Taking a Shower After Breaking My Pelvis

Here's our small shower with my walker in it

Today is the 3 week anniversary of the day I fell and fractured my pelvis.  On the positive side, I can now dress myself, walk 20 minutes a day with a walker, stand up and sit down without using a walker, climb a few stairs with the help of a new handrail we had installed on our front porch, and get in and out of our car by hoisting myself up to a handle that is on the inside arch of my Mazda's ceiling.

The pain from my fall is less sharp but still achy. I read that with a pelvis fracture it can take up to six weeks before the pain goes away. I take two 600 milligrams of Ibuprofen a day, one before bedtime and the other after I eat my breakfast. I use either a heating pad or ice pad for 15 minutes a day, which provides some relief. I have a very good physical therapist whom I see twice a week who's trying to reteach me how to walk without depending on the walker.

My biggest challenge is getting in and out of our shower.  Our house is over a hundred years old and originally had no shower; just a bathtub, toilet, and sink. The shower is only 3 feet deep and 2.4 wide, and I currently have to fit my walker and myself into it. 

Oh, how I wish my husband and I had one of those luxurious walk-in showers like you see on home and garden shows that have room enough for 2 people.  It would be so wonderful to join my husband in the shower and have him there in case I drop the soap. There would be plenty of room for the two of us and my walker. 

My Dream Shower For Two

Yes, we do have a bathtub. It's also original to the house and is one of the deepest bathtubs I've ever seen. When I was younger, I used to love luxuriating in it, pouring fragrant bath seeds while the tab flowed, and lighting candles to create just the right mood for relaxation. "Calgon, take me away," as the old commercial used to say.  Now that I'm 64 and have arthritis in my left knee, I need to flip myself over on all fours--doggie style--and inch my body up using my good leg. This is dangerous because the surface of the tub is so slippery that I have to put a dry towel under my body to have some traction after all the water drains out. Now that I've fractured my pelvis, this technique would be out of the question. I'm afraid my days in the bathtub are now a thing of the past.  As the Rolling Stones' lyrics say, "What a drag it is getting old!"