Posted on 04/16/2005 6:26:06 AM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
HAMPTON, Va. (AP) - A 75-year-old woman who lay trapped in her bathtub for five days toasted her rescue with a cola and a cigarette. Jane Fromal suffered slight dehydration even though she said she ran tap water to drink during the ordeal.
Doctors said they would keep her at the hospital for a few days to make sure her muscles were working right.
Fromal drew a bath Saturday afternoon to nurse a sore tailbone.
"I thought I'd get in the tub and soak," she said Thursday as she rested at Riverside Regional Medical Center. "I didn't know I was going to soak for five days."
She tried to lift herself up a number of times but was unable to do so. Her elbows and forearms were left raw and sore.
Fromal didn't sleep much during the five days. "How can you sleep in a bathtub?"
She finally got help when a neighbor's grandson noticed newspapers piling up in her driveway and insisted his grandmother call Fromal's family.
Shaun Foley, 21, tried banging on her doors and windows and noticed that her mailbox was stuffed.
James Mountjoy, Fromal's grandson-in-law, burst through a locked storm door. Family members found her in the bathroom off her upstairs bedroom on Wednesday evening.
After donning a warm robe, being lifted to safety and drinking a little water, Fromal didn't ask for food. She wanted one of her Parliament 100s and a Coke.
It wasn't the first time Fromal, who has a little trouble with her legs, has been stuck in the bathtub. A few weeks ago she lay in the tub all day.
Fromal's family plans to add railings and a tub chair in her bathroom.
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for sure. . .shower only.
Are you my long lost brother? Sounds like we have the same mom. LOL!!
Strength seems to be a problem here; wonder if rails would even help. In any event. . .she needs to shower and forget about soaking. . .
And yes, Bless that child who was amazingly alert and concerned as well.
Let me reframe my comment:
"And yes, Bless that 'young man'. . . who was amazingly alert and concerned as well."
I suggest the lady did not approach the bathtub in the correct fashion. She needs to think it all through and plan her next attempt:)
Maybe she needs to lift weights and get buffed. Let's get ARNOLD. =]
Enjoy. I think baths are boring. I relax by turning on Mike Savage. She should do the same. Great hard-rock head-banger music. Great rants. Gratuitious Rush and O'Hannity bashing. Yeah man. And you don't get stuck there for five days.
I was thinking of a warm bubble bath with Beethoven's 9th, 2nd Movement playing loudly in the background. If I'm going to lay about in a tub, it will be substantial.
The signal device I saw in advertisements, costs over a thousand dollars. A no-frills cell phone is around $20 and a calling card every few months, another $20.
I imigine a Clapper could be re-wired for alarms. "Clap on. Clap off. Clap on clap off Clap on..."
True, as long as she's in cell range and wears the phone around her neck. A phone on a counter several feet away would not have helped her in this case. She needs people with keys that can check on her, and do... every day.
You could stop by and find out:) My mom doesn't lose stuff, she rides herd over what she owns. It's a very nice day here in Southern CA to go shopping :(:(!
She probably wouldn't let them. Old women can be stubborn, you know.
I like the pic up above of the sitting type of tub, a mini-hottub setup.
No more baths for her...just have someone come round once a week and hit with the garden hose....
My husband's grandmother had an arrangement with her neighbors. In the morning after she got up she would raise the blind in her bedroom that was on the frontside of the house. She would put it down in late afternoon to block the sun and let them know she was still ok. Her neighbors would look to see where the blind was and could then determine how she was doing that day. If it was up or down at an inappropriate time they would call to check on her. No answer of her phone and the rescue squad and family were called.
Grandmother had diabetes but was able to retain her independence for a number of years with this system. How blessed she was to have such kind caring neighbors!
Note to self: Keep cellphone (not attatched to charger) within reach of bathtub.
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