My broken leg and my upcoming WDW vacation...

[BCV23]

As Sue said, you could never offend us Janet. I was certainly blushing. In fact within hours of reading your reply, my daughter would have voted me worst mother of the year. Teen daughters!

Wade and Sue..how do you remove the electronics? And is it so complicated that you couldn't do it once you were at the gate?

Sorry to hijack your thread Janet!

 

[eek40]

Janet..I will PM you, so watch for messages!


Aimee

 

[SueM in MN]

Wade and Sue..how do you remove the electronics? And is it so complicated that you couldn't do it once you were at the gate?

Taking it off my DD's wheelchair requires a srewdriver or allen wrenches (can't remember which). I'm not sure you would get a screwdriver past security.
I'm pretty sure though that we would not be able to push her power wheelchair for enough to get to and from the gate.

 

[BCV23]

Thanks Sue.

My husband pushed our daughter and her chair through Epcot after it ran out of juice on Christmas night. I don't know if I could push it 20 feet!

 

[NADINENURSE]

Recently came back from Disneyland wiht the use of a wheelchair with my left foot stuck straight out BEWARE !! People repeadtly bumped into me, particulary, I don't know why, in the Animal Kingdom. You didn't say your leg had to be up, so it sounds as if you'll be okay. I also had worked extra hours and OT to pay for my vacation, so glad you will be going, everything gets better when you enter "the world".

 

[NADINENURSE]

OOPS , meant Disneyworld

 

[Janet2k]

Just thought I’d do a quick update. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to post again before I leave. I don’t leave for another day, but tomorrow promises to be very busy for me with last minute preparations.

My cast was removed yesterday but I find myself in some pretty bad pain (the foot area, primarily). I am sure this is due to the fact that my leg was encased in one cast or another for the past few months and now has to support itself. I do have some new painkillers; however, I haven’t taken any yet. I got so sick with the last batch that I haven’t taken a single pain pill since two days after my surgery almost three months ago (can you say, “She knows how to bite the bullet?”). I don’t mean to whine, but I know you folks would understand.

I have a removable cast now. Yahoo! I can’t wait to float in the pool at the GF. I have been visualizing that day for quite some time now and can’t believe that it’s almost here. And I am itching to take that water wheelchair out for a spin. I will post photos of it upon my return.

The GF portion of my vacation should be ~magical.~ The staff at that resort has bent over backwards for me and I have quite a few things planned during my stay. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be staying there again (it has been three years since my last stay). I have a funny feeling that this WDW vacation will be hard to top, thanks to the GF and its gracious staff. I will quit gushing now. But if anyone is on the GF’s Water Taxi Dock this weekend and sees a small dinner party, please pop your head in to say hello. Joining my family will be another Dis’er and her family. We would love to meet some more Dis’ers.

I am all packed and ready to go. I decided to gate-check my wheelchair. I’m not sure what to do with my walker yet. I tried to rent one down in Orlando but was unsuccessful. I might have my husband ship my walker to our resort instead of checking it as baggage on the plane. I need to decide that tomorrow.

This will be a most interesting vacation. I have never had to travel with a disability before, so as you can all expect, I am a little apprehensive. But thanks to everyone here on the disABILITIES board, I am as prepared as any Girl Scout could be. And I know that whatever problem may arise, I will work through it and not allow it to ruin my family’s magical Walt Disney World vacation.

 

[BCV23]

Have fun, Janet!

 

[GeekChic]

Have a great time!!!

hugs and pixie dust
Ro

 

[eek40]

Any word yet from Janet? Is she back?

 

[Janet2k]

Hi, gang. I got back from my vacation the other day and am trying to organize my photos before I post a trip report. I am happy to say that I took the GF's water wheelchair out for a spin one day and took a few photos of it. It looked nothing like I expected it to look -- you'll understand why when you see my photos of it. But it worked beautifully and that is all that mattered. By the way, my vacation was wonderful. I spent pretty much the entire time in the swimming pools. I found that so very healing and the best medicine of all. Hang in there with me until I can post my photos & trip report.

Janet

 

[Janet2k]

I started writing about my vacation on the Resorts board (where I normally hang out). Click here to view my thread. I'm having a hard time writing it. I guess my leg is bothering me and thus my somewhat solemn mood. I had my first physical therapy session this week and discovered that my current pain is caused by too aggressive of exercising on my part. You see, towards the end of my WDW vacation, I began exercising my leg more vigorously and thus went overboard. Arg! I was told to take things a little more slowly (it's so hard to do that after three months of inactivity). "Patience, grasshopper..."

 

[SueM in MN]

Yes, patience is a very important virtue. Hang in there a little while and take it slow.

I saw your posts on the Resort Board and it sounds like you had a great trip.

 

[Janet2k]

I posted this in my thread on the Resorts Board but also thought it was appropriate to post over here on the disABILITIES Board...

- - - - - - -
After the Private Dining Event had ended, my daughter and I couldn’t sleep, so we went for a midnight swim. That was my first swim as a disabled person and it felt wonderful on both of my legs, broken or otherwise.

The “quiet” pool (a.k.a., the “old” pool) is the only one open at night at the Grand Floridian, and its water was rather cool. Luckily for me, I like cool water and thus had a refreshing swim with my daughter, as my husband snored in a lounge chair next to the pool (can you say, “Sleeping Beauty?”).

I should probably mention how I got myself into the swimming pool. Well, I rolled my wheelchair right next to the special handicap entrance and transferred myself from my wheelchair to its top step (click here for photo). My young daughter (who was watching over my shoulder as I typed this) told me to call this staircase the “bump-down” since that is exactly what I did in getting myself into the pool – I bumped my butt down the steps and right into the pool. I hope that wasn’t too graphic for you folks (if it was, I’m sure a few of you just lost your appetite).

I took several photos of someone demonstrating how to enter the swimming pool by using the “bump-down” entrance:
Photo 1 (click here)
Photo 2 (click here)
Photo 3 (click here)

I hope those photos were helpful.

I was awfully glad that I got to experience the pool’s “bump-down” entrance with no one else around. I was afraid that I would have been too embarrassed to have attempted it for the first time had lots of other folks been around. Since midnight swims are not enjoyed by the masses (thank goodness!), I got to work on my graceful pool entrance in peace and quiet without worrying about anyone staring or laughing at me (I can be such a klutz sometimes).

That evening I had also wanted to try the Grand Floridian’s water wheelchair, but since it is located at the newer pool, and since that pool is closed at night, that had to wait for another day. And so, at the end of my first day at the Grand Floridian Resort, I gracefully bumped myself back out of the swimming pool and into my wheelchair. My daughter and I then woke up Sleeping Beauty (also known as my snoring husband), and we headed back to our room to greet Snow White’s friend Sleepy (a.k.a., the Sandman). It's amazing how relaxing we find a midnight dip in the pool.
- - - - - - -

I am so pleased to report that the "bump-down" entrance worked just like you folks had described it to me (I had no doubt that it wouldn't ).

 

[Janet2k]

I posted the following in my thread on the Resorts Board, too, and thought I would share it over here:

- - - - - - -
After the tea party was over, we hit the Grand Floridian’s newer swimming pool for a few hours. It was another beautiful Florida day and I wanted to exercise my broken leg in the warm water of the pool.

It took me awhile to get my nerve up, but after being in the pool for about an hour or so, I asked my husband to find out where the water wheelchair was located. He found out its location from one of the Life Guards and retrieved it.

I must admit that the water wheelchair didn’t look anything like I imagined it would look. I actually thought it looked rather Rube Goldberg, but since I am a technological nerd, that is a good thing:
Water Wheelchair Photo 1 (click here)
Water Wheelchair Photo 2 (click here)

My husband asked me to get in the water wheelchair and take it out for a spin. He wheeled me to the pool’s zero-depth entry area and then down into the water until I literally floated out of the chair. He then wheeled the chair back out of the pool for me.

After I swam for a bit, I asked my husband to bring the water wheelchair back to me because I wanted to get out of the pool. He wheeled the chair down the zero-depth entry ramp. I swam over to it and seated myself in it. He then wheeled me up the ramp, and I wheeled myself over to our lounge chairs. The chair was fairly easy to maneuver and drew a lot of attention. It seemed that my family was not the only family who had never seen a water wheelchair in use before.

Before my vacation began, I didn’t have much information regarding the water wheelchair. Because of that fact, I knew it was important that I personally not only took the water wheelchair out for a ride but also took some photos of it to share with everyone. If anyone has any questions regarding the water wheelchair and its use, just let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them.
- - - - - - -

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the descriptions and especially for the pictures.
The water wheelchair probably looks like some guy put it together in his garage because (from what I have read), that's basically how it was invented. It has a "cousin" wheelchair, the beach chair that looks a lot a like except that it has fat, oversize wheels so it can roll on sand (regular wheels would just sink in).
Although things like wheelchairs and walkers are made by big companies, there isn't a big market for specialized things like water wheelchairs and they still might be basically made by some guy in his garage.

 

[DisneyVillain]

Except for the fabric color, this water wheelchair looks the same as the one they have at Blizzard Beach to allow access to the Teamboat Springs family raft ride.

 

[eek40]

Janet hows your ankle coming along???????
I will pm you also but just wondering, I know we are in similar boats.
Aimee