Nightmare on the Porcelain Princess

[marmar]

:scared:



from CBC News:



Australian woman rescued after a week spent trapped between her toilet, bathroom door
Published: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 | 6:56 AM ET

Canadian Press THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


BRISBANE, Australia - An Australian woman was rescued after spending a week wedged between her toilet and the bathroom door, an official said Tuesday.

The 67-year-old woman, suffering from dehydration, was taken to a hospital after firefighters in the eastern city of Ipswich ended her ordeal Sunday by removing the bathroom door from its hinges, Queensland state government spokesman Chantelle Rule said. The woman, who is diabetic, was not seriously ill, Rule said.

The woman, who has not been named, fell during the early hours of July 19 and somehow became trapped with her feet stuck on either side of the toilet bowl and her body wedged against the inward-opening door, Rule said.

Neighbour Michael Hibberd said he heard her cries for help as he hung his washing in his backyard Sunday morning. He could not open the door to her house and called police. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/090728/K072806AU.html

[SpiralHawk]

1. Karma kan be krappy

...as we all know. At least she did not have to endure the company of some wretched Republicon Homelander Totalitarian Mouthbreather exhorting her to 'pull herself up by her own toilet paper.' Thank heavens the 'socialist' fire department saved her, um, butt.

My sincere sympathies to Ms. Not Named.

[imdjh]

2. It's sad that it appears she has no one she speaks with daily to have wondered where she was. nt

[KittyWampus]

4. One of my Scrabble buddies wears an alarm around her neck so if she falls, someone is alerted.

[imdjh]

6. I keep my cellphone in my pocket. But the stupid thing I do....

.... is that I take my cellphone out of my pocket when I am doing something like mowing grass or messy work. So if I drop in the back yard and can't yell, then I'm screwed.

[pipi_k]

10. I do the same thing with the house cordless phone

if Mr Pip is out shopping or something and I want to do something outside.

It's got a clip on it for secure attachment to a shirt or waistband.

Maybe you need a belt holster for your cellphone...

[Warpy]

3. My dad spent two days on the floor after he had a heart attack

before a neighbor heard him. The heart attack had left him too weak to crawl to a telephone.

I had tried to get him a lifeline/panic button as well as someone paid to check on him every few days but he had refused. If it hadn't been Xmas Eve and a neighbor hadn't come calling with a plate of cookies, there's no telling how long my dad would have stayed on that floor.

It's no joke for fiercely independent older folks to have a health crisis and end up on the floor. Sometimes they're not found until it's far too late to help them.

[KittyWampus]

5. My Mom fell too. :-( She had a balance issue and fell in the bathroom. Called for hours

and it was just dumb luck I went over that evening and heard her.

She had a major health issue and it was months after that she had a serious decline and died.

I think a part of her just gave up during those hours on the floor.

[pipi_k]

7. My MIL broke her hip and spent only about 6 hours on her kitchen floor

until the Meals on Wheels person came and heard Mom banging on the wall (mobile home). She never wanted Meals on Wheels and refused to eat the food they brought (which we had to admit looked pretty awful) but the family felt better that someone could check on her a few days a week. We also had a cleaning lady go in a couple of times a week. Mom didn't want her either, but we told her to suck it up and deal with it. ;)

Anyway, we ended up getting her one of those alarm thingies for around her neck but she always forgot she could press the button for help and was constantly pressing the button by accident.

She survived that broken hip (and the six month prognosis) by three or four years, but when she broke her other hip at the age of 93, she did not outlive the six month survival projection even though her daughter was right outside the mobile home when it happened.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. 'as he hung his washing' What century are we in?

;) Glad he saved the lady

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. I wish more people used clotheslines.

I always thought that the laundry smelled better after hanging out. It doesn't unnecessarily use electricity. I'd do it myself if I wasn't an apartment dweller.

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. Even folks with yards don't have clotheslines poles anymore. Haven't layed eyes on one in years

I think houses came with them. The clothesline poles in my parent's yard long since rusted and were removed.

[kestrel91316]

12. Anyone with a back yard and an environmental conscience is

hanging their laundry on clotheslines these days. I had one when I lived in a rental house for 8 years recently.

I use a wooden clothes drying rack in my apartment now. It can go in the bathtub or on my balcony, depending on weather and smog levels. There's not much I wear or use that needs tumbling.

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. I recall playing outside as my mom hung wash. That was a loooong time ago

[aikoaiko]

15. Brings back memories, doesn't it.

I wish I could back in time.

[Terry in Austin]

19. The "solar clothes dryer"

Easier on the clothes, too. Just figure what fills the lint trap in a gas dryer.

[Are_grits_groceries]

9. I was extremely ill one time.

I slipped off the toilet and was wedged between it and the bathtub. I stayed there a while until I built up enough strength to get out. I know I had an adrenaline rush too. I ended up in the hospital that night. It was scary as hell!!

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. Glad you got thru it!

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. Why was the woman dehydrated? She had a nearby water source. Seriously.

[csziggy]

18. A key point is "her body wedged against the inward-opening door"

Check to see if in your house or in the homes of your relatives, elderly or not, the doors to the bathrooms or to a shower enclosure swing inward. They should not if the space is so small that a person falling can block the door and prevent it from opening, exactly because this kind of thing can happen. If the door to this woman's bathroom had swung outwards, she probably would not have been trapped.

This is a particular danger with small shower enclosures or the little toilet closets that have become so popular because of the small floor space.

Seriously, if this situation exists in any house you know of, please recommend that the door be rehung to swing outward.