The first thing Harun Belkacem was taught was how to hit the floor. Controlled, onto a mat, over and over, until it stopped being frightening.
The fortnight after discharge is where things come apart, and the interventions that help are unglamorous: a phone call, a medicines check, one visit.
Nothing here is about extending life. All of it is about what the remaining years contain, which is a different question and is asked out loud.
We are not teaching people to fall. We are removing a fear that stops them practising.
Illustrative composite
Fear of falling causes more loss of function than most falls do. People stop moving, decondition, and then fall.
“Eighteen months ago I could not stand up without someone’s hand,” he says.
