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If your husband qualifies for home health, see if you can get an evaluation from an occupational therapist. Depending on a person’s limitations, there are pieces of adaptive equipment that can make a tub very safe and save thousands of dollars.
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Reply to MidwestOT
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I've done extensive research about this. It takes 2 people to get my husband in and out of our current "walk-in shower" that came with the house. There's a small lip that's almost insurmountable even with a ramp. Installing a true roll-in shower would cost way too much and involve a bathroom remodel. The very best option we found is something called a "Shower Buddy" which is perfect.
www.shower-buddy.com. Shower Buddy has products for safe shower or bathtub transfers.
It's lightweight, safe, equipment that doesn't need to be installed - you can use it anywhere. It's still pricey - but so much less than installing a true roll-in shower.
I hope this is helpful.
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Reply to LostinPlace
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Care13 Jun 17, 2024
we found showerbuddy too but havent bough it-did you try their 'bath check' smart phone app to see if one of their benches would fit in your bathroom? Which model did you try? We need a chair that tilts back and can also go over the bath tub, so shower buddy's Tubbuddy Tilt SB2T model is what I found but it's like $3-4,000 and i dont believe traditional medicare and/or a medicare supplemental insurance will pay for any portion of it: https://shower-buddy.com/products/tubbuddy-tilt-sb2t
(we currently have the platinum health sliding bath chair bench from amazon but it only has a lap seatbelt but not a chest seatbelt and doesnt tilt back, which we need now: https://www.platinumhealthllc.com/products/hydroglyde-toilet-to-tub-sliding-bench-extra-long
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I ordered the Carousel Sliding Shower Chair Tub Transfer Bench with Swivel Seat off Amazon. I liked the reviews and the videos I watched of it. I never took it out of the box and ended up not needing it because my mom's condition deteriorated before I could move her to my house. Check it out though. It looks pretty nice.
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Beatty May 23, 2024
So sorry about your Mom.

The device you mentioned was what I was going to suggest. I don't know specific brands but a seat to sit & spin (safely) over the bath/tub edge was recommended by an OT to my family. It is on order, so no review yet.
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We used bath fitters to install my parents shower. They had a walk in model that was handicap accessible with very little lip.

It is very nice. I’m enjoying using it when I’m staying there.

They did a nice job. It cost around $10K to do the job which required some plumbing changes and getting rid of the bath tub.
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Reply to Hothouseflower
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I feel like a local, small town carpenter might be cheaper. We have a retired friend that just does bathrooms, he is a lot cheaper than bath fitters.
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Reply to Anxietynacy
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For the time being, call the local social services to see if they have a community closet of donated items. Look for a shower chair that can swivel into the tub. In MA, I could call adjacent towns to borrow as well.
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Reply to MACinCT
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MargaretMcKen May 28, 2024
Where I am, the funded services don't provide donated articles, just in case there are defects and they get stuck with liability (however unlikely that seems in the case of simple things like toilet seat raisers). Instead a couple of the local OP Shops deal with second hand furniture, and take donations. So if your social services can't help, ask around for Op Shops that take furniture.
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Search for "bathtub conversion kits". They are around $375-$475. Can be purchased at HomeDepot and you can hire their installers. Not zero clearance, but still better than stepping over the tub edge.
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Reply to Geaton777
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There are several ways to do a zero entry shower.
The best thing to do would be to contact a couple renovators in your area and ask them to give you a quote and how they propose doing this.
The one I have has the shower pan dropped down so if you look at it in the crawlspace you can see where the shower pan is. There are others that have a slight ramp instead of a raised edge to the shower pan.
Maybe the easiest thing to do at this time would be to get a shower bench. You sit on it and scoot to the center of the bench to take the shower. this actually is pretty safe as you can remain seated while taking the shower so there is less of a chance for a slip and fall.
The other thing to get installed are good sturdy grab bars.
The bars on shower doors are not strong enough to be used for support.

I would strongly advise AGAINST one of the "walk in tubs".
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Reply to Grandma1954
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MargaretMcKen May 23, 2024
More details about "walk in tubs", please. I've never seen such a thing in Oz, and can't imagine how it would work satisfactorily. Perhaps it doesn't? Yours, Margaret
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@care13 hi.

I haven't purchased the shower buddy yet as I'm still hoping to find an exoskeleton medical device that will help my LO get into the shower more easily. There are several exoskeleton devices now available for people disabled with MS, Stroke, ALS, Parkinsons, and Spinal cord injury. These are FDA approved and Medicare will pay under some circumstances for them. These devices are currently way too expensive for self pay ($100,000+).

*IF* we can find the right kind of exoskeleton device and *IF*Medicare will pay for it we won't need a Shower Buddy.

Agreed, the Shower Buddy is relatively expensive (yes, ballpark $2800 -$6000 depending on which model and accessories you need). Medicare will not cover the cost. So it's self pay. But I think it's a highly rated product and it has many excellent features.

If you buy the Shower Buddy please let us know whether it meets or exceeds expectations.
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Reply to LostinPlace
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I have a powder room in our family room. Because the laundry room was behind it we had a walk in shower put in for my Mom while she lived here. It does have a 4 1/2 lip but we were told we could gave it flat to the floor. Has something to do with how it drains.
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