Henry, a Florida resident for the last twelve years loved taking walks at sunset.  Not only did he do this for pleasure, but his doctor warned him that he needed to get more exercise to lower his blood pressure.  There is a path that travels along the beach that he likes to use because it has a perfect view of the sunset each day.

The problem is that Henry recently fell down and broke his leg on such a walk.  It was a clear afternoon and Henry was celebrating his 65th birthday.  On this special occasion he decided to bring his wife with him.  And everything was perfect that evening, they had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant, went to the ice cream store for a treat to have during the walk, and then were planning to go see a movie afterwards, and action flick.  Unfortunately the movie wasn’t in the cards that evening because while they were out walking, a lady lost control of her pack of dogs.  The dogs were loose and headed straight for Henry and his wife.  As a couple of dogs ran near Henry their leashes wrapped around his foot and Henry lost his balance, fell and broke his leg.

While at the hospital, the doctor advised Henry of a store to get the healthcare equipment he will need to heal from leg fracture.  The store had an assortment of products to help with his break including aluminum crutches, water-proof cast protectors to keep his cast dry while showering.  They also offered products designed to help make the bathroom safer.  These include items such as grab bars and shower chairs.  Henry found the long reachers/grabbers particularly useful.  His doctor liked the fact that Henry was able to buy an affordable blood pressure monitor so he could keep tabs on his blood pressure from the comfort of his own home.

Thanks to all the various pieces of medical equipment Henry was able to acquire, he was able to continue his evening walks – even while his leg was still healing.  He was so happy that he was able to continue his daily pleasure that he went out and got a new puppy to keep him company.

Sally thought about what she was going to do today. As she readied for her morning shower, she pulled a towel from the closet, put on her favorite blue head-cap, closed the shower curtains, and drew the water so it could get warm. But she was still struggling to come to terms with what was about to happen, so she decided to sit in her glamorous pink make-up chair and watch the shower stall, with the steam slowly starting to rise to the ceiling. More and more until it filled the bathroom and started to fog the windows. Gripping the wide blue ribbon that tied her green plush bathrobe together, she sat there and remembered. Trying to gather up the courage to step back into that shower and perform the cleansing ritual she had grown accustomed to, but alas another morning of fear has swept through her body and her dream of again realizing self reliance would not be today, or any day for the past 9 months. 270 days of an awful memory that just will not escape her thoughts. Nothing could free her of what happened on January 19th. Not friends, family, or even ice cream could make her forget that fall.

January 19, 2010. Sally, an accomplished and active woman nearing the age of 84, would wake up at 6:00 am. She made breakfast for one, her husband had been deceased for nearly a year now, and she was just starting to feel comfortable cooking for only herself. After breakfast, she cleaned the table and washed the dishes. 7:15 now, at 9:00 she has an important meeting with the owner of a local park down the street. Sally was occupying her now mostly free time by volunteering and teaching crafts to children. So hurriedly she rushed up the stairs and started ironing the clothes she had laid out the night before. She would wear her purple blouse and khaki long pants. She was especially looking forward putting on the gold flower pin she had found in a flea market the day before.

Just like any typical day, she put on her favorite blue head-cap, pulled close the shower curtains, and drew the water to get it warm. After she undressed, she draped her green plush robe on the back of her pink makeup chair. As she was entering the shower, she noticed the time, it was now 7:55. She was getting dangerously close to missing her appointment, so she hastily poured the soap on her louffa, not realizing that a significant amount had fallen off and hit the floor. She was doing fine until it came to the point of shaving her legs. Sally had danced around that soft spot in the shower like a dancer performing a routine. She lifted up one leg and started shaving, remembering she had picked out pants today, she wouldn’t actually need to shave. But since she started, she decided to continue with the other leg, why not. And then as she lifted her left leg to put it on the edge of the tub to shave, her right toe came in contact with the soap that had fallen earlier. She started to lose her footing on that toe, and then slowly gaining momentum, the soap continued to run between the foot and the tub bottom. She knew what was going to happen milliseconds before it did, but what could Sally do, it was too late. The soap had now completely separated her grip from the tub floor and then her right foot she was depending on for balance flung into the air and she fell.

When she gained her consciousness back, she hadn’t quite realized what had happened, she only knew of an unbearable pain shooting through her hip. She was still in the shower, the water raining down upon her as she lay on the floor in a state of confusion. The water was cold now, how long had she been unconscious, but she was thankful for the cold water because it seemed to wake her and get her nerves moving which got her blood circulating again and would get her muscles going to get out of this situation. First thing, turn the water off. Second try to move to a position to stand up. As Sally grabbed her left leg and massaged it. she gently pulled it under her body and tried to stand, it was unsuccessful. She could move her left leg just fine, but the right, she could feel it, she could wiggle her toes, but she couldn’t move it. And when she tried, an unbearable pain shot from her hip to her brain and then resonated throughout her body. There was no moving it. She reached up and grabbed the shower curtain, slowly able to pull it back and get it open. Now she can see the bathroom, what is usually just five easy steps to the door now seems like an eternal push for survival, as Sally realizes that she is going to have to get over the tub wall and crawl to and out of the door, to her bedroom, and a phone to call for help. She also knows that she will have to accomplish this with one leg because she broke her hip when she slipped and fell in the bathroom shower.

Sally surveyed her surroundings, looking for anything useful she could use to help her get out of the tub. Finding nothing truly usable she came to the conclusion that she would have to help herself. Pushing down with her hands, she slowly lifted her body up and draped it across the tub wall, then she was able to continue to pull now that her top half of her body was across. she pulled trying to grip the floor with her bare hands and kept pulling until her waist and then finally her legs were over. Gently, she lowered her body down until all of it was firmly on the bathroom floor. She slowly crawled to the pink chair which held her green robe and pulled the robe off. She was able to put the robe on by first putting one arm in and then rolling her body on the floor over it and then putting the other arm in. Securing it with the wide ribbon, now she felt at least comforted by the fact that when she should be found she was clothed. Now, getting to the door, turning the handle and escaping from this bathroom prison to get to a phone was her primary concern. Sally was lying on the floor trying to devise a plan to get that door open when she heard the doorbell. Who could it be?

Ralph, the park owner had gotten worried when Sally missed her meeting at 9:00. She had never been late to a meeting before and always called if she needed to reschedule. At 10:00, Ralph was alarmed that Sally had not shown up, and she being an elderly woman, he decided to go to her home and check on her. so he found her address in the volunteer book and drove to her house. As he arrived he saw that her car was still in the driveway. Maybe she had forgotten about their meeting. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

Then Ralph heard a yell for help from inside the house. Sally was yelling for his help, so he knocked in the door and ran to the room where the sounds were coming from. He found Sally laying on the floor in a green bathrobe. She was flustered, but she was okay.

After taking Sally to the hospital, the diagnosis was as she feared. It was a broken hip. It would require surgery, an extended stay in the hospital, and a new pace of life.

The doctor prescribed many products that will help Sally in her new life, products that may have prevented the fall in the first place. Products that are simple, inexpensive, and easy to find. There are many stores that supply these materials. They are called durable medical equipment stores. Egan Medical is a very reputable one, located in Covington, LA it sells many products that would have helped with her fall, and will help in her recovery and life thereafter. These products include: rollator walkers, shower chairs, tub transfer benches, grab bars that can be permanently fixed or adhered by removable suction cup, bath tub non-slip mats, and perhaps most important a Telemergency system. It is a button that hangs around the neck that when pressed will dial 911 for help.

Even though Sally feared that shower for over nine months, she was eventually able to get back in there and perform that cleansing ritual again. But this time she knew that she would be okay because of the durable medical equipment she has now to add an extra layer of safety and security that she didn’t have before.