Disabled man rescued after 6 days in bathtub

Published: September 6, 2003 | 110th good news item since 2003

A disabled man who slipped and fell in his bathtub was trapped there for six days before he was rescued by a van driver who arrived at the house for a scheduled trip.

Bruce Ashworth, 55, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, fell on August 29 and was unable to reach the safety handles on the bathtub to rescue himself. His service dog, Libby, brought a phone to him, but the battery wasn’t charged.

Ashworth managed to reach a cleaning spray bottle, which he rinsed out and used to drink water.

As the days stretched on, he said he drifted in and out of consciousness, and Libby would lick his face to wake him up. Ashworth said he worried he would die.

Then, on Thursday, Julie Johnson, who drives a van for elderly and disabled people, arrived to pick up the retired engineer for a scheduled trip.

When no one answered the door, she asked a neighbor to call 911, then was able to reach through a dog-door to unlock a door into the home. She found Ashworth in the bathtub, barely coherent. Firefighters arrived and took him to a hospital.

“I am so thankful for this lady,” Ashworth said from his hospital bed Friday. Johnson said she was just happy she could help.

Published in Rescues
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