Bad Hips, Need Advice

[Forever a Princess]

Hi!

I fell down my stairs last August and got myself a big bad trochanteric bursitis in the right hip. It will see no end.

I've been through physical therapy, multiple injections, multiple pain meds so and so forth.

The left hip decided to get in on the fun in March.

Things are getting better and the pain is being managed. I've had tons of x-rays, MRI's and bloodwork. Multiple Docs are working on the problem.

I need your help/advice on making our trip easier in June including handling the big airport.

So far this is changes that we will do
-we will take one suitcase. DH will manage this.
-"essential" items will be shipped to the resort so that they do not have to be carried.
-we may rent an ECV. But I look so young and healthy. I don't know what to do about this one.

Any thoughts or ideas?
Renee

 

[phillybeth]

Originally posted by Forever a Princess
-we may rent an ECV. But I look so young and healthy. I don't know what to do about this one.

Any thoughts or ideas?
Renee

RENT IT!!! Don't let what other people may think about a 'young, healthy' person using an ECV. It is necessary for your comfort and well-being, and that of your DH.

 

[SueM in MN]

After many years of suffering during trips to WDW because of hip and knee pain, my FIL finally rented an ecv on his last day in the parks on our trip last March. He said he wished he had done it many years before, since it was one of his first almost pain free days at WDW.
Here is a list of the companies that DIS posters report renting from:
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/
Phone (407) 856-2273 • Toll Free U.S and Canada (800) 741-2282

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html
(800)747-0246

http://www.scootaround.com/ Not much feedback. Several people who reported they had no problems.

if you are ahving pain in your "everyday life", you will have pain at WDW. Most people don't realize about how mcuh walking is involved in a WDW trip. Just the distance around WS in Epcot is over a mile and I've seen estimates of people walking between 3 and 8 miles per day at WDW.

Most people realize that a young, healthy looking person is renting an ecv because they need one, not because they like spending money on things they don't need.
You will find a few people who will judge you, but keep in mind that you are the only one who knows how much pain you would be in without the ecv. Some of the "judgers" are so clueless that we have heard them comment that my DD does not need a wheelchair because they saw her sitting on a bench next to her wheelchair (an obviously custom manual wheelchair that retails for over $6000. And she also owns a custom power wheelchair that cost even more). Sure, she looks healthy, sitting there with one leg crossed and swinging her leg. But, she can't stand or walk and can't even cross her legs without help.
For every clueless person, there are usually a bunch of nice ones. So, do what you need to do to enjoy your trip. Your opinion about whether you need an ecv or not is the only one that matters.

 

[Sue & Co.]

I agree with the others - forget about what it looks like and rent an ECV - you will need it. I also look young(ish) and healthy as it is not always obvious I have a problem and you can't see pain!!! WDW is exhausting for the fully fit you will enjoy it far more from an ECV.

Sue

 

[dj2]

Originally posted by Forever a Princess
I need your help/advice on making our trip easier in June including handling the big airport.

you could consider letting the airline know that you'll need help and they'll meet you at the gate with an attendant and a wc, so you won't have to walk too far. might be worth the cost of the tip to the attendant.

just a thought, but aren't there luggage carts that can be rented for a few dollars? or porters that can be tipped to help you? with curbside check-in and luggage carts you might be able to save some $$ by not shipping your luggage. i traveled in January with just my DD7, who's not much help with big suitcases, but we managed fine by using luggage carts (and my rollator).

also, how are you planning on getting to your hotel? if you're renting a car and you have a disability parking tag, don't forget to bring it. if you don't, consider asking your doctor if your condition warrants a temporary one.

Enjoy your trip!

dj

 

[Forever a Princess]

Thanks for all of your tips.



For the airport:
I plan on making sure that we have enough of a layover so that we have time to walk between the planes or try to fly Midwest Express so that we go straight down there and then we wouldn't have to change planes. Might be worth the money.

Any thoughts on this?

For the luggage-
we'll pack one big suitcase and I'll have a backpack. For the items like snacks etc I plan on shipping those items

For the parks
Rental car
ECV

I would plan on leaving the ECV in the trunk of the car as I would not have too much of a problem walking around the AKL. I may rethink this when I get there though.

I may have DH drop me off at the front of the lodge and I'll wait for him to go park the car. sigh, we do so love walking up to the lodge hand in hand.

Other tips that you can think of?
Renee

 

[dj2]

if you're going to leave the ecv in the trunk of the car, you might want to talk to the rental agency about also renting a special charging unit so you only have to carry the batteries in at night to charge them. the batteries are pretty heavy--i wheeled them into the room using my rollator.

 

[missyc]

my dad rented the electric scooter at WDW for $30/day. I've seen people mention renting from medical suppliers. Are they cheaper, better, what?
Is this the same as the ecv?
Thanks!

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to disABILITIES, missy.

my dad rented the electric scooter at WDW for $30/day. I've seen people mention renting from medical suppliers. Are they cheaper, better, what?
Is this the same as the ecv?

Electric scooters and ecvs are the same thing.
Many people choose to rent from one of the medical suppliers (listed in another post on this thread), but you can also rent one by the day from the parks.

• Advantages of renting from the parks
• you don't have to transport the ecv to the park (buses, monorails and most boats are able to transport ecvs though)
• you don't have to bring it into your room to charge it
• if you don't need one every day, you only pay for the days you want one

• Advantages of renting from a medical supplier
• you will have one for sure - the ones for rent at the parks are a limited supply and they may run out if you are not there early or if you park hop.
• you have one available to use at the resort or if you go to other places, like DD
• if you need one almost every day, the per day cost is usually going to be less expensive to rent from a medical supplier than per day from the parks

I'll let the people who have rented from both the parks and medical suppliers talk about how the actual ecvs compare.

 

[McCall]

Ok I have rented in the park and have brought my own ECV and have rented from Walkermobility.
renting from Walker beats everything else hands down, they are about the same price, the scooter is smaller and more manuverable than the park ones, [3 wheel as opposed to 4 wheel] they are delivered right to your hotel, they are newer, in better condition, hold a charge better, easier to find when you come out of a ride, if you ever have any problem with one they will be right out with a new one, usually within an hour.
I am going next week and I am bringing my own because I need the canopy that is on it but I am also renting one from walker for my husband to use while we are there.

The ones in the parks frequently run out of power and they don't always have replacements available. also they run out of them for rent fairly quickly, and there is no guarantee of getting another one if you park hop.

it is easy to use the Disney transportation with the rented off site models.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Originally posted by Forever a Princess
Thanks for all of your tips.

I would plan on leaving the ECV in the trunk of the car as I would not have too much of a problem walking around the AKL. I may rethink this when I get there though.

I may have DH drop me off at the front of the lodge and I'll wait for him to go park the car. sigh, we do so love walking up to the lodge hand in hand.

Renee

Second part first. Make sure you have a disability parking hang tag, even if you can only get your doctor to approve a temporary one. Valet parking is free at the deluxe resorts (including AKL) for people with disabilities. I have had some valets mention to me that administratively it is easier on them to not charge you with the tag; even though they are aware with loading/unloading of an ECV tht there cleaqrly is a disability.

Related to that, the valets do NOT gat any part of the fee; it is a "tip position". Normally if I am not having the ECV loaded or unloaded I will tip about $2.00 both coming and going. If the valet will handle the disassembly/loading or unloading/assembly I will tip $5.00. Actually, if there is need to load or unload the ECV and I do not get an offer of assistance from the valet, not only will I leave no tip but I will also discuss it with a supervisor.

Related to the first part, it can be quite a hike to some of the rooms at any of the resorts, including AKL. Most rental ECVs have a battery range of 20 miles with maximum weight on board. Mosxt nights I would take the ECV back into the room and keep it on the charger overnight so it would have a full charge in the morning. Some days, if I did not use it much and did not expect to use it much the next day I would leave it in the car overnight.

 

[zumbergc]

A couple of comments.

About just using one suitcase.
Check your airlines website to find out the pound limits. At delta they are becomming more picky about being over their 50 lb limit. They don't care that you just have one bag, and not 2-4 bags. I was like a half pound over, and 1.5 pounds over, but they were giving me grief about it. Like we will let you go this time, but on the way back put some stuff in another suitcase.

If your suitcase has one of the attatchments on it to hold another suitcase to it. This could make it possible for your husband to wheel his and a smaller one. Just don't want you do get hit with the over weight baggage fee.

About the bursitus, is it aggrivated at all from your legs being in the bent position. I have bursitus, but also ITband problems. It is extremely painful for me to have my legs bent for an extended period of time. I was able to rent a push wheel chair, with the legs that could be put out straight. Just wanted to mention this part in case it cause you problems. I don't know if anything similar can be done for the electic chairs.

Connie

 

[Forever a Princess]

Thank you for all of your posts-definetly lots of things that I have not thought of.

1. I was just checking out Walker's website. I plan on renting through them. I did not think of recharging the battery. Looks like I will be taking the ECV in at night.

2. I'm not sure how to get a diabled parking permit. I'm going to have to ask my Doc for a temporary one. Will the one that we bring from our home state work for the rental car?

Are the disabled parking spots close enough to the park entrances that we can park assemble and go? Specifically I'm asking if these spots are close enough to the park entrance for DH to walk to?

3. Great idea on the luggage. I did not even think about the weight limit. God knows we try to pack light but well you know there's just the "essentials" that need to go along.

As you can see I'm clueless about all of this. Thanks for all of your replies. We went to Disney last December. I tried to grin and bear it. Ended up being a horrible trip.

Thanks for all of your posts. I'm determined that this trip is going to reignite the Magic.

Renee

 

[kathyk2]

If you have a valid parking placard from your home state Florida should honor it. I live in Massachusetts, and I've been on day trips to N.H and R.I. and noone raised a fuss regarding my placard. Don't worry abould looking too young to use a scooter your health comes first.

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by Forever a Princess
2. I'm not sure how to get a diabled parking permit. I'm going to have to ask my Doc for a temporary one. Will the one that we bring from our home state work for the rental car?

A handicapped parking permit from any state is recognized in any other state. They have agreements between the states to make this happen. If you check the website for your state's department of motor vehicles, they should have information about how to apply and may even have forms that you can download and print to take to your doctor. You doctor's office may have them in a file too.

Are the disabled parking spots close enough to the park entrances that we can park assemble and go? Specifically I'm asking if these spots are close enough to the park entrance for DH to walk to?

The handicapped parking areas don't have tram service to the front of the park; the regular parking areas do.
Someone with an ecv or non-folding wheelchair with them will need to park in the handicapped lot because the ecv/wheelchair can't be put on the tram. If you don't have an ecv and can step up one step to the tram, you will end up closer to the entrance by parking in the regular lot and taking the tram.

The handicapped parking at MGM, Epcot and AK are no farther than you would walk if you took the bus. The handicapped parking at MK is a fair hike to the TTC (where the trams deposit people to take a monorail or boat to the park). That's why, if you are staying on site, it's usually recommended to take WDW transportation to MK, even if you drive everywhere else. All the monorails and almost 100% of the buses are wheelchair/ecv accessible. Each bus can hold up to 2 ecvs/wheelchairs. Most of the boats are also accessible (the exception is the boats that go to and from the MK resorts and MK. They are sometimes not accessible because of the water levels. Other boats are fine.

3. Great idea on the luggage. I did not even think about the weight limit. God knows we try to pack light but well you know there's just the "essentials" that need to go along.

I just wanted to mention that the people checking in ahead of us when we left Orlando in March had an overweight bag and had to pay the extra fee right there on the spot.