Waitress saves life of elderly woman stuck in bath for four days
An elderly woman who became trapped in her bathtub for four days has been rescued after the waitress at her favourite local cafe noticed her absence and became worried for her safety.
Café Employee, Sonia Congrave, sounded the alarm that undoubtedly saved the life of 87-year-old Doreen Mann.
Mann became stuck in her bath when she found that she couldn’t move her legs to lift herself out.
"It was frightening in a sense because I didn't know how long I would be stuck there," she told local publication the Essex Echo.
Congrave realised something was amiss when her regular customer failed to return to the café for three days in a row.
"She didn't come in for a few days and then she didn't come in on Saturday like she always does, but I thought perhaps her cousin from Chelmsford was visiting her," Congrave told Essex Echo.
She then alerted local police.
"On the Monday she didn't come in and the best thing I did was call the police because I was concerned and luckily I had her address so the police went to check if she was ok."
The 87-year-old had severe bruising on her knees after several failed attempts to exit the bathtub.
She also survived the long stretch by drinking water directly from the tap and covering herself with towels.
"I went to turn over onto my knees to get out of the bath, and I couldn't," Mrs Mann told the BBC.
"My body wouldn't turn over.
"I don't understand how calm I kept. It wasn't natural. Something kept telling me 'keep calm'."
"Doreen is an amazing lady," Congrave said.
"All she wanted afterwards was her cake and a cup of tea."
She said she had since bought Ms Mann a mobile phone in case of any emergencies in the future.
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