Showering.: "I'll just have a quick... - Lung Conditions C...

Lung Conditions Community Forum

54,983 members65,771 posts

Showering.

65 Replies

"I'll just have a quick shower"

Is what I used to say

But as the years whizzed past me

Some things got in the way

Because I'm living on my own

I check no one will call

Cos trying to answer the front door bell

Will surely mean a fall

The window must be open

But not so that it's cold

The water must be nice and hot

But the steam produced controlled

Removing all my clothing

Has slowed down quite a bit

And checking I've got mats in there

So that I don't slip

Put the soap were I can reach

To avoid the chase

Set the shower head down

So as not to hit my face

Sitting down when drying off

And using every trick

Means I still can have my shower

But no more will it be 'quick'.

65 Replies
Damon1864 profile image
Damon1864Volunteer

I know what you mean Don 😄xx

sassy59 profile image
sassy59

Showers can be difficult

When you are on your own

Getting everything just right

You’re never one to moan

Everything is sorted

No falling on the floor

Just as you set foot inside

There’s a knock at the flippin door!

Thanks for the fun and laughter Don. Xxxxxx

in reply to sassy59

It's better that the bathtub

Where you get in feeling bold

Then you find you can't get out

And the waters going cold!

sassy59 profile image
sassy59 in reply to

Yep! Been there, done that! Lol xxx 🤣😘

RoadRunner44 profile image
RoadRunner44

Oh here we go again! You've hit the nail on the head yet again Don. Putting it all in rhyming words is amazing. I bet many of us reading that poem will have experienced all of those things you mention. Apart from the humour it really is a way of life for many of us. Thank you Don. Chrys

Izb1 profile image
Izb1

Ha! So true Don. I know just what you mean now.

Trying to have a shower with a make do sling and one handed just didnt work, I felt so unsafe and it took so blinkin long, will make do with strip washes until my daughter returns. I may think about removing the bath in future, its too hard climbing in to have a shower x

in reply to Izb1

I had the bath taken out before my wife died ten years ago. They are very dangerous things to have with elderly people around, though I miss being able to have a long leisurely soak for my aching bones.

Oshgosh profile image
Oshgosh

Loving it

skischool profile image
skischool

Considering your age Master Po i am much impressed

You don't seem to struggle too much getting undressed

I am so impressed with your skills standing on that mat

You have the balancing skills of Scruffy the cat

Whereas your pupil grasshopper is not quite so agile

And although much younger he's rather fragile

But ain't it nice when we are spick and span

And no longer smell like some dirty old man :) x

majji profile image
majji in reply to skischool

SirSki I am sure that neither you nor the Cap'n has ever smelled like that . . . . :-) but please try to point out the inadequacies of his current arrangements. I also had an elderly next door neighbour who was a feisty Scottish lady who was unable to get out of her bath and was later found at death's door in it! So it can be very dangerous!

skischool profile image
skischool in reply to majji

Majji my dear we are both intrepid adventurers when it comes to bathing and at least we will pass on in a clean and almost respectable manner. :) xx

majji profile image
majji in reply to skischool

Now why do I tend to doubt that SirSki . . .? ;-)

in reply to majji

Fear not dear lady the bath left via the front door ten years ago and I prefer grab-handles to a fixed stool in the shower.

skischool profile image
skischool in reply to

If i ever see a stool in my bath i will run a mile and call a plumber,something has obviously backed up. :)

in reply to skischool

Sometimes Grasshopper, I feel that I have failed miserably in my attempts to lead you down the right paths in life. 😥

skischool profile image
skischool in reply to

Fear not master Po,you take the high road and i will take the low road,do i feel a song coming on?no too late for that tis almost the witching hour. :) x

majji profile image
majji in reply to

You must try that extra little bit harder with Grasshopper Cap'n

majji profile image
majji in reply to skischool

I trust you will remember to dress yourself prior to running that mile SirSki?

skischool profile image
skischool in reply to majji

i was going to say you won't see me for the skid marks but i didn't want to depress my master any more with my gutter humour. :) xx

majji profile image
majji in reply to skischool

I imagine he may be getting used to it now SirSki - you just carry on - we all need a chuckle in the middle of the night ;-) xx

Lindy-loo1949 profile image
Lindy-loo1949 in reply to skischool

Ahhh Sir Skiis now is it? 🤯 Thought I'd pop in to see what's happening across the pond!

Ya sure make me smile!

Have a wonderful Christmas Skiis and Scruffy

skischool profile image
skischool in reply to Lindy-loo1949

Hello lovely Lindy,beauty of vancouver,long time no hear or here.good to hear from you again and i hope you are still feeding those birds on your veranda or have you bobbed up the hill to Whistler for a bit of mountain pleasure?

Love simple Ski's and Scruff's xx

in reply to skischool

You seem to have taken umbrage at something I never said. 🙄

majji profile image
majji in reply to

I am so relieved to read that Cap'n - wonderful news ;-)

majji profile image
majji in reply to

Oh yes Cap'n - grab handles are so the way to go ! ;-0

SORRELHIPPO profile image
SORRELHIPPO

The only thing I can add (with me it is the bath with a "bath bubble" to lower me in, and raise me up)! I have a water tight case, see through and made for taking small cameras to the beach, put my little mobile phone in here and hang from the basin tap, can reach from wherever I fall. I feel it is a little like an umbrella, if you have one it does not rain, go out without one and it pours.

Once had cause to softly berate an older lady, she had fallen in the bath and spent all night in the water. She had one of the alarms you wear round your neck, (and knew where to put it when in the bath) to call for help. She eventually admitted it no longer worked. When she at down in front of the TV in the evening she used to take it off and hang it from the nearest handy place. Just happened to be on her gas fire adjuster, the pendant had melted, so dared not tell anyone. I did explain, I would rather have giggled at her and replaced the pendant, than found her after a night in the bath.

majji profile image
majji in reply to SORRELHIPPO

Well done SH - so pleased you managed to inject a spot of sense into that older lady -

SORRELHIPPO profile image
SORRELHIPPO in reply to majji

I must admit to having much more fun with those with less sense, and have been saving up much of what they did, to annoy my carers as I get more ill and older. Although I do draw the line at spending all night in a cooling bath.

majji profile image
majji in reply to SORRELHIPPO

Lotsalols SH - That had not actually dawned upon me - the annoyance of carers etc however now I must certainly take some notes - too often I try to avoid altercation or arguement - no really lol, however I can definitely see the merits of SH plan - and to all those involved in caring for anyone I know just how difficult and stressful the role can be and you have my very sincere sympathies - let us hope that the support that we are supposed to be able to attain will be there for us when we need it - sadly I would not bank on it! We must stay positive!

SORRELHIPPO profile image
SORRELHIPPO in reply to majji

On a more serious note, I was an Occupational Therapist, and never had to work with/care for someone who was a relative. It is much easier to work with a stranger, when for how ever long you may know them, there is not the personal background, which, can be both good and bad. My own mother had a diagnosis of Paranoid Manic Depression for the last 20 years of her life, with dementia kicking in for the last 3 years. There is no way I could have cared for her on a live in capacity, one of us would have ended up murdered.

I do hope some care will stay available, though having worked in both the NHS and Social Services since 1970 I have watched the criteria for help getting tighter and tighter, in both financial status of the client and also their illness/disability level. It will be OK for the very ill/disabled if they have no money. We need places for other people to go, to get free advice on how to care, and what safe equipment would work for them, as some stuff that is advertised, only works for certain people, and in some cases people can spend money on things that are downright dangerous for them.

This has been my rant for many years.

majji profile image
majji in reply to SORRELHIPPO

I am sorry to hear of your mother's depression SH - that must have been incredibly hard to deal with as you end up losing the very identity of the person who brought you into the world! I feel incredibly lucky at the moment as my oncology nurses are absolutely amazing and I could not feel more supported! That is why I write letters to the hospital on a very regular basis and try to get things changed with far more support for the staff working there - if we don't support them now, we will be the ones who have little or no support in the future

majji profile image
majji

Cap' n you really should have one of those fixed shower chairs installed as mats and standing up in a bathtub simply are not SAFE!!! My stepfather who was a WW2 Test Pilot out in India and I think Canada, well one of his extremely distant relatives decided they would have installed a brand new bath (allowing him to pay for it) in which one is supposed to open the door in the side of the bath, then get into it, shutting it carefully, then fill up with water, then manoeuvre a heavy bar to keep it shut tightly then empty out the bath water then exit the bath - unfortunately they forgot to take into account the fact that he was partially blind (well almost completely) 97 years of age, had no heater in the bathroom so it was always cold and he really thought he was getting a proper shower with a pull down seat which of course he did not! He went through all that building work and probably managed to use the bath 3 times if that - then was whisked away to a care home and died a few weeks later. So I do hope that you will consider a pull down chair seat which would be far safer both now and in the future. Sorry to go into such detail but I still feel angry at the lack of thought that was put into that particular decision.

majji profile image
majji

Oh and leave a note on the front door window glass advising you won't be available to answer the door until a certain time please - so now that's sorted I am off to bed - good night to all xx Apologies for being such a bossy boots today.

in reply to majji

Midge does a good job of telling people I'm not available. 😉

majji profile image
majji in reply to

Midge deserves a medal! xx

Kittykat2 profile image
Kittykat2

Oh so true every bit of that Don....quite exhausting sometimes very well written .💕

Did read somewhere ........easier if you

just have a nice towelling dressing gown to put on and dry off rather than tiring your self with towels etc. Just to sit or lay down till dry 👍💕x

JANET127 profile image
JANET127

So very true Mr Don! Everything takes so much longer! What I hate the most is False Teeth! Chemo killed my roots! Now I have more to do!!! LOL oh yes! I forgot..I am a blond now! I was very bored! God Forbid! So.......Haven't been Blond in 32 years! I will get a pic...Later! Janet127

in reply to JANET127

Ah! False teeth are a bind. I got myself a new set a year or two back, I wrote about them at the time. (There's not much I haven't written about on here, come to think about it.) A new photo of your new blond self will be nice. It need not be of you in the shower, unless you insist of course. 🙄

Whitechinchilla profile image
Whitechinchilla

Aaaaw our squeaky clean Venerable Don.😂😂😂

majji profile image
majji in reply to Whitechinchilla

I think that squeak might just be his knees - to Whitechinchilla ;-)

Whitechinchilla profile image
Whitechinchilla in reply to majji

😉

Drying off oh why oh why should I have a shower to feel so tired so breathless so knackered when I can wrap up in a nice hot bath sheet and dry off at my own leisure oh why oh why so much easier

in reply to

Those great bath sheets are the best invention ever. 😃

johnboy_10 profile image
johnboy_10

So true

Lyd12 profile image
Lyd12

Still use the shower over the bath just the thought of the upheaval puts me off having a walk in shower put in.

Who remembers bath night, gettng the tin bath off the hook in the back yard wiping it clean, and filling it in the scullery with hot water from a boiler. Then emptyng it bucket by bucket down the sink. Me in first, then Mum and then dusty dad the bricklayer! We don't know we're born these days, lol. Iris x

watergazer profile image
watergazer in reply to Lyd12

Ah yes I remember the days of the tub in front of the fire and the toilet outside in the yard

Jaybird19 profile image
Jaybird19 in reply to Lyd12

I have a friend who fell in the bath and couldn't get up so pulled the curtains down and spent yhe day there wrapped in those until her son came home. Then it happened again, still she would not have the bath replaced with walk in shower!

I have a bath board across the bath , just sit and turn sideways to pull legs over into bath and stand up or sit down to shower. Reverse to get out of bath. Simple . It is secured in place and doesnt slip.

Available from Ableworld for princely sum of £23 tnis year.

( was given it by social services when I broke my leg 10 yrs ago)

in reply to Jaybird19

The most important thing is to have some means of communication to hand and that's where I have slipped up. (Pardon the pun.) The iPhone is said to be waterproofed but I think I'll by a little bag for it to hang in the shower, somewhere low down because if I do need it that's where I will be. 😉

majji profile image
majji in reply to

Now ya thinking Cap'n!

Bingo88 profile image
Bingo88

Your amazing Don with your Rhymes. Hope you have a good day Brian

COPD123491 profile image
COPD123491

Nailed on!!!

Pentreath profile image
PentreathVolunteer

Loved the poem Don. Best thing I ever bought was good quality towelling dressing gown. It is on a hanger above the radiator in the bathroom so is warm for the colder weather. Also, you can be reasonably decent to get to the door if necessary - not that I have ever tried it!

in reply to Pentreath

Believe it or not I posted a photo of myself on here wearing such a garment. Is there no end to what I will do to gain a bit of attention I ask myself ?🙄😂

majji profile image
majji in reply to

You tell us Cap'n . . . . ?

1947Mags profile image
1947Mags

You have it in one, glad I'm not the only one I now dread shower time. Mags

janet1944 profile image
janet1944

Brilliant made me laugh, true though.

My showers are getting fewer and further between, my shower takes a day to prepare as I have to hype up as if I’m going to climb the north face of the Eiger , and it takes as long and I need medical assistance at the end .

This damned emphysema, I’m as bright as a button and 32 in my outlook , I’m sure if I got a new set of bellows you wouldn’t catch me.

Well done Don keep up the good work and a happy Christmas and a very healthy new year best wishes to you and yours.

Jessie8ruff profile image
Jessie8ruff in reply to janet1944

Janet1944, my reply to Don below is also like you due to Copd/Emphysema & a bit like you in my head & outlook feel much younger than my lungs allow!

I love music & dancing & when get the chance have inhalers in one hand & a friend or 2 on the arm! That way I can actually dance through most of 1tune before needing to take a seat or stop moving!

I don’t want to stop just yet!

Mags

SquirrelsHolt profile image
SquirrelsHolt

Gold Star 🌟.for you Mr.D and good evening to you! I see you are pulling out the big guns to show off with this rhyme! .. Its a Classic 🏆🌟

in reply to SquirrelsHolt

Good evening SH. Yes, thank you, I've never known my monthly shower to cause such a stir before. 🤗

SquirrelsHolt profile image
SquirrelsHolt in reply to

Well Mr.D, I'm just glad your worldwide 🌍 followers are enjoying your very quirky rhymes! You've definitely gone and posted your rhymes which in turn, got you a lot of folk who enjoy your writings. You can sit in your shower now and grin away, knowing the success you've had

each day! 🐿🌟💕

in reply to SquirrelsHolt

Well I just write for my friends here on BLF and what I write and how often I write depends solely on the feedback I get from them. I never lock my posts because I think our problems should become more widely known and I wish others would do the same. I doubt my rhymes stray far from home. 😉

majji profile image
majji in reply to

Is that because you are using a far larger spoon Cap'n ;-) xx

Acryls profile image
Acryls

I just love that - so true!!

Jessie8ruff profile image
Jessie8ruff

Haha, that’s great, I have to book a week in advance to get mine! @ have an hours slot of the carers time!! Fortunately she’s a friend first who happens to be a carer! I prepare myself before she arrives ( she calls to say when on the way) then I get the water at the right temperature for me, as hair as I like! Then she starts with washing my hair, conditions & rinses, luxury to get it done properly without breaking my neck over a sink or having shower straight at my face! Then continues to shower back, b.., legs & feet! I can manage my front areas fine, all while standing. She will dry hair & back & apply cream too! While I wrap dry the rest in font of fire she does cleaning, mopping up the pool in the shower room (pokey place) & hoovers carpets in hall & bed/sit room! Then we can have coffee & cake she has brought me! Bliss!!

Mags

in reply to Jessie8ruff

Sounds lovely Mags, I followed you every step of the way. 😉

You may also like...

SHOWERING with COPD

just managed to have a shower for the first time in nearly 12 months, a very quick one but so happy...

Showering and Oxygen

you all manage to have a shower. I am bathing for now but do miss a shower and to be able to wash...

My shower vs me.

these symptoms somewhat by leaving windows open, not having shower to hot ( less humidity) and not...

It never rains, always seems to pour.

than I expected, by the I mean the spinal soon cleared, i did not bleed and got home earlier than...

Inhalers- and value for money?

inhaler prior to use, which I do ,but it seems to me that it is still running out very quickly....