82-Year-Old Woman Survives After Being Trapped in Bathtub for Nine Days

In North Carolina, USA, 82-year-old Joan Rivet remained trapped in her bathtub for nine days following an accident at home. Despite the ordeal, she managed to survive thanks to her extraordinary willpower and resourcefulness. This was reported by The Mountaineer publication.

The incident reportedly occurred on June 1 in Clyde, located in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, about 240 kilometers from Charlotte. As Joan Rivet was preparing for bed, she tripped in the bathroom and fell backward into the tub. The fall tore the shower curtain, and the metal rod fell on top of her.

“The first thing I thought was, ‘Oh God, what have I done?’” says Joan Rivet. The woman, who lost her husband in 2023, had been living alone since then.

She says that due to a severe back injury during the fall, she was unable to climb out of the tub. She screamed for help for several hours, but no one heard her. Only her cat, Phoebe, was meowing behind the bathroom door.

Hours turned into days. The woman says she occasionally lost consciousness and then regained it.

“I could only see it get dark outside and then light up again. Honestly, I lost track of the days,” she says.

Joan Rivet also recalls praying to God for help several times while in pain.

“I kept praying, ‘Lord, please help me, ease my pain,’” she says.

The woman had no children and was not working. Although she was unsure if help would come, she decided to fight to survive at all costs. To this end, despite the severe pain, she managed to turn on the bathtub faucet with her foot. She drank the water that splashed onto her face, keeping herself alive for nine days.

A few days later, her brother, Bill Lesko, who lives five hours away in Georgia, began to worry. It seemed strange to him that his sister was not answering his phone calls.

“I called for several days, but there was no answer. At first, I thought the phone wasn't working or she was busy. Then I realized something was wrong,” says Bill Lesko.

He contacted neighbors. They said Joan's car was in the driveway, but there was no movement around the house. As his concern grew, Bill Lesko contacted the Haywood County Sheriff's Office and asked them to check the house. When police officers entered the home on June 10, they found Joan Rivet in the bathtub in a semi-conscious state. She was immediately taken to the hospital.

The woman says she does not remember the moments of her rescue. At the hospital, doctors informed her that she had severe malnutrition, dehydration, and bedsores from lying in one position for so long. After doctors administered fluids and special nutrients intravenously, Joan slowly began to regain her strength. Later, she was transferred to a rehabilitation center in Waynesville.

Happily, Joan's cat, Phoebe, who had been without food and water for nine days, also survived. After this difficult ordeal, Joan Rivet decided not to live alone in the future. She now plans to move to Georgia to live with her brother.