FEATURES:

• Folds for storage and travel
• Textured nonslip seat with drain holes
• Contoured durable plastic seat and backrest
• Built-in holder for optional handheld shower
• Durable 1” anodized aluminum frame will not rust
• Lifetime limited warranty

Shower time is the most relaxing and productive time of my day. I daydream. I fantasize. I scheme. I plot the novel I never seem to write when dry. I read and reread instructions and ingredients on the backs of shampoo and conditioner bottles. Through the window, I watch traffic on the George Washington Bridge. I shower so long that my hands and foot prune.

Last month my special lady-friend bought me the Invacare Folding Shower Chair Model 9981, which has four aluminum legs and a white plastic seat and backrest, each with strategically placed holes for drainage. Sadly, the folding feature is counterintuitive and clumsy. So I don’t bother with it, leaving the shower chair planted in the middle of the tub for my special lady-friend to circumnavigate.

The Invacare Folding Shower Chair Model 9981 is the Cadillac of shower chairs. I know of which I speak. Ten years ago I had the misfortune of having my left leg amputated, causing me to change much of my daily routine—not the least of which being my shower ritual. I quickly learned standing on a slick shower floor with one foot is not only dangerous, it’s tiring. So, I have spent much time in different showers sitting on different things—including lawn chairs, a cinderblock, plastic milk crates, and an assortment of shower chairs, some made by Invacare and some not.

—E. Tyler Lindvall