Curbless Shower for My Disabled Wife

My 65 year old wife, Lori, has gradually become severely disabled. She has an unknown neurological problem that doctors have not been able to diagnose or treat.

As a result she can no longer walk. She also has trouble with speaking and fine motor skills along with Alzheimer-like symptoms. She is confined to a wheelchair but can't move it herself.

Over the past 4 years we moved out of our two-story house to make things easier. We did lots of renovations to that house (widened doorways, gutted and renovated both the kitchen and bathroom, added ramps, etc). After 2 years of living there as Lori's disability progressed it became clear we needed to move again to a more handicapped accessible house. We still needed to do a bunch of renovations. In all we've spent over $250,000 between multiple moves and renovations. We are also spending about $50,000 annually for in-home care. None of these expenses are at all covered by insurance.

Bathing in particular is incredibly challenging. I have to lift her out of her wheelchair and into the shower, then lift her out of the shower when she is done and back into the wheelchair. I'm 67 years old and have my own physical issues. Helping her in and out of the shower every day is taking its toll on me, it's like lifting a 175 pound sack of wet sand. We've had a few accidents, one resulted in a couple broken ribs for Lori.

We stayed in a hotel last summer with a "curbless" shower, I could simply push her wheelchair into the shower and back out without lifting her. I got a couple of quotes to install a curbless shower in our house, they were between $30,000 and $50,000. I also looked into getting in-home care to help her bathe. Most in-home care providers don't provide that kind of help. The ones that do would cost a lot more than a curbless shower.

Any amount you can contribute would be greatly appreciated.