For most people, a shower is just a routine part of their day. It takes no more preparation than making sure you have shampoo, soap, and clothes to put on afterward. Not so if the person who needs a shower is in a wheelchair and cannot help themselves.
When I first started bathing Lynn, I had a shower seat I put in the tube. I lifted him onto the bench, shifted his legs over the edge of the container, and used a hand-held spray for bathing him. Reaching over the side of the tub was difficult, and we were both soaked by the end of the bath. My back was usually aching by then, too. We chose this method because it was the only room I could get a wheelchair into since bathroom doors are narrower than other entries. (why is that, by the way?)
Then, our church got us a shower into which we could roll a wheelchair. That was wonderful. I lifted him from the transport wheelchair onto the shower seat. It allowed me to shower with him and not get wet, but have plenty of room to bathe him. The only issue was lifting him back into the wheelchair while he was soaked. Lifting him while soaked didn’t feel very safe, and a few times, I wasn’t sure I would make it from the shower seat to getting him back safely into the wheelchair due to slippery surfaces.
Then we hit upon the perfect answer…a shower wheelchair! Now, we have the best of both worlds. I can roll him into the shower, stay relatively dry while I bathe him, and not have to lift him while he’s wet.
But still, shower day is a big job. It takes a lot of preparation time to get everything ready, then time for bathing, drying, and dressing. I always wait until after I bathe him to take my bath because I get pretty sweaty from working in the hot shower, but this is SO much better than what we had before.
One word of caution, though. Today, I would save time by coloring my hair while bathing him. I put the color on and put a shower cap over it. You’re only supposed to have the color on for about 30 minutes. We had some unexpected events with the shower today, and an hour later, I still had not washed out the color! Nothing happened. I still have my hair, and the color’s okay, so no big deal, but trying to combine the two might not be such a good idea in case you’re ever considering doing the same thing!
