Rubber Duck Saves Life Of Woman Stuck In Bathtub

(June 8) -- A 90-year-old woman spent three days trapped in her bathtub after becoming too weak to pull herself out, the San Jose Mercury News reported Thursday.
Shirley Madsen, of Walnut Creek, Calif., survived her ordeal by drinking water from a rubber duck with a hole in the bottom.
When Madsen got into the tub on May 27, she forgot to put her phone within reach and could not call for help when she got trapped.
Madsen survived for three days stuck in the bathtub by continually replacing the cooling bath water with fresh water from the tap to stay warm. She also used one of her collection of rubber ducks as a drinking cup to keep hydrated during her confinement.
"I have never been so terrified in my life," Madsen later told the Mercury News.
After three days with no word from their mother, Madsen's two daughters grew concerned. Daughter Diane Weber went to Madsen's home where she found her mother trapped in the bathroom and summoned an ambulance.
Following a three-day hospital stay, Madsen was sent home to recover from minor injuries. She worked out a routine to check in with relatives and is getting a waterproof medical alert device. But Madsen also advocates an easy safety plan: "Get a bunch of rubber duckies and make sure one of them can't swim," she joked.