Now that Julia is back home, we have been working to get Justin's apartment shower to be accessible. There is a lip of four inches outside of the shower and a drop of about three inches into the shower. The space in front of the shower is tight and faces his laundry closet.
We bought a curb ramp to address the outside lip. It's a short and steep up for a shower chair moving sideways. For the inside, we are trying out a perforated rubber mat on the bottom, paving stones on top of the rubber mat, and then another rubber mat on top. This still leaves a way for the water to drain.
His staff has been doing sponge baths for over a month, but the house manager isn't happy about that as a long term plan. Justin is fine with the sponge baths and isn't thrilled about the potential bumpy ride in and out of the shower. Even when he had a walk-in shower in the dorms, he was only showering once per week to supplement sponge baths.
Sunday morning, we will try it out and see if the plan (and Justin) works. We will go slow. We practiced with the empty shower chair, but adding 180 lbs to the shower chair will be a significant change.
We dragged Justin out of his apartment yesterday and walked over to the nearby Madison zoo with one of his caregivers. Justin never wants to leave but is usually happy when he finally gets outside. Yesterday was a nice sunny day in the 60's, and he didn't get too cold (Justin never wears long pants or shoes--even in the middle of winter).
We then ordered a Wisconsin fish fry for carry-out, and then watched some of the Milwaukee Bucks' basketball game at Justin's apartment. Watching tv sports and playing video games is how Justin currently spends most of his time.
I have to say that he has been doing a better job of managing his personal finances. He successfully negotiated receiving both energy and internet subsidies for low income folks. Justin also has an appointment next week with Wisconsin Department of Vocational Rehabilitation to see about part time job options. And he figured out a way to get an absentee ballot for his new address and voted!
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