This chair has a double life: When it’s not a shower chair, it is repurposed as a commode.
One couple, living in a small apartment in Pennsylvania at the time and whom we’ll call Ben and Tina, found that this was the best way to meet Tina’s toileting needs. “It is actually sold as a shower chair,” Ben tells me. “It’s sturdy enough that it feels pretty safe to sit on in it. The cheap ones that they sell at the drug store are very flimsy, they don’t have a proper backrest. This is also waterproof.” It was not cheap, it cost them around three hundred dollars out of pocket.
Although it is originally meant to be used as a shower chair, it is tall enough that it can be set on top of a standard toilet if needed. But their bathroom isn’t big enough to accommodate it. It also has wheels on the bottom, which are now locked in place, so it can be moved from room to room. This chair has a padded seat with a hole in the middle, arm rests, and the back of the chair has a blue netted fabric. There’s even a small matching foot stool made of the same PVC pipe for her feet to rest on. When it’s in use as a commode, they usually slide a five gallon pain bucket under neath it with a thick black trash bag. They place an absorbent pad or chux under it as well to catch any spills.
“It basically is carried out of the shower…this is nice, you can just bring it into any of the room she’s in and use the Hoyer Lift to put her on there.” Ben says. Tina tells me that this took years of trial and error, but she’s happy they’ve finally found something that works.
This is also the same shower chair that slides on rails and appears here.