The 69-year-old was alone at home in the rental apartment in Malmö on Christmas Eve. When she was about to go to the toilet, the bathroom door locked. When she tried to get out, the lock spun around without going up.
– It felt as if the stomach turned inside out. I panicked. Total panic. It was felt in the whole body, it was a very nasty feeling, says the woman to Hem & Hyra.
Had warned the landlord about the lock
It was nothing new that the lock to the toilet door was messed up. The 69-year-old had previously warned the landlord and told the caretaker that there was trouble. They had claimed that it was working as it should.
The following four days became a nightmare. Inside the small bathroom, she would manage without food and blood pressure medication. The woman screamed in the hope that the neighbors would hear her. Once someone rang the doorbell, another time someone knocked on the wall. But nothing more.
– I thought my last moment had come. It felt so stupid – is this how I’m going to die now?
“Like lying in a coffin”
The 69-year-old tried several times, using different techniques, but could not open the lock.
– In the end I just gave up. But of course I thought: Why did I lock the door? So idiotic. I also tried to kick the door but it was just ridiculous. I had no strength for it at all.
Among other things, she tried to sleep in the bathtub, which was “like lying in a coffin”. The woman therefore made her bed with towels on the floor.
The daughter: Thought the mother was dead
The 69-year-old had planned to have Christmas brunch with her three grown-up children and grandchildren later in the week – which was her saving grace. The children began to react to her not responding in the family’s group chat.
– When she didn’t come to the brunch, we really understood that there was something. We went to her house as a team. Then I thought she would be lying dead in the hall. It was terrible, says one of the daughters.
Not compensated by the landlord
When they finally got into the apartment, they heard their mother’s voice, faintly from the bathroom. Like the 69-year-old, the children are also unable to open the door. Together, they manage to force open the toilet door, which is completely destroyed.
– She was calm but probably also traumatized. The first thing she said was: I have nothing at home to offer, says the daughter.
It has now been almost three months since the incident. The 69-year-old tells Hem & Hyra that she recovered but never locks the toilet door again.
The door has now been replaced by the landlord, a municipal housing company in Malmö. However, the woman has not received any compensation for the incident.