Jun 4 2016

Prevent Slip And Falls With Rhea

Rhea Footwear is stylish and practical

Rhea Footwear is stylish and practical

As a blogger I get a few requests a year to try a product and write a review of the product. Usually, I respectfully decline the requests for a number of reasons, not least of which is the integrity of my blog. However, when Natalie Rodriguez of Rhea Footwear contacted me, I felt that taking a look at her product would be a service to many of my readers as well as myself. You see, I experienced a slip and fall on September 29, 2015 — an experience I never want to repeat and I would not wish on anyone.

As we age, we are more prone to falling due to loss of muscle strength, balance and a host of other causes, including diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, Parkinson, even hearing or vision problems. Many accidents happen due to hazards in or around the home, which is exactly what happened to me.

It was a rainy night on my wet back porch.  I didn’t turn on the lights. I was only going to be a minute as I fetched the cats’ dish to take it in for the night. When I reached down to pick it up, I slipped, fell forward first to the right, then twisted to the left where my face hit the wet cement floor as my glasses pushed upward cutting my brow open. The thud from my fall was so loud, Martin came out to see what happened. Stunned, with blood pouring down my face, I couldn’t get up at first. Martin pulled me to my feet, helped me into the kitchen where I grabbed a wad of paper towels, scrunched them into a ball and pressed them to my bleeding head.

“I think I need to go to the emergency room,” I said.

Martin pulled the paper towel back for a look and said, “I think you do, too.”

We finally made it back home around 5 a.m. on September 30 after six and a half hours in the ER, five stitches, one CT scan, one tetanus shot and one black eye later. And, boy, did I hurt — all over. What a night! According to the CDC, one out of three people 65 or older falls each year. Falling once doubles your chances of falling again. As mentioned above, I don’t want to repeat this experience. I feel lucky nothing was broken, my brain was o.k. and all I have to show for it now is a scar just off my left eyebrow, along with a new pair of glasses.

Non-slip technology

NeverSlip™ outsole

When Natalie contacted me touting Rhea’s patented non-slip outsole technology, I couldn’t resist taking a look. Yes, they sent me a pair — a really snazzy looking pair of red flats. Very stylish as well as practical. Rhea Footwear has a micro-tread pattern that pushes water in all four directions with a sole that grips.

I’ve been testing these velvety red flats the last couple of days and feel like I could have avoided six and a half hours in the emergency room if I had been wearing my Rhea’s. Instead, I’m a statistic — one of 2.5 million older adults who, according to the CDC, are treated in the emergency room each year due to a slip and fall accident. Rhea Footwear is engineered to minimize slip and fall accidents. Their NeverSlip™ outsole is made from an exclusive rubber compound that grips on most slippery surface conditions and has more traction than other soles even on ice and snow.

 
Since I don’t want my readers to ever experience the trauma of a slip and fall accident, I recommend Rhea Footwear AND Rhea has graciously offered a 20% discount for any reader ordering from Rhea using the promo code, KATHYSRETIREMENT! Click here
https://www.rheafootwear.com, use the code and tell them I sent you!

12 comments on “Prevent Slip And Falls With Rhea”

  2. I read this with interest and appreciate how unstable we get as we get older. It is wise to try to prevent such accidents in the first place, where possible. I practice yoga and work hard on my balance, as well as bone and muscle strengthening, to help with such issues. Yours is also a cautionary tale of avoiding hazards where possible. Easy to be wise after the event I know.

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    • Yes Maureen, preventing another fall is exactly what I’m trying to do. I never paid a lot of attention to shoe soles in the past. After my fall, I am a zealot about the sole having tread. I hope the article helps others realize how important it is as we age. K

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  3. While I like the shoes and choices they do not come in widths which I need. There are so many shoe dealers that don’t make shoes for wide or narrow feet leaving people to be in pain just to be stylish. Atrex has both but even they sometimes don’t have certain shoes on their website in widths. Thank you for the effort that many will be able to enjoy.

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    • Hi Marie, Yes that’s a drawback these days. I am a 9 narrow, which is why Natalie sent me the flats as they are more narrow. I still used an insert, which I use quite often due to the width issue, and it worked beautifully. I know that’s dicey ordering online as the insert doesn’t always do the trick. I did tell her I hoped they would make them in widths in the future as I’d love to be able to wear all their shoes all the time just for the benefit of the sole.

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    • Hi Diana, I don’t know if they have them in the UK. I believe the only place you can buy them is online so check the web site to see if they ship overseas. Yes, they are comfy! I love them.

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    • Hi Donna, Rhea Footwear is sold online through their web site provided in my blog post and it looks like they do ship internationally and you can buy in Canadian dollars. They have several different styles and colors to choose from. K

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  6. Good info and I love how you personalized this story! I also went and looked..specifically for my mom who is much more fall risk than I am. But alas, as someone else mentioned, no wide widths. My mom and I both vey much need wide shoes. Our feet have spread even wider with age! If they do offer them in the future, I’d be looking at a pair of those red ones for myself. Super cute!

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  7. I know at you mean about preventing a fall; unfortunately, several years ago I was out on a little walk about my neighborhood when suddenly I found myself falling to the ground for no apparent reason hitting my chin on the hard pavement. Luckily, I hadn’t gone too far and was able to hobble back home. It wasn’t until months later when I started hearing ringing in my ear and a feeling of dizziness which really scared me. Someone told me to go to an ear, nose and throat doctor which I did and after many tests later found that I had vertigo which was most likely caused by that nasty fall. They told me that when I hit my chin on the ground it most likely disturbed the little crystals in my ear. I still get bouts now and then, but not nearly as bad as before. Since then, I have probably fallen a half dozen times for various reasons including from jogging, and most recently, from a foot issue I was having. I decided I would have to buy a good pair of sandals this summer (no more flip flops for me, only on the beach). I invested $145 in them and so glad I did as they have a nice rubber tread on the bottom and good arch support. Thank you for the info on the shoes and the reminder about balance issues we baby boomers are experiencing.

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