San Leandro man invents portable shower for wheelchair users
By Martin Ricard, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 06/11/2007 02:44:44 AM PDT


SAN LEANDRO — Imagine what it would be like every morning to get out of bed and contemplate whether to take a shower, either because it might take too long to get in it or because of the fear of falling and lying helplessly there, wet and alone.
For most people, it probably never crosses their minds.

But if you use a wheelchair, it could be one of the most difficult decisions you have to make all week.

San Leandro resident Larry Arnold saw this firsthand when he had to take care of his mother, who had Alzheimer's disease, used a wheelchair and had a fear of getting wet.

Determined to help her get over her fear and enjoy what most people might take for granted — a hot shower — he invented a device that took all his mother's problems away: a portable shower, called the FAWSsit. And the device has steadily been catching wind.

And with so many soldiers these days coming home badly wounded — and inadequate care for them when they return — Arnold now sees another purpose for his device.

Helping disabled veterans.

"If you're disabled and you're a vet, the first thing you want to do when you get out of the hospital is take a shower," Arnold said. "But we're not prepared to take care of vets coming home with a missing leg (or something like that). This makes the transition a whole lot easier."

Out of the 52 million disabled Americans, 12 million of them use a wheelchair, according to the AARP.

Arnold has

sold more than 300 of his portable showers for wheelchairs to customersaround the country. Several months ago, the Christopher Reeves Foundation bought four of the devices because they were getting such rave reviews, he said.
Built to be practical and low-maintenance, the shower can be set up in a kitchen or garage — or practically anywhere near a water pipe — in minutes and gives the person privacy plus the freedom to shower without all the hassle.

It didn't take Arnold a whole lot of work to create the device, either. "It all comes back to what little skills I got from shop class," he said while in his auto upholstery business.

However, the dozen showers Arnold has sold to disabled veterans, he admits, have been his best sales so far.

Since Darwin Holmes, a veteran from Las Vegas, has been using the shower, he said his whole life has changed.

Although he didn't get injured in combat — he fell and broke his back on his honeymoon in Disneyland — his VA medical benefits didn't cover the cost to renovate his bathroom to accommodate his needs. Suddenly, something as routine as taking a shower became the biggest of tasks for him, he said.

Now Holmes is the spokesman for the FAWSsit and hopes the government or a large organization will take notice of the idea and endorse it not only for people who use wheelchairs, but for the nation's disabled veterans.

"With this shower, there's no reason why not every person in a wheelchair won't be able to take a shower," Holmes said in a phone interview. "It's one of those things where you go, 'Why wasn't this thought of 50 years ago?'"


Martin Ricard is a general assignment reporter who also covers San Leandro. He can be reached at (510) 293-2480 or mricard@dailyreviewonline.com.
San Leandro man invents portable shower for wheelchair users