Why can I not still sit in a bathtub at 1 1/2 years after a successful fusion surgery

[rohrer01]

We had similar open showers at my school here in the UK in the late 1980s/early 1990s *shivers* - not something I like to look back on! It was worse for my husband though.....he went to a private Catholic school for boys, where some of the masters were monks, and one of the monks used to chase the boys around the showers with a fencing foil! AND, you won't believe this, but another friend of mine went to one of the top boys' schools in the country and they had to do nude swimming there.....not only were all the boys naked, but the adult swimming master was too. Unbelievable, but true! This was only stopped in the mid 1970s, which was fortunate for my friend as he was only there for a year or so before it got banned.

Sometimes, I am not altogether surprised that England has such a dodgy reputation abroad!

I don't think it's "England" as much as the Catholic church. No offense to you Catholics out there, it has nothing to do with you personally. But this story just SCREAMS pedophilia! Very scary, indeed!

[tonibunny]

Well, whilst I do think the fencing-foil monk sounds very dodgy, the other boys' school I referred to - where the nude swimming took place - was a private non-religious grammar school. Nude swimming was seen as a terribly healthy activity for sporting young chaps, which seems hysterically archaic these days. The school's argument was that the boys wouldn't have to carry wet swimming trunks around with them afterwards!! They are very, very embarrassed about all of this these days. The school remains one of the top academic schools in England.

Sorry, didnt mean to take the thread off on such a tangent!

[Susie*Bee]

Back to the shower thing-- yes, rohrer, we were supposed to strip down and then got this tiny towel to use (they were handed out, if I remember correctly, when you came OUT of the shower room. I also remember getting demerits because I asked to be excused from dressing for gym once because I had started my period after I got to school and had a little "leakage" before I could get to the bathroom and buy something... The gym teacher said I should have been prepared and been wearing/using something already. She said girls should calculate their periods and keep it all written on a calendar so there would be no surprises. Did anyone do that in high school back in the 60s? I don't think so. And who would be that regular? I sure wasn't!

Back to the bathtub situation... Toni- I am fused T2-L4, but I can't do that. How many vertebrae do you have fused? Or maybe it has to do with arthritis in the hips and knees also.

BTW--very interesting about the boys swimming nude! I know at our elementary school the kids all take swimming for about 9 weeks (?) and I know for some it is pretty embarrassing in the locker room to have to change out of your wet suit in front of others. Locker rooms are just the pits.

[tonibunny]

Susie, I'm fused T1-L4 but don't feel restricted in any way. My back doesn't prevent me from doing any activities that I like doing (such as hiking, climbing mountains, swimming and cycling). I'm 38 years old so my hips and knees are fine so far....I'd imagine that arthritis in these joints would certainly affect your ability to sit or kneel in a bathtub though.

I really felt sorry for my friend when he told me about the nude swimming! He would have been 11-12 at the time, and he says he was quite plump at that age. How utterly mortifying it must have been!

[Susie*Bee]

Ah, youth... my girls were little when I was your age and we did a lot of active things. I work as an elementary librarian (it's a very stressful job, teaching all the classes, and then putting away all those books is a pain, literally, as I have to get down on my hands and knees for the bottom shelves--and they've been checking out over 4,000 books each month) but I actually have my B.S. in wildlife management. Ha ha. I'm so happy that you can do all of that. I can do some, but with my working during the day and feeling dead by the time I get home and have to fix dinner and all, I don't have much oomph. I am retiring at the end of the school year and maybe with some of the extra time I can get to doing some more things... I plan to get back on my PT regimen, so that would help. And yes, that nude swimming would be mortifying! Poor guy.

[rohrer01]

I really felt sorry for my friend when he told me about the nude swimming! He would have been 11-12 at the time, and he says he was quite plump at that age. How utterly mortifying it must have been!

Not to keep going off topic here, but in the original Greek games, the men were all nude. Women weren't allowed in, of course.

It's too bad that there isn't some kind of floating device that those of you who are having trouble laying down in the tub could hang on to, or lay on, until you are under the water. But if your bathtub has a straight back design, that wouldn't help much. My downstairs bathroom has a slanted design and is much more comfortable. I would still check Amazon or some other online store to see if there are any bathtub implements that could help you all. I'm sorry you are going through this.

[jane d]

Lying on the floor

Doreen, you asked how I managed that. My trainer asked me to so I could do a particular exercise. I simply went down on one knee, and down on my side then rolled onto my back. She did put a roll under my head and then I used stretch bands to stretch out the backs of my legs--one at a time.
Jane

[scooter950]

great topic

Oh I love everyone's comments- I am concerned about getting on the floor to play with my puppies ( 13 yr & 4 yr. old "puppy")

I know I need to get in shape , now - i wish I was aready FUSED. thanks for sharing your tips.... reading with great interest- Jamie in TX

[golfnut]

I am sitting at home watching a golf tournament with my husband and thought I'd check the latest posts from the forum. This particular one was very interesting with the nude swimming and all!
I am fused from T4 to the sacrum and can get to the floor and lay on my back without a problem. I get on all fours, go to my left hip, then left shoulder, and log roll to my back.

[susancook]

Karen: how can you do that in a bathtub without creating a tsunami? Susan

[golfnut]

Susan,
You are right. That would probably create at least a huge overspill of the water. I skimmed too quickly through a former post and my reply was how to get down on the floor instead of into the tub as asked.

[rohrer01]

Karen: how can you do that in a bathtub without creating a tsunami? Susan

You could get in and then fill the tub with water. That's how I always do it, especially when my lower back hurts. It's easier to lay down first. Then I use my feet to control the faucet.

[moonglow]

Pedophilia is across the board wherever there are children, and is just as prevalent with rabbis, teachers, doctors, coaches, and youth ministers. It has nothing to do with any one particular religion. Please do not criticize anyone's religion.

[Pooka1]

Pedophilia is across the board wherever there are children, and is just as prevalent with rabbis, teachers, doctors, coaches, and youth ministers. It has nothing to do with any one particular religion. Please do not criticize anyone's religion.

That's a matter of how the facts roll up.

In any case, everything must be on the table for criticism if society is to ever advance. It is the only way to weed out bad ideas.

[susancook]

One minute we are talking about getting into a bathtub and the next about pedophilia. Did I miss the link between the two?