I’m lucky not to be dead or hospitalized tonight.

I was on a ladder in the stockroom, trying to get a case of shoes from a shelf fifteen feet off the ground. The ladder was positioned in a tight spot: to one side was the shelving, and to the other was the inclined dock where trucks back in to be unloaded. There’s a metal fence between the side of the dock and the walkway. There were only inches to spare on either side of the ladder.

As I turned to walk down the ladder, carrying the large box, the ladder shifted underneath me and I fell headfirst into the dock. As I fell, I managed to grab ahold of the fence. My body weight ripped my fingers from the fencing, but the momentary anchor flipped me head-up again. I landed flat on my ass on a roll of carpeting. Stunned, I looked up the ten feet to where I had been standing seconds ago.

Surveying my injuries, I found that my only wounds were a sore shoulder, a large hard bruise on my left pinky, an abrasion to the back of my right hand, and rug burn on my back where I had slid off the roll of carpeting.

I can’t really claim that grabbing the fence was intentional. I think that primal behavior took over as I fell. The only thing I really remember about the fall is the topsy-turvy feeling you get when you flip head over heels and pain from my hand as it was ripped from the fence.

It could be have been far, far worse. If any number of things had been different, I’d be in a lot of pain right now. If I hadn’t grabbed the fence, I would have landed head or face first. If the carpeting hadn’t been there, I could have broken my tailbone. There were rolling garment racks within two feet on either side of where I landed: if I had fallen on those, I’m sure I’d be in exquisite pain right now. If the ladder had fallen on me, it probably would have cracked my head open.

I count myself extraordinarily lucky. To get up and walk away from a ten-foot headfirst fall onto concrete is a feat most people can’t claim.