My broken leg and my upcoming WDW vacation...

[Janet2k]

I am not sure what to do about flying. I am really worried about this and I know it sounds silly. Since I can’t put any weight on my broken leg and my other leg is badly sprained (and will remain so until I can put weight on my broken leg), I am concerned with getting myself down the airplane’s aisle. How will I know whether or not my walker will fit? Are there aisle dimensions stated anywhere on the Internet so that I may compare those dimensions with the dimensions of my walker? Also, my sprained ankle tires so easily and I am worried about hopping down that aisle (my luck usually places me in the back row of any airplane). Do you folks have any suggestions to offer me? I don’t want to request the bulkhead row since those seats are narrower than the other seats and I prefer to have the armrests that may be put up (I’ll be traveling with my daughter & husband and we put the armrests up whenever we can). Again, any suggestions for me? I feel so silly.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm glad I could explain the "bump entry" to the pool in a way that you understood it. In my "off the DIS life" I am a health care professional and do a fair amount of education. Guess it came in handy.
Anyway, for your questions about the plane, you can request to talk to someone in the Special Needs department (they may not kow they have one, but they do have someone who deals with special needs. We usually request to sit near the front of the plane, but not the bulkhead, and they do usually take care of us pretty well.
If you are far enough in the front, you may be able to hop, holding onto the seats. They also have something called an "aisle chair" what is a narrow wheelchair that actually fits down the aisle of the plane. You can ask to use that. We've never used it (DD is very stubborn and refuse to use it), but they do have one available for each flight (and we have been offered it). The aisles are too narrow to use a walker.
Be sure to ask about pre-boarding so you don't have to worry about other people. Sometimes they announce pre-boarding, but sometimes they just assume if you wanted to pre-board, you would ask.

PS, you are not silly at all, just doing something that you have no prior experience with. So, the only way to find out is to do it or to ask questions from other people who have done it (and why not take advantage of other people's experience?)

 

[eek40]

Janet...
I am in a simalar situation as you are, and I totally can understand where you are coming from, but I thought I would give you some humor to make you smile.

I had surgery on my ankle, and tendons on Sept 4th..I had a hard cast for a week, then was put in the cam-walker(walking cast), although I cant walk on it yet. When the Drs assistant was putting on the walking cast she said..now before you call me thinking you have DVT please make sure your straps arent to tight! She said she had 10 calls in the past 3 days from people thinking they had DVT and all of them were from the straps on the cast being to tight. She said, "I dont understand why all of a sudden we are getting so many people thinking that they have DVT?" I told her....well when your off your feet and cant do anything but watch tv and you see that commercial 400 times in a day, you can easily worry about it! She said that explained it! She did tell me that if I was concerned to call, and that they do take it seriously, but that so far all the people that shed seen didnt have it, just didnt have the cast adjusted right. It made me smile Let me know how it goes, And if you just need someone to talk to pm me anytime
Aimee

 

[Janet2k]

Eek40, I’m glad you set them straight and told them about the DVT commercial! Thanks for the chuckle. By the way, I hope you’re healing nicely.

 

[Janet2k]

I thought I would add an update to this thread. A few weeks ago, I finally booked my airline tickets. I can’t tell you how difficult it was for me to actually pick up the telephone and arrange that. In all my trips to WDW, I had never waited so long to make flight arrangements. I guess it just goes to show you how hesitant I was regarding this entire vacation.

Now don’t feel too sorry for me. I took all the wonderful tips that I have learned here on the disABILITIES board and put them to good use. You will be proud of me.

At my last doctor’s appointment, she informed me that I will be in a removable cast right before my vacation begins. Yahoo!! I was so worried that I would still be in a fiberglass cast. When she gave me the good news, she was grinning from ear-to-ear (she knows how much I have been looking forward to floating in the swimming pool). She also said that my X-rays looked great; however, one of my bones has not healed completely yet (the one with all the screws). She didn’t seem too concerned about that, so I am trying not to be concerned either (but it’s hard – I have been trying to “will” my bones and tendons to heal at a super-human rate). She has also finally given me permission to put a little weight on my broken leg. She wants me to start out with only 20–30 pounds of pressure in the first week, then move up to 40-50 pounds in the second week, followed by 60-70 pounds in the third week. After that third week, my cast will come off. I will still not be allowed to walk, but I will be allowed to try to put more weight on my leg. Since my vacation begins at that point, she told me to definitely take both my wheelchair and my walker with me. I had initially decided to leave my walker at home and only take my wheelchair, but now that I have permission to perform a little weight-bearing exercise, I will either have to ship my walker to my resort ahead of time, or see about renting one while I am there.

My doctor also mentioned that since I’ll be in a removable cast, that should make things a little less stressful for me (she understands my concern regarding DVT). At my next appointment, I will get instructions regarding a few in-flight exercises to perform during my journey.

In order to get from the West Coast to the East Coast, I booked my flights such that I have more than two hours between connecting flights. I thought that amount of time would be perfect for me. If my first flight is running late, my second flight leaves late enough that I won’t find myself racing my wheelchair madly through the airport in order to catch it. I also made sure that there were at least two other flights heading to MCO even later than my connecting flight. If for some reason I wound up actually missing my connecting flight, I should be able to catch another flight without too much trouble.

When I booked my airline tickets, I requested to be seated as close to the lavatory as possible. That would give me less distance to hop in-flight. And with over two hours between connecting flights, being the last person off the airplane shouldn’t be a problem.

The airline noted in my reservation that I have mobility problems. They informed me that two days prior to my departure, someone would contact me in order to make final arrangements. I’m pretty sure I will be checking my wheelchair as baggage, thus I’ll be using their wheelchair service between the counter and the gate, and then again between connecting flights. If my one leg is up to the task, I will try to hop down the airplane aisle when I am allowed to board (the airline will have an aisle wheelchair available in the event that my sprained ankle is bothering me too much).

All that I have left to do now is to arrange my ground transportation in Orlando. Traveling with me will be my daughter and husband, so we will have three suitcases (and a carry-on bag or two) plus my wheelchair. I don’t know if all that will fit in a towncar or limo, so I should probably arrange for a van cab or something roomy like that. I will check the Dis’ Transportation board to see who is currently a sponsor, and then I will contact them in order to see what they suggest for my situation. If any of you folks have any transportation suggestions for me, please send them my way.

I think that’s about it for now. Again, thank you to everyone here on the disABILITIES board for all of your help. I have read most of the threads here and have learned so much. My trip should go well, and if by chance something crops up, I feel prepared to handle the situation.

 

[BCV23]

Great news about your cast Janet! Sounds like your trip is coming together nicely.

Just wanted to let you know that you should be able to check your walker as well as your wheelchair. At least we have done so with our DDs. It is the type with wheels that she drags with her and it does collapse but even if yours is the type without wheels that you place in front of you I would think you should be able to check it.

We always rent a car at WDW but usually take a limo to the airport at home. Between five people, suitcases, golf clubs, a wheelchair and sometimes a walker, it gets tight. My husband the Eagle Scout is always prepared with bungee cords. Well almost always. One time we had no problem getting to the airport but couldn't fit everything in our rental car...had to make a switch.

Lots of pixie dust for a great trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by BCV23

Just wanted to let you know that you should be able to check your walker as well as your wheelchair. At least we have done so with our DDs. It is the type with wheels that she drags with her and it does collapse but even if yours is the type without wheels that you place in front of you I would think you should be able to check it.

They would be able to gate check the walker or it would fit on the plane in the closet. If they don't have a closet, most folded walkers will fit in the overhead bins.
If they say it can't go in the closet (because they need it for first class passengers or such nonsense) , then appeal to the gate agent. The flight attendents are sometimes not cooperative, but the gate agent usually is aaware that according to the ADA, assistive equipment takes precidence over other people's luggage (and first class passenger's coats).
Just in case you have any problems, I found this number the other day in a newsletter. It's a "real time" disability assistance number for resolving problems with airlines.
Hotline for Air Travelers with Disabilities:
(800) 778-4838 (voice)
(800) 455-9880 (TTY)
Hope you don't need it.

Glad to hear your update. Have a great time.

 

[eek40]

Janet,

I am so glad to hear your news! I am finally weight bearing again, and although it hurts , well it hurts a lot actually. It looks like I shouldnt have to much of a struggle on my trip. I can tell you that the walking cast is heavy and kinda a pain overall, but I am finally after 2 weeks almost not noticing it. One nice thing is being able to take a bath...although how I get in and out of the bathtub is a completely different story! I am still not sure I could even explain it. I have 5 weeks of physical therapy, which by the way makes my foot hurt even more. And should have about a week prior to the trip to really work on walking. I still may have to resort to a evc in the parks, not sure if my ankle can handle that much walking. When my drs assistant was baffled about the DVT thing I was very amused, I guess that a lot of us have seen the commercial! But not the drs ! Hang in there...and if you need some excerises for the plane let me know, I have a whole list of them I do daily!

Aimee

 

[BCV23]

Originally posted by SueM in MN
They would be able to gate check the walker or it would fit on the plane in the closet. If they don't have a closet, most folded walkers will fit in the overhead bins.
If they say it can't go in the closet (because they need it for first class passengers or such nonsense) , then appeal to the gate agent. The flight attendents are sometimes not cooperative, but the gate agent usually is aaware that according to the ADA, assistive equipment takes precidence over other people's luggage (and first class passenger's coats).
Just in case you have any problems, I found this number the other day in a newsletter. It's a "real time" disability assistance number for resolving problems with airlines.
Hotline for Air Travelers with Disabilities:
(800) 778-4838 (voice)
(800) 455-9880 (TTY)
Hope you don't need it.

Sue, since Janet was using a wheelchair to get to the gate I assumed she wouldn't want to take the walker on board too and that was why she was talking about renting one or shipping it. I know we never take both to the gate although if you weren't checking luggage it might be worth it.

We've always been able to get DDs walker in the closet but I sure don't think hers would fit in any overhead.

I agree with you about some of the flight attendants not being as helpful...at least in the last 10 years or so.

Great phone number to have. Thanks so much.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue, since Janet was using a wheelchair to get to the gate I assumed she wouldn't want to take the walker on board too and that was why she was talking about renting one or shipping it. I know we never take both to the gate although if you weren't checking luggage it might be worth it.

I knew that was what you were assuming, I just wanted to make sure she also knew that she could gate check it if she wanted to. When my DD still used a walker, we did bring it to the gate and into the closet (mostly because I was paranoid about losing it). Hers would not have fit in the overhead bin because it is too wide (a reverse walker that went behind her with wheels in the back). Some front walkers do fold up enough to go in the overhead bin though.
Some of the flight attendents are great, but most of the time to use the closet, you are dealing with the first class flight attendent. All he/she cares about is that the first class passengers will be complaining if their jackets have to go into the overhead bins. I've actually witnessed an almost-to-the-point-of-hitting disagreements between the first class FA and the gate agent - who was saying the law says that if the disabled passenger needs to put something in your coat closet, there is nothing you can do about it. In that particular situation, the FA was argueing that the first class passengers coats would get wrinkled by our nasty wheelchair. She threatened to call her supervisor and the gate agent said, "fine, then I'll call mine and she has a copy of the law."

 

[BCV23]

Because my husband flies so we fly up front fairly often...actually it use to be most of the time. Anyway, even then some are not as helpful these days.

On one flight it was jusy my DD and I boarding for some reason that I can't recall at the moment. As I helped my DD out of her Quickie and up the aisle, the FA told me where the closet was (of course I already knew that) and that if I had any trouble stowing the chair, she'd be happy to call to have it gate checked....gee thanks for the help. There are still some great ones out there and actually most have always been helpful with the chair or walker.

My DD has the same type of walker as your daughter had I've never worried about checking her walker. They bag it and it's never been damaged. However, we are paranoid about taking her power chair. I drove to FL last Dec. solo to get her chair there rather than check it. It worked so well for her to have a power chair that we rented one for her in March and will do so again next month. Maybe someday we'll get brave enough to fly with her own chair.

Bottom line, Janet2k...don't think you need to rent or ship your walker. It's easy to take along.

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by BCV23
My DD has the same type of walker as your daughter had I've never worried about checking her walker. They bag it and it's never been damaged.

I remembered now why I posted about bringing the walker on. (mind like a steel trap - NOT). In one of Janet's posts, she mentioned that she has a layover and that is supposed to be up and moving around. So, Janet, if you need the walker during your layover, bring it to the gate. Otherwise, check it.

However, we are paranoid about taking her power chair. I drove to FL last Dec. solo to get her chair there rather than check it. It worked so well for her to have a power chair that we rented one for her in March and will do so again next month. Maybe someday we'll get brave enough to fly with her own chair.

We are also paranoid about bringing DD's power wheelchair on the airplane. We did look into renting one, but didn't since they could only guarantee us one "close" to the size of hers with a standard seat. She uses a Jay seat and back and needs footstraps; we ended up not renting because it was sort of a "not much time before we go" thought and I didn't get the computer joystick settings for her chair in time anyway. We thought of boxing her own seat and bringing it with us, but unless the wheelchair was the same length and width that wouldn't work.
We know next year we want her to have power; just not sure if we're ready to bring hers along or try to rent. Were you able to get what you needed (size and any special seating)?

 

[BCV23]

We weren't able to get the exact same model that my daughter uses however the closest they had worked well for her. It was a little larger than hers and I thought she might be more comfortable with a pillow behind her but she didn't like that and actually loved the chair.

She is lucky enough to not need any special seating adaptations. She just needed the joystick on the left. She would have preferred a ball control but they didn't have one. Advised me to just pop hers off and bring it along (which I didn't even know could be done) but I forgot to do so. She did fine with the standard control though and was proud of herself that she managed so well. Next time I'll remember the ball control....I hope!

You remembered a very good reason for Janet to take her walker on board BTW.

 

[Janet2k]

Eek40, I would love it if you could PM me with those exercises for the airplane. And I am so happy that you are mobile, you lucky girl! I have just begun putting a little weight on my leg, and as you stated, it can be very painful. But I am longing for the day when I will be able to walk unassisted. And, more importantly, being able to take a nice, long, hot shower (where I’ll be able to shave these two gorillas that are attached to my lower body, a.k.a., my legs).

BCV23, wow! I cannot believe that you fit all those people and all that stuff into one vehicle! Unless, of course, it is one of those Hummer limos. All kidding aside, thank you for letting me know that it is possible for me to find a vehicle that will contain my family and our stuff (I worry about these things). As to my walker, it is the type without wheels. It does fold up somewhat. I think I just might check it as baggage since you have always successfully done so. I was worried about doing so because when my daughter was younger, I checked her stroller once and it got damaged. After that one time, I always had my husband box it up and UPS it over-night to our resort. Back then, the one thing my family could not live without was my daughter’s stroller – if it had seriously been damaged, we would have had to immediately purchase one. I guess that is why I was hesitant about checking my walker.

SueM in MN, my goodness, but you gave me a lot of info that I was unaware of (assistive equipment vs. garments, ADA laws, and telephone hotline numbers)! And thank you for letting me know that not everyone in the Airline industry is as understanding of people with disability issues as I thought they might be. Now that I am aware of things, I will be much better prepared to handle anything that might come up (I am hopeful that my trip will go smoothly since the planning of it was sometimes rocky). I am still unsure if I will check my walker as luggage or keep it with me on the airplane. I would love to be able to use it while I’m waiting for my connecting flight, but I think it would be easier on the worrying side of me (boy, is that an understatement!) if I checked it as I always am afraid of leaving something behind either on the airplane or in the terminal (!!).

BCV23 and SueM in MN, the two of you are certainly amazing mothers. Your children are so very lucky. And you can tell them that I said so!

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by Janet2k

BCV23 and SueM in MN, the two of you are certainly amazing mothers. Your children are so very lucky. And you can tell them that I said so!

 

[BCV23]

Originally posted by SueM in MN

me too

 

[Janet2k]

I hope that the little red-faced smilie is a "blushing" one as opposed to an "angry" one. (I never would want to offend you kind folks!)

 

[Wade Shrader]

Just to throw in our recent experience with our son's power chair. We flew from Minneapolis to LAX for Disneyland with Sun Country, and they were great! We had flown to WDW with Sun Country before (when our boys were still in strollers), and they were very accomodative back then, even when their CP was not obvious.

Well, we were concerned about the power chair. We took off the electronics and the joystick, and we pushed him to the gate. We had a large carryon to put his chairback and seat in (we have a somewhat collapsable powerchair, but even without one, I think you want to make sure the back and seat don't come loose.) I also made sure any wires were firmly attached to the structure.

The battery was one issue; we had a letter from our WC store that said it was safe to fly. I wanted to bring it into the cabin, but they wouldn't let us. But, on the whole, they were very accomodative to us, the chair made it through it without a scratch, and we'd be glad to fly Sun Country again anytime!

It was a bit of a hassle to have to reassemble the electronics, but it was worth it for Benjamin to have his powerchair to see the characters and manuever around DL on his own. And there is no way I would trust the airlines to handle the electronics.


Wade

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by Janet2k
I hope that the little red-faced smilie is a "blushing" one as opposed to an "angry" one. (I never would want to offend you kind folks!)

That little smiley says it is blushing, so I hope that's what it looks like.
I don't think you could ever offend us.

Originally posted by Wade Shrader
It was a bit of a hassle to have to reassemble the electronics, but it was worth it for Benjamin to have his powerchair to see the characters and manuever around DL on his own. And there is no way I would trust the airlines to handle the electronics.

Thanks, Wade.
We are thinking really seriously about taking DD's power wheelchair on our next trip. Since she is non-verbal, when people see us pushing her in her wheelchair, they have a totally different picture of her than when she is in her power chair (as her sister says, "she is a force to be reconned with").
Our wheelchair tech told us to take the electronics off and joystick off and bring them in the cabin with us. I already know how to take them off. The only problem I can see is pushing the deactivated wheelchair - it is darn heavy and hard to push!

 

[Wade Shrader]

I know what you mean, Sue. Pushing a heavy power chair is hard work! And I certainly was exhausted after we got him to the gate!

And we can relate to different picture of our children when they're mobile. Our son is verbal, but he shows so much more of his personality when he is in his power chair. He has control of where he goes, how close he gets to others, etc, and overall is much happier.

I only hope your trip with the chair goes as smoothly as ours!

Wade