Amputees Support Group
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery. Many have undergone amputation or have been living with a missing limb since birth. In either case, life as an amputee can be challenging. This is the place to find others going through the same experiences as an amputee. Share your thoughts, troubles, and solutions with the community.
I am a below the knee amputee. My surgery was on May 6th, 2009.
I am a large girl and cannot balance on one leg for more than several seconds. The thought of trying to do that in the shower is terrifying.
Right now, I shower my body in the tub, but have to transfer to the toilet to clean my personal area.
Is there a trick to doing it in the shower while sitting on my shower chair? If there is, I certainly don't know how.
Help!
I am a large girl and cannot balance on one leg for more than several seconds. The thought of trying to do that in the shower is terrifying.
Right now, I shower my body in the tub, but have to transfer to the toilet to clean my personal area.
Is there a trick to doing it in the shower while sitting on my shower chair? If there is, I certainly don't know how.
Help!
Dennis
Dennis has some good advice there with the hand rails/grab bars. They come in very handy in the shower or other places where your balance is in question. They are not expensive nor hard for a handy type to install. The other thing I do in the shower is use my shower chair as a prosthetic device. Depending on how long your stump is, you can either extend on it or kneel and use that for balance while getting to those hard to reach areas. But do get some grab bars up!
Kevin
I am a lot larger than my GF, and so washing me or wiping my rubber parts is a bit different for me than it is for her.
Hand rails are a good idea for ANYBODY, let alone amputees. I have a shower head that is split, so that you can stand up normally, or have a separate head that is handheld. Water will come out of one, the other, or both. I like to sit on my transfer bench with the regular shower on, and do my soaping up, and then stand to rinse. I have a dodgy foot on the other side, so standing on one leg barefoot for me is not a good idea. Also, my bench is BIG, so I can spread out a bit, if you get my drift. I can put my good leg up on it and shave it even, and not worry about falling off. I just skootch over to the dry end of the chair, that wasn't in the tub, to dry off, and then I am on my way.
That is my story and I am sticking to it.
SOMETIMES IS A LITTLE COLD BUT YOU GET USED TO IT.
IN THE SUMMER TIME HERE IN HOUSTON THE WATER PIPES ARE IN THE ATTIC AND THE WATER GET ALMOST HOT BUT HOT IS BETTER THAN COLD. YOU WILL NEED TO WARN GUEST NOT TO MOVE THAT HANDLE IF THEY ARE NOT SITTING ON THE TOILET OR THEY WILL GET HIT RIGHT IN THE FACE.
IT IS CALLED A BIFFY PERSONAL RINSE http://ww.biffy.com/
The Biffy bidet waits nearly out of sight under the seat rim. When you're ready for a clean bottom push the handle back and it swings out under the "target" zone and turns on automatically. Aim the row of cleansing jets by moving the handle. Release the handle and the Biffy self cleans its spray nozzle, shuts off, and goes back into hiding.
The Biffy bidet waits nearly out of sight under the seat rim. When you're ready for a clean bottom push the handle back and it swings out under the "target" zone and turns on automatically. Aim the row of cleansing jets by moving the handle. Release the handle and the Biffy self cleans its spray nozzle, shuts off, and goes back into hiding.
The Biffy bidet doesn't trickle, it showers your bottom clean. It has eight shower nozzles (instead of 1 or 2) to deliver a cleansing shower to your bottom instantly. The Biffy has about six times the flow rate of regular bidets so it cleans much faster and more thoroughly. It is so fast that it ends up using less water than regular bidets. Imagine trying to get your bottom clean with a child's squirt gun - then imagine using a small showerhead. Now you have some idea of the difference. This feature is patented.
You control the Biffy's spray position. It comes to you instead of you having to squirm around trying to find a regular bidet's little squirts of water. You feel the Biffy shower on your bottom and instinctively move the handle to "aim" the generous spray pattern where you want it to go. This feature is patented. American Biffy Co. Ltd.
The Biffy bidet bathroom accessory was developed by physicians and nurses for your personal hygiene health. Rubbing with paper is not only unclean and archaic, it is very irritating to delicate tissues and spreads bacteria around the rectal and vaginal areas. The resulting contamination can be very uncomfortable and lead to vaginal, bladder, and kidney infections. Sexual activity amplifies the situation by further spreading bacteria in the perineal area. Using the Biffy to thoroughly rinse with water like a bidet dramatically lessens the risk of these infections. In fact, certified laboratory tests have shown the Biffy to be more effective than a bidet at reducing or eliminating the risk of infections.
The Biffy bidet doesn't require manual dexterity or coordination and so it is perfect for disabled or elderly persons. Because the Biffy bidet cleans without touching, the chance for fecal contamination on hands, skin, clothing, and bathroom fixtures can be reduced or eliminated. The Biffy bidet also provides gentle, non irritating care for many other health problems including rashes, fissures, and postpartum care for new mothers. Biffy is the perfect personal hygiene bathroom accessory and is easier to use than any product of it's kind. No standard bidet can compare to Biffy.
Hemorrhoids are another problem irritated by toilet paper. The Biffy bidet easily cleans around hemorrhoids without manual contact or rubbing of any kind. It's soothing rinse helps heal them. It's gentle rectal stimulation also relieves constipation. The Biffy is good for your body.
http://www.medicalproductsdirect.com/showchaircom4.html
Getting IN isn't very scary, but once you're inside a tub shower, dripping we and possibly still a little soapy, how to get the one remaining leg out becomes a liiii-tle bit difficult to do without imagining the potential for a fall
Fortunately, for now, I'm still agile enough that I can turn, put the leg outside the tub first, then scoot across the shower seat when it's adjusted to be a tiny bit taller than the door rail, then can slide onto another one outside the tub. It's inconvenienet for others, though, because most folks bathrooms are pretty doggoned small!