Accessible commode

[Pootersmom]

My husband is a paraplegic.  We took a cruise for our honeymoon about six years ago and had a great time.  My husbands physical strength has deteriorated and he no longer believes he could manage the toilets found on cruise ships.  Normal commodes have a tank which positions the seat about a foot from the wall.  Cruise ship commodes have the seats project directly from the wall.  He mounts the commode facing toward the wall and without that 12 inches between the seat and the wall,  there is no place for his legs.  He has been a paraplegic for 37 years and facing away from the wall is not an option for him.  Has anybody ever faced this challenge and found a good solution for it?

[mets123]

Both Royal and Carnival have portable commode that are available upon request. Would that help. Don't know about other lines but I would assume they gave the same.

[Essiesmom]

I don't think a portable commode would work...still have to face forward and no place for legs...EM

[Pootersmom]

That is correct Essiesmom.  He may be right that we will have to put cruising in our rear view mirror.   I just had hoped that maybe there were different commode designs somewhere out there on certain cruise lines, cruise ships or even stateroom types.  Our experience is limited but it was worth the try to inquire.

[1025cruise]

I have sailed a handful of cruise lines, and the toilets have all been the same. I think the only option would be a commode that is "standalone" and would need to be emptied. I don't have any experience as to whether or not such an animal exists.

[nextcruiseis]

There are portable commodes with drop-down arms that might work. However, these are usually not the type provided by the cruise line and you would have to rent it from the specific cruise-line approved vendor (eg Scootaround, Special Needs at Sea). 

[Wheeling & cruising]

On 12/24/2019 at 6:00 PM, Pootersmom said:

My husband is a paraplegic.  We took a cruise for our honeymoon about six years ago and had a great time.  My husbands physical strength has deteriorated and he no longer believes he could manage the toilets found on cruise ships.  Normal commodes have a tank which positions the seat about a foot from the wall.  Cruise ship commodes have the seats project directly from the wall.  He mounts the commode facing toward the wall and without that 12 inches between the seat and the wall,  there is no place for his legs.  He has been a paraplegic for 37 years and facing away from the wall is not an option for him.  Has anybody ever faced this challenge and found a good solution for it?

 

[Wheeling & cruising]

Hi, there joy of travelling!   My husband  also has a spinal cord injury C6C7.  We take our own commode/shower chair with us.  It’s a pain but we have not been able to rent a commode that is comfortable.

taxi drivers are not overly happy with 2 chairs.  On our commode I take the big back wheels off and set the chair upside down on one of the back seats.

if you are flying it flys with the odd size luggage such as golf bags or baby strollers.

 

i hope that helps

Marlene

[Splinter]

Why does he need to sit facing backwards on the toilet?

 

We had a travel shower/commode chair from Italy called the Cameleon which was great and easy to pack. No distributor in the USA though.

 

Many people who travel a lot like the Nuprodx travel shower/commode chairs. They are not cheap, but they are very durable, and fold up small in a travel case.

https://www.nuprodx.com/

Edited January 1, 2020 by Splinter

[Pootersmom]

48 minutes ago, Splinter said:

Why does he need to sit facing backwards on the toilet?

 

We had a travel shower/commode chair from Italy called the Cameleon which was great and easy to pack. No distributor in the USA though.

 

Many people who travel a lot like the Nuprodx travel shower/commode chairs. They are not cheap, but they are very durable, and fold up small in a travel case.

https://www.nuprodx.com/

 

It’s actually more stable, and he uses the water in the bowl to help ....”induce movement“, and transferring laterally to the bowl is too dangerous.  He “launches” on and off with his arms, either forward or backward.