Rubber duck woman's lifesaver

Shirley Madsen, who turned 90 last Thursday, survived three days trapped in her bathtub by drinking water from a rubber duck. "I have never been so terrified in my life," Madsen, of Walnut Creek, said of her harrowing experience.

Throughout the ordeal, she repeatedly replaced the cold bath water to stay warm. Madsen's biggest fear was dehydration because she was not able to cup enough fresh water in her hands to drink.

"I have this collection of rubber duckies. There is a fireman, a policeman and others," Madsen said. "I jokingly tell my friends that I am going home to take a bath with the boys."



On the second day of her watery ordeal, Madsen discovered that the sailor duck, a recent gift, had a hole in it, and that became her drinking cup.

After an ambulance trip and three days in the hospital, Madsen is back at home recovering from dry skin, the equivalent of two bed sores and a deep tissue bruise.

"I will never get in another bathtub, ever," Madsen said. With a laugh, she further advises: "Get a bunch of rubber duckies and make sure one of them can't swim."