Woman Impaled on shower
Woman OK after shower impaling
BY NANCY DILLON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
The 92-year-old Harlem woman who was impaled on a shower faucet for six hours was recovering from her injuries yesterday as friends marveled at her resilience.
"I'm in a lot of pain," Thelma Riley told the Daily News from her Harlem Hospital bed.
The retired schoolteacher turned to show a deep red-and-purple bruise running from her right arm down her stitched-up back.
"She's as strong as a bull," her downstairs neighbor Artise Adams, 78, said affectionately.
Riley "kept it together and never lost consciousness," during her ordeal, Adams added.
Friends said Riley, who lives alone and has no children, has trouble walking.
She made the fateful decision to shower unattended Wednesday because she wanted to clean up for a physical therapy appointment.
They said she slipped and fell backward on a protruding metal faucet and spent the next six hours with its star-shaped knob wedged in the fatty tissue below her right shoulder.
Her banging and cries for help went unheard until about 6 p.m.
"It was the worst sight I have ever seen," said Adams, who called 911. "The cold water was running on her the entire time."
Firefighters used bolt cutters to disconnect the knob, and doctors at Harlem Hospital painstakingly removed it.
Neighbors said they hope to persuade Riley to hire a full-time health aide when she returns home.
"But she's proud," Adams said. "She's stubborn."
Originally published on March 4, 2005
Woman OK after shower impaling
BY NANCY DILLON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
The 92-year-old Harlem woman who was impaled on a shower faucet for six hours was recovering from her injuries yesterday as friends marveled at her resilience.
"I'm in a lot of pain," Thelma Riley told the Daily News from her Harlem Hospital bed.
The retired schoolteacher turned to show a deep red-and-purple bruise running from her right arm down her stitched-up back.
"She's as strong as a bull," her downstairs neighbor Artise Adams, 78, said affectionately.
Riley "kept it together and never lost consciousness," during her ordeal, Adams added.
Friends said Riley, who lives alone and has no children, has trouble walking.
She made the fateful decision to shower unattended Wednesday because she wanted to clean up for a physical therapy appointment.
They said she slipped and fell backward on a protruding metal faucet and spent the next six hours with its star-shaped knob wedged in the fatty tissue below her right shoulder.
Her banging and cries for help went unheard until about 6 p.m.
"It was the worst sight I have ever seen," said Adams, who called 911. "The cold water was running on her the entire time."
Firefighters used bolt cutters to disconnect the knob, and doctors at Harlem Hospital painstakingly removed it.
Neighbors said they hope to persuade Riley to hire a full-time health aide when she returns home.
"But she's proud," Adams said. "She's stubborn."
Originally published on March 4, 2005
