Bathing

As an OT I did not know how tiring a.m. care is because I watched stroke survivors do only parts of a few a.m. tasks.  Here is why bathing leaves me feeling refreshed instead of exhausted.

Washing.  I do not struggle to soap up a washcloth one-handed or chase a bar of soap after I drop it.  I pour shower gel on a nylon poof and knead it a few times to get it soapy.  To get suds on my sound left arm, I use a gross grasp in my affected right hand to hold the nylon poof.  My sound hand brings the nylon poof to my sound shoulder and squeezes out suds.  After I wash my hair I use a hand full of shampoo suds to wash my face.

Initially I was not able to rinse by holding the shower hose with my affected hand (see photo).  Instead I used my forearm to press the hose against my stomach.  Water runs downhill.  This freed my sound hand to deal with the nooks and crannies.  If my husband was alive I would still want to bathe this private part of my body.  I do not struggle to wring out a washcloth one-handed.  I hang the nylon poof on a suction-cup hook, hose it down, and let it air dry.

Drying.  My towel rack is next to the shower so I can grab the towel while sitting on my shower chair.  I drape the towel over one shoulder which frees my sound hand to dry my arms and trunk.  This means I drip less water when I get out of the shower.  With the towel draped over my shoulder, my sound hand is free to put the towel back on the rack.  I don a terry-cloth bathrobe which dries my buttocks and thighs.  I air dry my calves while I brush my teeth and comb my hair.

Dressing.  For the 1st year after my stroke dressing was easier if I rested after bathing.  I laid on the bed wearing my terry-cloth bathrobe with a towel under my wet hair.  The time passed pleasantly while I listened to music on the radio.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com