Seizures while at WDW

[loving mom of two]

Anybody know about the parks medical assistance? My family will be visiting WDW this June and our 10 year old has epilepsy. He has been averaging about three seizures a week. Hopefully we will not need them, but just in case.

TIA

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD has at least one seizure each time we vacation at WDW.
There is a First Aid station in each park. Most of them are sort of centrally located and they are marked on the maps. If you have any problems, you will find lots of CMs to direct you to First Aid. In fact, when DD has a seizure, sometimes we've just tipped her wheelchair back to let her sleep while DH or I sit on a bench. While she's sleeping, we usually get several CMs stop by to ask if we need any help. The CMs have radios and/or cell phones and can call help quickly if needed.
First Aid is staffed by RNs and they are very nice. The area is cool and quiet, with individual cubicles for resting in. MK has rooms with 3 walls and a curtain to pull across the front. Some of the others have cubicle walls rather than actual walls, but all have enough privacy. Each cubicle has a cot, a bedside table and a chair.
In our situation, DD uses a wheelchair, so if she had a seizure while in line, we would not have to worry about her falling and hitting the bars used to divide lines (plus, we have a way to get her out of line). You should probably think of what you would do if your son has a seizure while in line. If he is not using a wheelchair, you should go to Guest Services in the parks and explain your situation to them (do a search on this board for GAC or Guest Assistance Card).

 

[SueM in MN]

Here's a link to a recent thread about seizures.

 

[loving mom of two]

Thanks for the good advice! We are going to look into a GAC for our son.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

We just went to Feb 13th -18th WDW with Ds who was having 3-4 a day. Definitely get the GAC. It made what could have been a horrible vacation was amazing If you have any questions please ask

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=745480&highlight=3disneynuts

Here is the thread on our trip experience.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Our daughter had one while we were there in November. We're fortunate in that she had surgery a couple of years back and can now breathe better through them, but they can still be scary!
When she did, the manager of the ABC commissary graciously had us bring her in there in the cool, while they called the EMS. They got there in great time, took her vitals, and then they and the guards rushed us up to the front to the medical care place. It's stocked so you can let someone rest there, and in her case get back to 'normal'. They also very nicely called us a special van to take her back to the resort so she could rest that afternoon.
I'd say Disney handles seizures real well.
Kim

 

[pamlet]

You know I've been being concerned about our son having a seizure while there - and never did think about being in line and the bars.. Thanks for mentioning that! He's almost 6'4" and a BIG BOY.. so DH and older DS will need to flank him. He's been known to go down..

I guess my fear has been him having one while on/in an attraction... I just have pictures of us going round and round Pirates of the Carribean because we can't get him out of the boat until he comes around.. What in the world would happen?

This past Christmas he and my husband went on a cave tour and he had one at the bottom of the cave.. and almost got wedged between two of the walls... Of course HE doesn't remember any of it - but DH sure did... they both got soaked.. and DH just KNEW his shoe was going to come off and go down the crevice that was near by... ahhhh one of these days I'm going to write a book about life with seizures...

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

You know I've been being concerned about our son having a seizure while there - and never did think about being in line and the bars.. Thanks for mentioning that! He's almost 6'4" and a BIG BOY.. so DH and older DS will need to flank him. He's been known to go down..

I guess my fear has been him having one while on/in an attraction... I just have pictures of us going round and round Pirates of the Carribean because we can't get him out of the boat until he comes around.. What in the world would happen?

This past Christmas he and my husband went on a cave tour and he had one at the bottom of the cave.. and almost got wedged between two of the walls... Of course HE doesn't remember any of it - but DH sure did... they both got soaked.. and DH just KNEW his shoe was going to come off and go down the crevice that was near by... ahhhh one of these days I'm going to write a book about life with seizures...

If he has to ride the boat till he is ok so be it. I would tell guest services your concerns and see if there is a stamp for that. In our case Ds is still young easy to carry but when he gets older I could see this as being a problem. I don't think the cast members would have a problem with it.

 

[SueM in MN]

There wouldn't be any kind of stamp for "if he has a seizure in the boat, how do we get him out." For Pirates, when you get to the exit are, you would have to tell the CMs and they would probably call EMS and have help getting him out (that is one of the few rides where you can't just ride around back to the boarding area). One of the things people are not aware of is that there are cameras so that CMs can view what happens on the rides. Each car is also numbered, so they can tell which car the action they viewed occured on. So chances are good that when you get off, the CMs would already have been alerted that a problem had occurred.

I guess that getting DD off isn't one I've personally ever thought about either. She's full grown and is not very big (5 feet tall, 84 pounds - luckily, she inherited my MIL's small stature and not my 5 ft 8 frame). If your child has any aura (don't think I spelled it right, but it's early in the day), that would help with planning. If they don't, you kind of have to plan the best you can and hope you don't need to put your plans into action.

 

[pamlet]

Thanks guys... not aware of cameras... I wasn't thinking only about Pirates.. just the rides in general.

Unfortunately he doesn't have an aura AT ALL.. which is what makes it kind of frustrating! We've been fortunate that in the 5 years or so this has been going on he's only really "hurt" himself once! (20 some stitches to the forehead)

When this first started he was small enough for DH or older DS to pick up and put in the bed... well THAT's changed.. he's taller than both ... and TOWERS over me..

We're in the process of changing over from Trileptal/Zonegran to Trileptal/Lamictal - that SO FAR seems to be doing much better. He's gone from 2 -3 week to going as long as 7 weeks without one! This past Tuesday was his first in 7 weeks! Also he's less "fuzzy" headed.. here's hoping the Lamictal does the trick!

Thanks again!
Pam