Injured-should we still go?

[Tinatheneedle]

Hi,
I’m a long time lurker and am truly grateful for all the information, help, and fun the Dis has given me over the years. Now I’m really in a bind and I need advice. Hopefully y’all have some answers:

The trip: May 19-25. Rented points at OKW. DH, DD, DGD(2.5) and Yours truly. 5 day park hoppers bought thru UT before price increase.

The problem:Last week I had arthroscopic knee surgery on my left knee. Compared to how I felt before the surgery, I’m a whole lot happier with my pain level. I knew I’d have to take it slow and ice my knee a lot on the trip, but the trip was doable. Until...the morning after surgery, in a fog of anesthesia, I thought I was getting out of bed but instead I fell. I broke my right fibula, a bone in my foot and my big toe. I’m in an air cast for 6-8 weeks.

Solutions so far we’ve considered:

cancelling. Almost impossible unless the timeshare store and UT would work with us to at least reschedule. Pretty sure that

Go anyway, but we had so many plans! Lots of fast passes utilizing riderswap and...how can I possibly do this? I’m an obsessive planner and I can’t see my way clear thru this whole process.

 

[Christine]

Sorry to hear that.

First, contact your rental place and explain your situation and see what they can do for you. If it's minimal impact to reschedule, then do so. If not, throw your hands up and go with it. Get a rental scooter and make the best of it.

Some of my relatives are at Disney now and one of the members of the party broke their ankle one week before the trip. Too late to change plans. It happens.

 

[SaraJR]

Hi,
I’m a long time lurker and am truly grateful for all the information, help, and fun the Dis has given me over the years. Now I’m really in a bind and I need advice. Hopefully y’all have some answers:

The trip: May 19-25. Rented points at OKW. DH, DD, DGD(2.5) and Yours truly. 5 day park hoppers bought thru UT before price increase.

The problem:Last week I had arthroscopic knee surgery on my left knee. Compared to how I felt before the surgery, I’m a whole lot happier with my pain level. I knew I’d have to take it slow and ice my knee a lot on the trip, but the trip was doable. Until...the morning after surgery, in a fog of anesthesia, I thought I was getting out of bed but instead I fell. I broke my right fibula, a bone in my foot and my big toe. I’m in an air cast for 6-8 weeks.

Solutions so far we’ve considered:

cancelling. Almost impossible unless the timeshare store and UT would work with us to at least reschedule. Pretty sure that

Go anyway, but we had so many plans! Lots of fast passes utilizing riderswap and...how can I possibly do this? I’m an obsessive planner and I can’t see my way clear thru this whole process.

If you aren't in physio I suggest looking up physio exercises and heating and cooling. Go but be aware you will need more rests

 

[Hrhpd]

Hi,
I’m a long time lurker and am truly grateful for all the information, help, and fun the Dis has given me over the years. Now I’m really in a bind and I need advice. Hopefully y’all have some answers:

The trip: May 19-25. Rented points at OKW. DH, DD, DGD(2.5) and Yours truly. 5 day park hoppers bought thru UT before price increase.

The problem:Last week I had arthroscopic knee surgery on my left knee. Compared to how I felt before the surgery, I’m a whole lot happier with my pain level. I knew I’d have to take it slow and ice my knee a lot on the trip, but the trip was doable. Until...the morning after surgery, in a fog of anesthesia, I thought I was getting out of bed but instead I fell. I broke my right fibula, a bone in my foot and my big toe. I’m in an air cast for 6-8 weeks.

Solutions so far we’ve considered:

cancelling. Almost impossible unless the timeshare store and UT would work with us to at least reschedule. Pretty sure that

Go anyway, but we had so many plans! Lots of fast passes utilizing riderswap and...how can I possibly do this? I’m an obsessive planner and I can’t see my way clear thru this whole process.

Of course you should go and enjoy yourself. WalMart has inexpensive chairs. Get one and use it whenever you can't walk. Bonus, your DGD will enjoy sitting on your lap when tired

 

[jdb in AZ]

Of course you should go and enjoy yourself. WalMart has inexpensive chairs. Get one and use it whenever you can't walk. Bonus, your DGD will enjoy sitting on your lap when tired

That's assuming OP's husband and DD are able to push. My DH pushed his mom in a wheelchair around Disneyland (it's not as flat as it looks!) and messed up his knee. Renting a scooter will give OP more independence without wearing out the relatives. Renting from a dealer in Orlando is cheaper than at WDW, better quality, and OP can ride the scooter back to the hotel.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Has your orthopedic doctor even given you the ok to go? How long is your car or plane ride?

 

[Tinatheneedle]

Some of my relatives are at Disney now and one of the members of the party broke their ankle one week before the trip. Too late to change plans. It happens.

How are they getting around? Can they stay in line in an ECV or does it have to be parked and they stand while waiting in line. I’d rather not use a wheelchair-then I really can’t do anything on my own.

 

[sam_gordon]

I agree with @Pea-n-Me. Question 1 is whether the doctor is ok with it. If not, and the rental company won't help you, this is what trip insurance is for.

If you're allowed to go, I'd say arrange for a scooter, go and have fun.

 

[Tinatheneedle]

If you aren't in physio I suggest looking up physio exercises and heating and cooling. Go but be aware you will need more rests

Yes, I had surgery Thursday and I started PT on the knee Monday. Will continue for a few months.

 

[Tinatheneedle]

Has your orthopedic doctor even given you the ok to go? How long is your car or plane ride?

We’re flying-about 2.5 hours. DME to OKW although I’m wondering if that’s a good idea... Before surgery ortho said yes. Now, with the broken leg I’m not sure...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

So surgery was on your left knee, but the injuries you sustained in the fall were on your right leg and foot. Wow!

 

[Tinatheneedle]

I agree with @Pea-n-Me. Question 1 is whether the doctor is ok with it. If not, and the rental company won't help you, this is what trip insurance is for.

If you're allowed to go, I'd say arrange for a scooter, go and have fun.

We NEVER travel without trip insurance when we cruise...and yet, land-based trips, not so much.

 

[Tinatheneedle]

So surgery was on your left knee, but the injuries you sustained in the fall were on your right leg and foot. Wow!

Yep. It’s a mess! I think we’re going and I’m so happy we rented a 2BR at OKW so I have a living area separate from where DGD sleeps. I have the feeling that we will all go to the park in early am, have lunch, leave and go back for nap/rest. Then it’s swimming(for them), dinner, and bed. If DH and DD want to go back out for late evening at a park, they go and I rest while DGD sleeps.

 

[fla4fun]

I would also check first to see if you can reschedule without a lot of hassle and cost.

If not, and if your doctors say it’s OK to go, then I would rent an ECV and go. Your trip will be different than what you expected, but it can still be fun. Sometimes the best memories happen when the plans go out the window.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yep. It’s a mess! I think we’re going and I’m so happy we rented a 2BR at OKW so I have a living area separate from where DGD sleeps. I have the feeling that we will all go to the park in early am, have lunch, leave and go back for nap/rest. Then it’s swimming(for them), dinner, and bed. If DH and DD want to go back out for late evening at a park, they go and I rest while DGD sleeps.

I think that's a good idea. It will be a different kind of trip for you, for sure, but at least you can still go if you do decide to go. That's the attitude we had this year, too, when my mother fractured her hip and had a replacement with long recovery prior to our trip. We weren't sure she (or we) would make it, either. She did eventually get the blessings of her orthopedic team, with one stipulation. I'm not going to say what that is. But I think it would be wise for you to discuss it with your team first, as well. (My mother's surgery was almost two and a half months before our trip, though, and she was all done with rehab and PT and visiting nurses and all that.)

Having a wheelchair isn't so bad. We did wait in some lines with it, but you have to be able to get out of it sometimes in advance of the ride (they told us due to fire regulations), hold on to either people or railings if you need help getting to the ride itself, or be able to lower into the ride. (Thinking of Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's Flight, Test Track, Pirates, etc.) Rides that you can roll the wheelchair right onto are nice, but there aren't too many of those.

 

[kimblebee]

Go and be the volunteer bag holder while everyone else is on rides. You’ll be missing the ride experience, but still getting park time with your family.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I just returned from a long weekend trip. Hot as hades, and people I saw at WDW...

1)A girl, about 13-14 years old in a wheelchair with not ONE but BOTH arms in a cast up to her shoulders.
2) A little boy with a trache, on a ventilator! We were in a 75 minute line for the safari at Animal Kingdom.
3) a teenager in a leg boot

Handicapped people go to WDW, and they have fun. Just be aware you will need to rest more, not over do it, and I agree with getting an ECV rental outside WDW. Many companies will deliver to your resort. All of the line at WDW are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and ECVs. So you may sit in the chair while waiting in line.

 

[jdb in AZ]

WDW is very handicap friendly. Most of the rides you can drive an ECV right through the line. Some of the rides have stairs in the lines, and on those, the cast members will direct you to a different area with an elevator. If there's a lot of scooters or wheelchairs, the lines can end up being longer than the standby line, but that doesn't happen very often. Sometimes you'll be given a special fastpass that will tell you when to return. You might also check at City Hall and see if they'll give you a handicap card which will give your group (up to six people total) front-of-the-line access on several of the rides. It's not always offered, but it's worth checking.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We had an already-planned trip once when DH ended up with his foot in an air-cast. He rented an EVC, and we still had a great time! (In fact, DS's favorite memory of that trip was being taken into Turtle Talk by a special door and getting to sit in the front. - He got picked to talk to Crush and everything!) I say if your docs OKs it, go ahead.

 

[cabanafrau]

Hope it works out well and you heal quickly.