By Kerry Knight
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| Photo Credit: linkedin.com |
I’m retiring. Every time I say that it still sounds strange
to me. “I can’t retire,” I think to
myself. “I’m too young. I feel great.” It’s as if I’m speaking of someone else. Yet, then I realize I am at retirement age, 65-years-old.
Where have all the years
gone? I think back to certain events in
my life that were 20 or 30 years ago and it seems like they were just a few
years ago. It can’t be that far
back. But it is. So, I realize I have to accept it and move
on.
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And I now have a Medicare card. I feel guilty, as if I have something that
should belong to an older person. But I
qualify. When I go to the movies, I
qualify for the senior discount. At
first I refused it, then I thought, “Why not enjoy the benefits of retirement?” In one short year, I’ll qualify for Social
Security.
My wife and I are building a new
home. I don’t plan to ever move again
once it’s built, so we’re being careful to include everything that we could possibly
want, as long as it’s affordable. In the
master bath, the original plans called for a huge Garden Tub and a separate
shower unit. The tub is beautiful, but here’s
the caveat: it’s not right for us at this point in our lives. It’s designed for someone much younger,
someone who doesn’t have to ever worry about falling or stepping over a tall
ledge into a deep basin.
My wife was quick to notice how impractical
that tub will be. “I want to replace it
with a Walk-in Tub,” she said. At first,
I was surprised. Most women would go to
their grave before admitting they need a tub designed primarily for seniors
with mobility issues. However, she’s the
smart one in our family. In requesting a
Walk-in Tub, she was being pragmatic and realistic. “The day will come when we’ll need it,” she stated
matter-of-factly.
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| Photo Credit: sweatlikeapig.com |
Statistics don’t lie: most
fractures among older adults are caused by falls, and the most dangerous and
frequent place senior fall is in the bathroom.
Most common are fractures of the hip, forearm, leg, ankle, pelvis, upper
arm, and hand. Furthermore, the risk of
slamming one’s head on a hard surface in the bathroom (and there are several of
them) is frightening real. Twenty to 30%
of people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries. Once experiencing a fracture, it makes it much
harder for seniors to get around or live independently, thus increasing the
risk of early death. Many people who
fall, even if they aren’t injured, subsequently develop a fear of falling. This fear may cause them to limit their physical
activities, which leads to reduced mobility and loss of physical fitness, thus
again increasing the actual risk of falling.
In 2010, over 21,700 older adults died from unintentional fall injuries.
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My mother is 83 years old. She now requires around-the-clock care. She can’t even bathe herself. In nearly 20 years, when I reach her age, I
hope I can still take care of myself.
The Walk-in Tub could definitely
provide a significant advantage in this regard.
The Walk-in Tub is a self-contained unit. It stands about 40 inches off the floor and
will hold about 50 gallons of water. You
enter it by a hinged door on the side of the tub and step in. The threshold for entering and exiting is
only six inches, so raising the legs and causing instability doesn’t happen due
to its inherent design. Once the door is
closed and locked, because of its water-tight seal, it doesn’t leak. Then you sit down in the slip-resistant, molded
seat designed into the tub and soak in warm water. You can easily reach across the tub to the
controls and turn on the hot or cold water, empty the drain, and utilize the
hand-held shower sprayer with its four-foot, metal-braided hose. You can also control the water and/or air
jets. There is a convenient grab bar on
the inside for assisting with getting up and down. In other words, even if you were feeble, you
could take a bath without the help of anyone.
I like that. We do have our
pride, you know. Independent bathing is
vitally important to seniors. In
requesting that the contractor switch out the Garden Tub to a state-of-the-art
Walk-in Tub, my wife had looked forward 20 years and saw the eventual need.
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| Photo Credit: atlashomeimprovement.com |
When I was younger, and long before I was part owner in a specialty bathtub company, I dreamed of having my own portable spa in my home, where I could walk in and get the same treatment that I would get from a professional health spa. Now I can have it, and not a minute too soon.
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| Photo Credit: myrtlebeachbath.com |
Getting to our senior years and existing
comfortably during those years when we really might need help will provide new
challenges for my wife and me. Sure, having
that beautiful Garden Tub in our new master bath might be tempting, but it’s
not our best choice in the long term.
The Walk-in Tub might cost a little more, but overall, it will be one of
the best investments of our lives. We
don’t want to spend our retirement years fighting pain and ailments when we can
install something now that can help us later.
After all, that’s what planning ahead for our golden years is all
about.
In this article, I shared some of
my thoughts and issues upon facing imminent retirement. I then went on to
discuss how swapping out our new home’s Garden Tub with a safety-featured
Walk-in Tub makes much more sense for my wife and I. Then I shared some of key benefits Walk-in
Tubs can provide, such easy access and egress, water-tight door, safety bar, ergonomic controls, water and jet-therapy and more.
Customer Testimonial for a Walk-in Tub from Tub King
If you found this article useful,
please share it with your family, friends and co-workers. If you have a comment
related to this article, leave it in the Comment section of this blog.
Thanks again for visiting with
us.
If you’d like to receive
a FREE Walk-In Tub Buyers’
Guide, click here. Or, if you’d
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Tub Buyers’ Guide, click here.
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Kerry Knight is a former
co-owner of Tub King, Inc., and SeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville,
Florida (now retired). He and his brother, Alan, have many years of
experience in the antique and senior bathtub industries. Their companies not
only provide superior products, they are also award winners, receiving the
“Best of Jacksonville Chamber Award” four years running. If you’d like to
contact them, call (800) 843-4231 or send an email to Alan@tubking.com.
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