82-Year-Old NC Woman Rescued After 9 Days in Bathtub

An 82-year-old North Carolina woman survived nine days trapped in her bathtub after a fall left her injured and unable to call for help, relying on her own resourcefulness and a timely welfare check by authorities. Joan Rivet was discovered semiconscious by Haywood County Sheriff's deputies on June 10 at her home in Clyde, ending an ordeal that began on the night of June 1.

Rivet was preparing for bed when she lost her footing, fell backward into the tub, and pulled down the shower curtain and rod. The fall injured her back, leaving her unable to climb out. Her phone was in another room, beyond her reach. For the next nine days, she drifted in and out of consciousness, calling for help with only her cat, Phoebe, for company.

To survive, Rivet used her foot to turn on the bathtub faucet, splashing water toward her face to drink. She had no access to food. In interviews, she described praying and making a conscious decision to avoid despair. "I stayed away from the dark side of the whole situation because once you go down there, how do you get out?" she said.

Her rescue was initiated by her brother, Bill Lesko, who lives in Georgia. After Rivet stopped answering their regular...