmare. Climbing stairs, no problem. It's the descent that's dicey.

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...

I'm 73 and farm for a living. My PCP asked the routine question "Have you fallen in the last year?" ... I replied "Do you want the truth, or something which won't mess up your QM [Quality Metrics]? ... "What ?" ... "I'm a farmer, and I fall all the time. Have done for 40 years, but I'm a former athlete and know how to fall. I don't do ladders or roofs any more, 'cause those falls could actually hurt me." ... "I'll record No."

I'm also very careful onn stairways, with reason.

pacwest said...

Hillary you sot. He's married to Melania now.

Narayanan said...

I would have thought there would be somebody attending living in?!

madAsHell said...

Nancy Pelosi is frantically looking for a former Trump assistant to spew hear-say for her Jan6 committee.

Mary Beth said...

I'm just over a decade younger than she, but over the last few years, I've begun making more of an effort to remember to keep a hand free for the stair railing. It's too easy to trip.

I expect there will be conspiracy theories saying she was pushed.

Ice Nine said...

Stairs in their homes are to old people as volcanoes are to selfie-takers.

JG said...

I have a bad knee and a rebuilt foot from an Motorcycle injury. My wife has a bad back from a car accident. We have made sure we live in single story homes. We have always looked for what is best for us on the physical side and also how to travel in and out of the community.

We sold our last home because it was too big as our boys had moved out years before and moved to a condo near our oldest son and his family in a 55+ community, again single story and much smaller.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Are the hack-D press suggesting Trump killed her?

Jimmy said...

the nerve endings located in the bottom of your feet are the first to lose sensitivity. Nerves come out of the spinal column, and over time the gaps become smaller.
If the brain doesn't get the message that the right foot is stepping on a rock, then you can stumble easily.
I'm 73, still working outdoors. Use my eyes a lot more when I walk around irrigation trenches.
No idea how women walk, at any age, in heels.

Leland said...

That's unfortunate and sad for her family. Though the pathetic aspect is the response from the media. Their hatred of Donald Trump so intense, they trashed Ivana and her children on the occasion of her death.

Gusty Winds said...

Hunter Biden's tax payer funded Hooker said...
Are the hack-D press suggesting Trump killed her?

“Epsiened” was trending on Twitter yesterday. Rabid liberals using the term to taunt and suggest Trump had Ivana killed.. Interesting because to see libs use the term is an admission they think Epstein was killed too. They just don’t care. They support the people who killed him, and the pedos who used his services.

Meanwhile ....back at the Clinton Ranch....

Bender said...

I can't tell you how many times I've told my mother she needs to move out of her multi-level house to a single level home. One of these days she's going to tumble down those stairs.

Birches said...

Pacwest provided the quip I was looking for when I clicked to read the comments. Lol. Thanks.

Rusty said...

Hunter Biden's tax payer funded Hooker said...
"Are the hack-D press suggesting Trump killed her?"
Yes they are. I pointed out that they didn't show this much interest in the murder of Seth Rich. To which they replied," Who?".

Narr said...

One of my peeves now is stairsteps without clear visual delineation of the edge. Drives me crazy to have to test my footing because the designers weren't consistent.

Single story living is the only way for my wife and me. We don't fall or stumble much at home, but she takes regular tumbles walking (usually at night but not always).

I've noticed too that the first question I'm asked by medicos is "Have you fallen recently?"


Carol said...

"No idea how women walk, at any age, in heels."

Me neither. I wonder if she had some fancy shoes on.

My hair stylist's father fell off his roof and hit his head on concrete. Three years of family agony ensued.

Yeah don't do that.




Robert Cook said...

I used to run and even jump down the stairs in the house I grew up in, and living in NYC, I would run down and up subway stairs to catch a train just entering the station.
Now, at 66, though I am not feeble in any way, I always take care to grasp a banister when going up or down any stairs.

Yancey Ward said...

This is the nightmare for me, too, with my elderly mother. We have stairs inside the house, but she no longer uses them, and I don't yet have to worry that she will try to in a state of dementia. However, we do have three steps coming up both of the entrances to the house, and watching her navigate them is concerning at times.

Iman said...

Remake of “The Staircase” in the works, starring James Austin Johnson as the Trump and Amanda Peet as Ivana Trump.

Jersey Fled said...

I don't have time to fight with the CDC Covid Data Tracker right now (it gets harder and harder to find any usefull information there) but 64 deaths per 100,000 sounds like more than Covid.

Ann Althouse said...

From Bill Bryson's "At Home: A Short History of Private Life":

"Even on the most conservative calculations, however, stairs rank as the second most common cause of accidental death, well behind car accidents, but far ahead of drownings, burns, and other similarly grim misfortunes... Eighty-four percent of people who die in stair falls at home are sixty-five or older. This is not so much because the elderly are more careless on stairs, but just because they don’t get up so well afterward.... Unmarried people are more likely to fall than married people, and previously married people fall more than both of those. People in good shape fall more often than people in bad shape, largely because they do a lot more bounding and don’t descend as carefully and with as many rest stops as the tubby or infirm. The best indicator of personal risk is whether you have fallen much before.... When we fall on stairs, we tend to blame ourselves and generally attribute the fall to carelessness or inattentiveness. In fact, design substantially influences the likelihood of whether you will fall, and how hurt you will feel when you have stopped bouncing. Poor lighting, absence of handrails, confusing patterns on the treads, risers that are unusually high or low, treads that are unusually wide or narrow, and landings that interrupt the rhythm of ascent or descent are the principal design faults that lead to accidents...."

Jersey Fled said...

Doctor always asks me if I've fallen down since my last visit. I always lie.

glam1931 said...

I broke my ankle two years ago stepping down ONE STEP while carrying some puppies outside for my elderly Mom. As I fell I tried (successfully) to not fall on the puppies, but broke my ankle in three places. A lot of hardware and a long recovery resulted. I'm 66 now and MUCH more careful about steps of any height, especially the 16 I have to climb to get to my bedroom. You cannot be too careful with stairs.

Fred Drinkwater said...

Mary Beth,
I used to crew on racing sailboats. One of the first lessons you learn is "one hand for the boat, one hand for you."

Joe Smith said...

'The mishaps that can wreck a fine old age! My nightmare. Climbing stairs, no problem. It's the descent that's dicey.'

2-story home now that's far too big.

I want to build a home some day, and it will be a ranch. If I ever build multi-levels it will have an elevator.

'I used to run and even jump down the stairs in the house I grew up in...'

I still run up almost all stairs. My son asked my why. I told him, 'Because I can. Some day I won't be able to.'

Joe Smith said...

'...treads that are unusually wide or narrow...'

I swear they have no building codes in Japan.

My ginormous (comparatively) size 10 1/2 western feet would get caught in-between stairs there all the time...

Narr said...

Our house is one story but we do have flights of steps in front and back.

For about four years (2014-18) when my mother came over, it took myself, my brother, and my son to get her up and down safely, whether she was able to stand or not. Gave me a real appreciation of sedan-chair carriers.

We have needed to install some sort of bannister or handrail, but the porch and step design are not easily adapted. Maybe some cargo netting.

Carol said...

Guess she had a bad hip but didn't want to see a doctor about it. Sheesh. Medicare + supp would have paid for everything.

Was she not a citizen?

Questions!

effinayright said...

I too have balance issues. I suspect most people like me know how treacherous it is to navigate in the dark.

Recently a physical therapist assigned me some exercises to increase the sensitivity of my inner ears, which she said can be trained to respond more effectively to changes in orientation.

It'll take a while to see if the exercises help, but meantime I've got little motion-sensitive LED lights scattered around the house and on the stairs, so I never have to walk into a really dark space.

p.s. The "other" question we all get asked when we go to the doctor is: "Are you safe at home"?---to which I reply, "Yes---except if I forget to put the toilet seat back down."


Michael K said...


Blogger Ice Nine said...

Stairs in their homes are to old people as volcanoes are to selfie-takers.


Yes. I have not had a two story home in 30 years.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Edge recognition is vital. The yellow lines are required in Industrial situations everywhere. The wife took a 3ft. fall due to her poor eyesight, in a local city. Previously paralyzed cornea due to a car accident left her without depth perception. An unmarked high curb meant she took a tumble.
https://earth.google.com/web/search/111+West+Middle+Street,+Chelsea,+MI/@42.31801374,-84.0210283,287.0718689a,0d,16.13934643y,130.70038385h,75.89361569t,0r/data=CigiJgokCQ5d4VTaKEVAEXA7TbSOKEVAGSd01usvAVXAIYmsw8Z8AVXAIhoKFjhJQTloQ2xKRUpJUmhIZzROblFUcmcQAg
Shattered left arm, emergency room crew were unsurprised.

Joe Smith said...

"Even on the most conservative calculations, however, stairs rank as the second most common cause of accidental death..."

If you watch British mystery shows, a fall on the stairs is 100% fatal.

Also, if the opening shot shows water, a body will be found in it.

Probably where 'body of water' came from...

AlbertAnonymous said...

Maybe we need some common sense staircase control. Leading cause of death on that age group? There are simply too many staircases in this country. It’s too easy to get one.

AlbertAnonymous said...

Maybe we need some common sense staircase control. Leading cause of death on that age group? There are simply too many staircases in this country. It’s too easy to get one.

BG said...

The first question the nurse/doctor asks me at my annual is, "Do you feel safe?" And I always reply, "No. I have farm cats always waiting for me around their meal times." I don't need no stinkin' steps for my hazard.

Drago said...

I have information that will lead to the arrest and imprisonment of Hillary Clinton -- Ivana Trump, July 13, 2022

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I have to carefully, delicately bring this up to my siblings. We don't think of ourselves as superstitious, but I've heard some of them say this kind of talk in relation to our elderly father can bring him bad luck. Same with bringing up the making of a will. 🙄

gspencer said...

She didn't even have time to yell out, "I've fallen and I can't get up."

Her friend said she was unsteady on her feet and those curved stair threads were dangerous.

So why not have a medical alert thingy,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iZWFEFwgBw

FullMoon said...

Do you feel safe at home?

Racoon on back fence been eyeballing me sometimes

cubanbob said...

When I bought my house I put handrails on the entrance and rear for my parents. Now I use them. Now I always use the handrails to up or down on the staircase. Next step is to put an elevator in the house. Baby steps to the great beyond.

As for Ivana, it's disgusting what is in some of the media. No one likes to admit they are old and no longer as capable but perhaps her kids should have nagged her to install an elevator.

Iman said...

“Now, at 66, though I am not feeble in any way, I always take care to grasp a banister when going up or down any stairs.”

That’s good news, but frankly, most of your comments are fairly weak.

Mary Beth said...

I always take care to grasp a banister when going up or down any stairs.

Just one? That's a short staircase or you have really long arms. (Banisters are the upright posts holding up the stair rail.)

n.n said...

The final choice, the final solution, ideally, is Her Choice.

Narayanan said...

Also gold plating stairs makes them slippery!

Richard said...

I make deliveries in a couple of apartment buildings which have six or seven steps down for the lower level (from the entrance)and ten or eleven up. The carpeting may as well be camouflage cloth. Lot of old folks there....

That said, the cause of death is blunt force trauma to the torso. But, say the authorities, not another word.

In the age of paranoia, one wonders. I know what it takes to fracture ribs....fall against the edge of concrete steps with no traction due to ice. Got up cussing and went for X-rays.

I'm so old I learned CPR in the days when you opened the festivities with a mighty, overhand fist to the sternum. Trying not to break the xyphoid process, that little thingy at the bottom which might cut the liver open and cause serious internal bleeding. If you didn't break the sternum, you were doing it wrong. Today, I'm told, that's a felony.

Still....done lax, judo, jump school. Lots of impacts on torso. Not. Getting. It.

Okay. Fractured rib punctures...something. Rarely happens. Very rarely.

When it's "blunt" force? Or maybe it wasn't but "blunt" was put in there by habit. Nobody ever dies of "sharp force trauma", right? So when typing or speaking...."blunt" is automatic.

Why say, up front and in a method to shut down questions,"not another word? Pre-emptively?

The way to look not suspicious is to be forthcoming to a fault. See 2020 election anomalies.

Lurker21 said...

That is why older people move to the Sunbelt and live in ranch houses, or at worst, split-levels were the fall is only a few steps.

Article about "Victorian killer stairs" which apparently come more from 18th century houses. Large houses had steep, narrow, dark "servants' stairs" that are difficult to manage.

In the movies, though, it's usually the big, showpiece front stairs that are featured.