For as long as she’s been able, Namine has climbed in and out of the bathtub herself. This has invariably meant climbing head-first, resulting in her ending up upside down for a little while. This is far from ideal, and now, thanks to her new electric bath lift, no longer necessary.
The lift has an exchangeable mat, suction cup feet, and a chargeable waterproof control. It is, for all its features, much more compact than we expected. We had anticipated a large, bulky thing. Contrary to that, it folds up such that we’d be able to take it with us when we travel, if we were so inclined.
As it is with any new equipment, there will of course be a period of adjustment. Upon her first time using the lift, it took Namine longer to transfer from her wheelchair to it — and vice versa. “It felt weird,” she told me. “Crawling headfirst into the tub feels normal for me. This doesn’t.”
I can appreciate how different this is. This is a point on which we — Jessica and I — disagree with Namine on how things should be. There is an inherent risk in her crawling headfirst and upside down into the tub, one that is unnecessary with the right adaptive equipment. Namine understands that, even if she feels that the status quo didn’t need to change.
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