Since the beginning of my recovery,
toileting(using a bathroom/restroom) was the first and biggest
hurdle, and continues to be (not sure for how long, maybe until I get
full recovery in my leg?). Initially, while in ICU, I was lifted
from my bed using a mechanical lift (as mentioned in my first post)
to a bedside commode. After that, before I was doing any walking,
the commode would again be at bedside and with the help of the
nursing staff , I'd be helped to standing and then told to pivot,
basically rotating on my heals, to sitting on the commode. This
wasn't done very often out of concern that my foot would tun on it's
side thereby resulting in my ankle taking all my weight, which could
result in many other problems such as a breaks or tears. I think
that this is the reason for which I was fitted for an AFO (to protect
and stabilize my foot and ankle) Eventually, I was given a
wheelchair and taught how to get from both the bed to the wheelchair
and from the wheelchair to the toilet by using what's called a slide
board. One end of this board, (often made of a highly polished,
finished plank of wood) is tucked under the thigh of the strong,
unaffected leg and the other end is placed onto the toilet seat. The
transfer to the toilet is then accomplished by sliding one's bottom
along the board using the strong, unaffected arm to push the body
to the other end and onto the toilet. Once there, all that is needed
is to stand, lower the garments, then sit again. However, until I
regained control of my sitting balance, I required some sort of
support to hold onto (such as a bar on the wall or arms on the toilet
- I had and have a commode, with arms, over the toilet) to keep from
falling off the toilet these all introduce different considerations
when using different bathrooms. Because the slide board can only be
used on the strong, unaffected side, the placement of the toilet in
the room is significant. For those with a strong right side (like
me), the toilet needs to be on the left in order to approach it from
the right, obviously,the opposite is true for left side strong. It
also means that there cannot be any obstructions in the space to and
from the toilet (the arms of the wheelchair and commode must be able
to lift or lower out of the way for the transfer).
Once I started using the KFO to
walk,transferring to the toilet was so much easier, I could walk
short distances to the toilet from the wheelchair, turn myself around
then do what's normally needed to sit. The only considerations then
(and continue to be today) were (1) the height of the toilet from the
floor and (2) are there any grab bars and where are they positioned?
The grab bars are necessary to push myself to standing as my legs are
not yet strong enough to make that push on there own. This combined
with being a tall woman are the reasons that toilet height are
important. Toilet and grab bar placement in the room remains an
important issue as long as I have the use of only one arm.
at home, I have a commode with arms placed over the toilet
(it gives me the proper height and the arms allow me to get up at my
own doing).
So I guess because there are a number
of ways that a person with disabilities can make use of a bathroom,
it's easy to understand how an 'accessible' bathroom may not be able
to accommodate the needs of all; however, it still came as a surprise
to me the first time that I made use of a 'public' restroom labeled
as wheelchair accessible. The first time was during a trip to a
hospital and an adjacent medical building (offices of doctors and
other providers of medical services - I was there for an adjustment
to my leg brace -KFO.) . I encountered a variety of 'problems'.
Because I am one-handed I must
maneuver the wheelchair with one hand and one foot but because I also
need my quad cane to move from my wheelchair to the toilet, it's
necessary for me to carry my cane with my good arm (while resting it
on my foot) and then have another person push my wheelchair around,
so, being that my husband is typically my 'other person', the first
problem to solve is how to gracefully (politely?) bring a male into
the Women's bathroom with me. Some places have Unisex bathrooms and
these, of course, are preferred, but the first place at which we were
did not. My husband 'solved this problem' by opening the door to the
Women's room and loudly announced 'Housekeeping' to determine if
anyone was there (luckily, there wasn't). So, in we went. The
other problem here was the placement of both the soup dispensers and
paper towels. All were out of my reach from the wheelchair! This
was especially surprising to me because I am a tall women with a very
long reach. (Heck, I haven't been in the situation of not being able
to reach since I was a child).
Other problems encountered:
- - a couple of the bathrooms had the grab bar attached too high on the wall from the toilet, I couldn't get proper leverage to push myself to standing. I hate to be redundant but, being a tall woman, I can't help but wonder how people, shorter than I, manage to get up again, I'd still be stuck there if my husband hadn't helped (lucky for both of us, he's very strong)
- The door into the bathroom was so heavy on one bathroom we used and the spring on which it swung such a quick release that my husband had a difficult time holding it open while pushing the chair in at the same time (how do people alone manage that one?)
- One stall had barely enough room to fit the wheelchair in and allow proper closing of the stall door afterward
- BTW - we've been in other facilities since and the problem of bringing a male into the Women's bathroom was solved with the help of building staff (first, checking to see if anyone is currently using the bathroom and then to stand watch outside the room to alert women entering that there's a male in the room. Some places are very accommodating.
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