Earlier this year when I was diagnosed with Stargardt Disease, one of the questions the doctor asked me upon each visit was, “Have you noticed yourself falling or tripping over things more frequently?”. I hadn’t at the time, no.

The building at college I attend class at is a block away from my bus stop. Yesterday after class I left my building and walked out to the sidewalk, where there was only one person — a lady, 50ish I’m guessing — walking slowly down the sidewalk. It is my nature to let women go first, so I filed onto the sidewalk behind her. It wasn’t until after I got behind her that I realized just how slowly she was walking. The sidewalk is plenty wide for two people to pass once another, and so that’s what I attempted to do.

Moments after I had walked past the woman, I misjudged the edge of the sidewalk. My left foot slid off the side of the sidewalk. My ankle rolled and I fell, landing on my hands and knees. I was wearing shorts, and instantly felt the sting of the scrapes on my knees from the pavement.

Mind you, this is the equivalent of passing a car that is driving slow, only to crash at the top of the next hill.

I don’t fall as gracefully as I used to. As a teen, I was really into skateboarding. Often times a crack in the road or stray piece of gravel would stop my board and I fall to the ground, but I was always able to “tuck and roll,” rolling into a ball and popping back up on my feet, usually unscathed. Not anymore. When I hit the ground yesterday I hit it hard. Before I felt the stinging scrapes on my knees I heard the involuntary “OOF” sound I made as the sidewalk pushed all the air out of my fat belly.

As I stood up and dusted myself off, the woman asked if I was okay. “That happened to me once,” she said. “I walk on the right hand side now.” It’s hard not to take advice from someone who is still standing as you are sprawled out on a sidewalk for the world to see.

This morning, my ankle, knees, palms (and yes, pride) are sore. Any time my doctor asks me about symptoms, I second guess everything.

“Have you felt chills lately?”

“Well, last year, on our trip to Alaska…”

Vision related or not, I’m going to have to be a bit more careful walking down that sidewalk in the future.