Then there is a chair lift that was installed to allow me to sit comfortably while I whiz up and down to our recreation area. In all the bathrooms I had bars placed next to the toilets that could be easily lifted up out of the way for people who don’t need them. Last but not least are the bars within and around the main shower. In my shower is a terrific bar system that swings both left and right and can be securely stopped at five different position points. It protrudes from the wall’s main bar and a wide rounded bar can be gripped and placed forward and backward. I placed another swing away bar system just outside the shower door to assist me while coming out of the shower. I thought I had it all figured out.

What I didn’t count on was my automatic reaction to reach for anything while floating through the air during a fall. The one remaining towel bar that “was” affixed to the back wall was outside the shower door. Yesterday I tripped slightly and grabbed for the towel bar automatically simply because it was there. A bar is a bar right? Wrong!

A towel bar is not meant to hold any significant weight so it, along with me tumbled to the floor. Luckily I was not hurt but I can’t say the same for the wall where the bar holders once were. Needless to say it will be replaced with something more substantial. It would have been wiser of me to reach for the bar that was installed and meant to save me in such a circumstance but simply because the other bar was there, I reached for it instead. It’s not like someone actually has time to think during a catastrophe.

What did I learn from this?
Simple, don’t have any bars in place unless they can do the job of providing safety. Mine is not a lifestyle where style precedes function and safety; a bar is not just a bar in my household.