Independent bathing - not all it's cracked up to be

stickywicket

Well, my old bath hoist lasted approximately 30 years. The new one didn’t make 30 days. I discovered that this evening as I pushed the button to beam me back up and it raised me a full inch before conking.

I had had my reservations when the delivery man showed me how to charge it (“after every time you use it”), plugged it in and a red light came on. “That’ll turn green when it’s fully charged” he said. “Or just go off. One or the other.” It never did. Even after two days. But I kept plugging it in after use and assuming it was charging anyway. ‘Til tonight.

So here’s how my hero, Mr SW, finally raised this nearly 10 stone titanic while necessarily standing at an angle of 45 degrees to me. Trouble was we’d no rubber mat (Neither of us needed one. Ho! Ho!) so every time he tried to lift me my feet hurtled towards the tap end. We tried a bedside mat. It hurtled with me. A plastic box to stop my feet moving? Too big. Ancient knee wouldn’t bend enough to let it in. I’m not ashamed to say the big bag of cement scared the hell out of me when he came back from the garage and hoisted it in ½” in front of my toes. Ditto the sharp sand. Now my legs were completely wedged with my knees fully bent & no way could I stand from that position. The good news was I was dry by now.

So then we tried gradually inserting more & more cushions under my bottom. That was when the hoist side broke. The words ‘Fire’ & ‘Brigade’ were briefly mentioned (along with several other words, most of which began with an ‘f’ or a ‘b’). Finally, I got him to remove the bag of sand and to stuff that corner with my wheelchair cushion so’s I could get a grip with that foot while keeping the other knee bent. He did. He hauled. I skidded a bit then (halleluia!) stood up.

Now what? Now while holding me carefully, like a sack of potatoes, with both arms, he dragged the old high stool over with his foot. Next, still in his arms, I pirouetted (Just think Pavlova – no, not the ballet dancer – the dessert) to face away from him. Then, perfectly synchronised, he pulled while I sat down backwards onto the stool. One by one, I lifted my legs over the hoist to safe landing. Elegant it was not.

Then Mr SW left me to fire off a furious letter to Social Services.

weejean

Aw Sticky that was a full scale rescue operation and well done to you both on managing it safely. I hope you get something sorted out to get a new and fully functioning bath hoist before your next bath as you and Mr SW wont want to have to go through all that again. Hope you both get a good nights rest after all the drama. Sweet dreams xx

dreamdaisy

Oh dear, stickywicket, what a palaver. Poor you, poor Mr SW but well-solved, the pair of you. That hoist sounds like a dud from the word go, but when summat is new to you you do not necessarily realise that things are not as they should be. Back to being doused with a bucket of water outside the back door? DD

hileena111

Oh Sticky....what a carry on. Imagine if you had been in the house on your own?? :shock:
Well done both of you....we do have to be inventive dont we?
I hope Mr SW's letter does the trick.
Will you have confidence using one again? I think that would put me off for life

Love
Hileena

julie47

oh sticky, even though your description of your bath time blues made me smile, I was concerned for you. I am glad that it was a happy ending and mr sw came to the rescue. (although 3-4 firemen would have been nice )

I think I would have been rather wary of the piece of equipment when the installer wasn't fully knowledgeable about the charging procedure.
As for the thing breaking.....that was not safe and must be a fault which shouldn't have happened. I am just sooooo pleased you were not Home Alone.

I hope you are sorted soon, in the meantime keep practicing the ballet steps and you will be as good as me and rich

Take care
Juliepf x

jillyb1

Just read this , Sticky , and so glad you were able to rely on Mr Sticky ; what on earth would we do without our lovely hubbys ? Hope you were both able to giggle about it once you were safe and the complaint letter written . Jillyb

traluvie

Sticky...

Been a while since we spoke but you tell your story so well i must admit i did have a wee chuckle(not at your misfortune)
I do not envy social services when they recieve that letter from Mr Sw lol..
Hope they sort it for you luvie..xx

stickywicket

Thanks everyone.

After several phone calls I now know that what I have is a bath lift not a bath hoist, that hoists are provided by the NHS and mended by their ‘Equipment Services’ people whereas bath lifts are provided by Social Care and….er….not.

To give the man his due, he has been and saw and checked out the faulty charger (which was now, having again been plugged in overnight, working sluggishly tho’ still registering only a red light rather than the required green one. And clearly not holding its charge.) He will bring me another….maybe next week. In the meantime I guess I wait for rain then strip off and out with a bar of soap. I may keep the faulty one as a spare. Wow! The side panel is re-attached. I shall, in future, confine my ablutions to times when Mr SW is around – plus a bag of cement tho’, yes Julie, the 3-4 firemen idea is quite tempting. Alas, I fear the temptation would all be one-sided.

Traluvie, good to see you again. You OK?

stickywicket

One or two people have asked me how I'm getting on with the bath lift and new charger so I thought I'd let you know that independent bathing is now all it's cracked up to be.

1. 1/2 hr before bath. Switch on charger to ensure it's fully charged.

2. 1/2 hr later, detach control from charger, take it, pick-up-stick and Dad's old walking stick to bathroom, place high stool next to bath and towel on stool.

3. Plug control into bath lift, press raise button until it's fully up, place control on stool. Dangle bathplug into hole, turn on lever action hot tap using walking stick handle, after a few seconds turn off again in order to listen for water escaping down plughole, prod plug with bottom of walking stick until no water-escaping sound, turn tap back on, retire to bedroom to undress.

4. Return, test water, use stick to turn off hot tap/turn on cold. Chuck washing stick (spongy thing on end of long stick) into bath.

5. Sit on bath lift seat, check stool & contents are accessible from bath, dip foot in, yell, play with taps again.

6. Lower bath lift, have bath, shout for back scrubber if he's around.

7. Squeeze washing stick and chuck it optimistically in direction of wash basin. Dry hands, pick up control, rest it on knees to ensure it doesn't slide into bath, raise bath lift, get out, retire to bedroom with large towel, spread towel on bed, roll in it, dry other bits, get dressed.

8. Back in bathroom, use pick-up-stick to grasp the wine bottle cork that Mr SW jammed onto end of plug's chain so's it'd float & thus be graspable. Pull plug, lower bath lift, use walking stick to pull taps on again and swill water around with an old washing stick in half-hearted attempt to clean up. Detach control.

9. Replace stool, walking stick & pick-up-stick, and plug control back into charger to charge overnight.

10. Aaaaand relax.

And, in case you were wondering, yes, the cork does keep pulling off the chain of the bath plug but we just have to ensure there's a plentiful supply of corks.

dreamdaisy

Ah, the trials and tribulations of arthritic bathing, wot larks Pip, wot larks.

Please PM me your address so I can send any spare corks your way. We do get the odd one or two and currently throw them away - I would far rather send them to a good home where they will have a new lease of life. DD

traluvie

Sticky...

That takes such a long time to have a bath, bless ya...
Least it is in all full working order and you can have a bath on your own if need be...
OH has been my bath hoist the past few days.. he is loving it lol..

bertyboy

Blimy Sticky i am so pleased there was no lasting damage from the breakdown , i think i would have had the firemen out i will stick to my shower failing that the garden hose on the patio x

stickywicket

Bertyboy - The firemen are a lingering temptation

Traluvie - I've used your type of bath hoist for years. This one doesn't swear at me.

DD - What an exceptionally kind offer! However, I must insist you don’t go to the additional trouble of first removing the bottle they are attached to. It is such a difficult task for arthritic hands and MR SW will be delighted to spare you the pain.

Poppyg1rl

Hi Sticky,
I've got an aquajoy bath lift, very similar to yours and so much easier to use but, I have to keep it constantly on charge! No fault of the lift however, I use it daily of an evening and my boys use it too cheeky so n so's! X

mp1952

Hi Sticky

I'm desperate to soak in a bath - haven't been able to do so for about two years now -so will make a note of your helpful instructions for when I get one of these machines.!

Marion x

theresa4

Oh sticky the antics you get up to
My OH is a builder and when we renovated this house he was very into sunken baths so there is little step up and in and I can virtually crawl over the side if I need to to get out.( Im thankful for his great ideas now pre arthur too!!) Getting off the floor is another matter and lord only knows what I look like

Theresa x

stickywicket

mp1952 wrote:

Hi Sticky

I'm desperate to soak in a bath - haven't been able to do so for about two years now -so will make a note of your helpful instructions for when I get one of these machines.!

Marion x

Come on round, Marion! We'll have a bath party.

Theresa - this bungalow had a sunken bath when we moved in but without a step. It was a nightmare for Mr SW hauling me up from below floor level. Hence the first bath lift.

vonski

Hi Sticky,
If that had have been me you would probably have heard me shouting. I have never trusted the bath mats as they have been known to scutttle, well for me anyway :roll: Will you be getting a new bath lift sent and if yes will you trust it? I loved my bath but now have to have showers, nice enough but I want a bath. Did you even see a fireman and are they now on stand by?
Love
Vonski x

dreamdaisy

We have a cork. I've put it somewhere safe. DD

stickywicket

dreamdaisy wrote:

We have a cork. I've put it somewhere safe. DD

????

dreamdaisy

I think you hinted that a constant supply of corks was required, and I said PM me your address and I would send some to you. I realise that you are probably able to maintain a fairly generous supply all by yourselves (and with the aid of some friends and relations too) but I will happily save ours to pick up any slack you may encounter. DD

lalla

Just read your thred start to finish , how I laughed at your description I have a Bath Belt which I find brilliant , there is nothing like lying down in the bath, up to my ears in bubbles, candles lit, lavender oil scenting the room. I use a shower chair at the side of the bath to slide onto and on the backrest i have a pillowcase folded over and I put my mobile phone in it so I can reach it from the bath, then any problems I can contact / fire brigade/hubby(he has tv on so loud he couldnt hear a shout.) When I fell and broke my wrist in the bathroom, it was my 91 yr mum who had to tell him "theres someone shouting help" and he says hes not deaf Take care Linda

mig

Stopped laughing now,bet it wasnt funny at the time though,we have a disabled shower which was fitted after hubby had a stroke couldnt get in and out of bath safely after the stroke,its classed as a wet room,its really great but i do miss a soak in the bath with a book.Am saving corks dont know what i will do with them but its fun. Mig

stickywicket

I have noticed a distinct fixation with firemen on this thread. I see lalla has 'fire-brigade' before 'husband' on her 'persons to call if in trouble'. A hotline to the fire station would be a good and kind thing to arrange for all arthritics on World Arthritis Day. Well, maybe not all but, hey, it's man's world and high time we women had a break.

Oh, mig, it was funny at the time. Except when he lobbed the cement at me.

Would all those kind people saving corks for me please do as I suggested to DD and make no attempt to remove them from the bottles. (Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc preferred.) You are very kind.