“Help!! I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!”

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I left my hotel on time this morning, hopped on the tube at Monument, and wended my way to Victoria Station to catch the Gatwick Express.

Victoria wasn’t crowded — rush-hour had passed. Nice! As I stepped onto a short flight of steps down to the station floor, it hit me. Or rather, they hit me.

A family with two running children either knocked me forward onto the stairs or kicked my stick out from underneath me. I’m not sure which. I landed a step or three from the bottom, breaking the fall with my hands and rolling down the last few steps.

The contents of my tote bag were all over the place, my phone and stick scuttled across the pavement, the juice I was drinking was now all over the ground (and me).

Many stopped to help — gathering my stuff and putting it back in my bag; retrieving my suitcase, phone, and stick. Two helped get me up.

People really are generally very kind when someone needs help. Except the family that knocked me over. They kept moving speedily to their train. (One of the helpers told me.) I’m not going to get into it, but you may refer to the list of “worst tourists” I posted earlier in the week.

Paramedics showed up and insisted on checking me out. I argued, but they talked some sense into me. Good vitals, nothing broken. A bone-bruised hip; and I hurt my wrist, something short of a sprain. I missed two trains and took the third.

By the time I got to the airport, my plane was already boarding. No way on earth I was going to get through security and to the gate at an international airport before this plane took off.

Now I’m a bit panicky. The awesome Assistance Center sorted me out. I explained what had happened. They gave me a comfortable place to sit down, hooked me up with good Internet, and explained I should switch my flight before it took off so I would still get the credit. JetBlue wanted $1600 extra to switch my flight to tomorrow. I said, “no thank you,” went to their website, cancelled it myself. I got 40,000 points and a few hundred bucks back. Which otherwise would’ve been gone along with $1400 more. Jerks.

I booked on another airline for $400, and checked into the terminal hotel I like. It is literally ten feet from the Assistance Center, at which I will present myself tomorrow morning. Why?

They insisted they put me in the buggy and drive me through luggage drop, security, and to the gate.