Days of inconvenience

Last week the toilet between my semi-private and the next was out of order. Since the three other residents using it are ambulatory, they could use the toilet in the shower room. But, finding a toilet for me (a quadriplegic) was more complicated. 

I go to the bathroom by being put in my shower chair which is rolled over the toilet. But my shower chair will not clear the toilet in the shower room. 

The aides make shifted by putting a bedside commode bucket under my shower chair in the privacy of my “out of order” bathroom. During the daytime when a female resident was out at workshop, I could use her bathroom. 

But it was still stressful and inconvenient to move me back and forth to a usable toilet and to make sure that everything was clean afterward.

I heard not much could be done to improve the toilet’s flushing. The sewer pipes in this part of town are small and inadequate. We also have the problem of some residents flushing wipes, paper and other debris down the toilet. 

It is unfortunate that a 50-bed facility, built in the nineties, was constructed over less than optimum city sewage pipes. It seems clear that something needs to be done. 

While the toilet was out of commission, maintenance painted the bathroom and laid new floor tile which made the bathroom look better. But the toilet continues to plug and is plunged frequently.

I hope they can figure out a way to get the toilet workable soon.