Wet Room Application!!

Well, I said on my last post that I would write a post about my wet room application. Little did I know that the application was being dealt with and would be going through VERY soon!

I'll start at the beginning!

I have been having trouble having a shower for quite some time now. Because our shower is over our bath, I need to climb into the bath to be able to have a shower. That in itself has been a problem for a few years but over the past couple of years, I have had problems standing in the bath, washing my hair, getting in and out of the bath, towelling myself dry...........let's just say, I have had numerous problems with bathing.

I started seeing my Occupational Therapist in November 2009 and in December she put in a referral for social services to come and assess my need for a wet room.

At first, it didn't look good, because social services wanted to try and do as little as possible to resolve the situation - what I mean by that is they wanted to spend as little money as possible. I was quite frustrated by this, because my OT had already done an assessment and come to the conclusion that a wet room was required!

A few months later, I had an appointment with a social services OT. She agreed that a wet room was the best solution and together, with my OT, an application was put together.

This was done after we had all been to a local independent living place, so that we could see what was available and what would be required to suit my needs.

This was worthwhile because we came across some brilliant equipment.

There is the most amazing toilet. It is called a Geberit Aquaclean - check it out at http://www.geberit.co.uk/geberit/inet/uk/wcmsuk.nsf/pages/prod-aqua-1

It can be used as a regular toilet, but it also has some amazing extras! It can wash and dry and it has a sensor flush so I don't even need to push a button! It is self cleaning and looks like a "normal" toilet. I was able to try it (behind closed doors) and I was gobsmacked. I didn't even know something like this was available!

We were also shown a full body dryer. This is ceiling mounted and so I would be able to sit underneath it and get dry without the need for towelling myself and the pain that that has been causing me.

They also had push button showers. These mean that I don't have to turn taps on, which I am unable to do at the moment. It is all programmed on the unit and I then press the button which starts it all off!

It was also recommended that I would need a glide about chair. This is basically a chair on wheels, but it would mean that if I am having a particularly bad day, Martin can get me in the chair and wheel me into the wet room. I can then sit under the shower and sit under the body dryer.

The wet room would have a non slip flooring too.

The idea of all this, just blew me away. To be more independent with my bathing needs and to have equipment that would save me some pain, I just couldn't get my head around it!

So the application was drawn up and checked over. All these things were asked for but I didn't expect to have it all authorised. I know money is tight for social services to do these things.

A few weeks ago, I had the application sent to me for myself and my OT to check over. After a few changes, the application was then sent to the relevant department.

I was under the impression that the process of the application being looked at and gone through would now take up to six months.

I had a phone call last week, someone from the council wanted to come and look at the bathroom, do some measurements etc. We made the appointment, not really understanding what to expect.

The gentleman came last Friday.

He had various forms for us to sign and he was talking as though the work could start very quickly. They have a system now that allows certain applications to be fast tracked. We signed all the forms, still not believing that anything would be happening too soon.

He said he would speak to their contractor and let us know when they would want to come back to our property for the contractor to look. Again, we didn't think that this would be too soon.

You can imagine our surprise when we got a message to say that they would be here on Monday morning (today) with the contractor.

We still didn't really know what this meant or when the work was likely to start, even if it had been authorised.

They arrived this morning and luckily I already had an appointment with my OT, so she was here to check what was going on and ask any relevant questions.

They went up to the bathroom and were measuring up. They were talking about all the relevant bits of equipment and what would need to be done to fit them in.................we have a tiny bathroom!

You can imagine my shock, when I was told that the work will be starting next Monday!

I burst into tears! I have waited so long for this and to be honest, I thought it would be at least another six months before any likelihood of it starting. It also looks as though we are getting all the items of equipment that have been asked for too.

I can't believe it!

To have some independence back and to have all the hygienic items to help me feel so much cleaner (especially with all the toilet needs I have - see my Peristeen post). It's just amazing!

I have the utmost respect for my OT, social services and the people who are carrying out the work!

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