Man survives 13 days stuck in shower

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Louis Schneider had only hopes and prayers after getting pinned in his apartment shower.

The 78 year old was getting out of the shower. “Lost my balance; slipped,” he told KRQE News 13.

Schneider tried to catch himself by grabbing one of the glass doors.

“The one I had a hold of, it came inside,” he said. It pinned him to the floor, and the metal edge sliced his thigh.

He lives alone, and he yelled for help hoping a neighbor would hear him. But no one did.

“I prayed to God to give me extra strength and some time and get me out of here," Schneider said.

Finally, after 13 days without food and water, neighbors realized they hadn't seen Schneider. A friend who didn’t want to be identified used a spare key to get it in to the apartment.

Schneider heard him and cried out.

“The first thing I did was grab the doors, hold the doors so the weight was off of him as much as possible," the friend said. "Then I reached in my pocket, grabbed my phone and called 911.

“Oh, my God. I was like, 'Louis. I am so sorry.'”

Schneider, who thought he was about to die, had just one request: to see pictures of his family.

“He had me grab his wallet, and he wanted to look at these pictures and it meant something,” the friend said.

Schneider is now being treated for the leg injury and for skin problems that developed because he was on his back in the wet tub for so long.

As for the future, Schneider said he wants to just live life day to day.

Schneider's friends are now trying to raise money to get him back to his family in Michigan.