I still see my parents as the youthful couple I knew growing up, but over the past 12 months they have started to feel the effects that come with old age. In his youth my dad was a tremendous cricketer, he would tell you he played with the agility of a panther (this probably stems from my gramps, who once played football for England so sport was inherent in his blood). Nowadays he struggles around the house; reaching in cupboards, getting up the stairs and in or out the bath are all difficult.
That was until I managed to persuade him to buy a walk in bath. He can be a very stubborn man, and the persuasion took a little while to bring him round. He would argue the cost would be too much, that he likes the bath he has now as he can ‘lie properly in it’, and that it would mean he needed to redecorate the bathroom. These were poor excuses, in my eyes, so I made it my goal to make him agree to at least look into them.
After 3 months of nudging him in the direction of getting a bath, he finally agreed to visit a showroom. We visited Walk-In-Baths UK, based in west Yorkshire and, possibly due to the sales technique, probably to the fact he actually agreed with me, (although he wouldn’t tell you that!), dad bought a walk in bath.
10 days after the purchase, the builders installed the bath. They took the old one out and linked up the new bath. The bath dad went for was an ‘adagio Grande’. It is a compact bath tub that makes excellent use of limited space. It has a wide, inward-opening door that features no hazardous catches or operating devices, making getting in and out of the bath easy.
It’s been 4 months since dad had the bath installed now and I know he has seen the benefits. He no longer groans when getting in the bath, and he can still enjoy his customary hour-long soak. Mum is also happy… she’s had the bathroom redecorated!
