Air travel with a case of pediasure?

[fenfur]

For our trip in Sept, we will need to bring a case of Kindercal (basically same thing as pediasure) for my son. He is given supplemental g-tube feedings at night only (and I can throw in some extra water to make sure he stays hydrated too :goodvibes ). What is the best way to travel with this. I'm thinking my options are to a) disperse it among our bags, a can here a can there, but I HATE to waste luggage weight on that b) since it is considered a medical item can I just carry a case on and it will not count toward our fluid OR carry on limits? But this would be heavy and a PITA, considering all the other kid stuff we need to have with us for a cross country flight. Any other ideas or suggestions?

[alizesmom]

See if you can get a DME near Disney to send it to your resort or ship some to the resort yourself. Have fun. Karen

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

I take the case and place it in the bottom of a suitcase (awheeled one) and then put other 'stuff' (beach towels, jackets, baby blankets, etc.) on top and around it. I always tell the airline that this is a heavy case as it contains medical formula. I have never been charged for overweight. 1 case weighs 32 pounds!
Good Luck!

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

PS I always check it and then DME will take it right to your hotel room.

[LauraVV]

For our trip in Sept, we will need to bring a case of Kindercal What is the best way to travel with this.

Can you put all of your medical stuff in one suitcase? You could check it and let the airline know in advance that you have a suitcase full of medical equipment.

[fenfur]

Thanks for the suggestions. We won't really have a suitcase full of medical supplies to check so I don't know if that will work. I'm leaning toward the idea of just packing it with towels or something and telling them it's medical formula, great idea btw!!

Who knows, maybe before now and then he'll decide to start eating better :rotfl2: , it was a funny thought hehe.

[cdhheidi]

Thanks for the suggestions. We won't really have a suitcase full of medical supplies to check so I don't know if that will work. I'm leaning toward the idea of just packing it with towels or something and telling them it's medical formula, great idea btw!!

Who knows, maybe before now and then he'll decide to start eating better :rotfl2: , it was a funny thought hehe.

My only concern about packing it in checked luggage would be if your luggage got lost someplace and you did not have it available... you should at least try to take 24-48 hours supply in your carry on. Medical supplies are not counted towards your carry on limit (and trust me, we have a LOT of medical supplies we have to carry on board! ROFL!). The other thing you could do would be to UPS it or have your homecare supplier UPS it to your hotel. OUr company is GREAT at that... they bend over backwards to make sure that we have whatever we need when we travel.

Have a great trip!

[Cheshire Figment]

Why not talk to a social worker at your medical center. They should be able to locate a supplier in the Orlando area and arrange for it to be delivered directly to your Resort. They may be able to something with the water also, but that would be a plus.

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

I don't EVER put all of my medical supplies together for the reason that if that case is lost then I have a mess!! I always take enough formula in my carry on to last DD for 48 hours along with all of her medicine, machines and medical necessities! I also take a separate case with an extra outfit for each of us, myself included... just in case! It takes us forever to get through security, and I feel for those behind us, with all of our machines, but you just never know... all of DD's machines add up to thousands of dollars if they were lost....

[mechurchlady]

Definitely do what Cheshire suggested, see if you can get the Kindercal delivered to your hotel as you should be able to.

As for packing I usually take ratty old clothes and buy new ones on my trips. Use the smallest suitcase you can for the Kindercal then pack all your shoes, toys and anything else that does not matter if it is scrunched.

Last trip from New York City I brought home several stacks of magazines and newspapers for mom. I put them in the smallest case then put underwear, night clothes, a pair of shoes and an old jacket in there.

The problem is that the of the case. Try to get it shipped ahead. Do carry in your online bag one night's worth just in case your plane ends up delayed or has to land in the middle of no where because of mechanical problems.

[scottsod]

why not ship it ahead of time ups ground or postal week or 2 in adv if ur staying onsite they will hold it till check in u can also put water in there

[Ms_Butterfly]

I don't know how many you'll need, but I always have to pack a bottle of Ensure for every morning I'll be away (I get very ill if I don't drink it for breakfast - it helps the digestive problem a med brought on me, plus it gives me the nutrition I can't get from my limited food menu). I just take the bottles individually (not wrapped in plastic like they come from the store), put them in gallon-size Ziploc bags (as many as can fit comfortably in a single level), take the excess air out of the bags and seal them, and put them in my checked luggage (even when going places I most likely wouldn't be able to find them in the store, like the Bahamas - I'm not worried about lost luggage, as that has only happened to me once ever in 26 years of flying several trips each year and then I got it back a few hours later ... 'course, that event is the reason I put a day and half of food for my service dog in my carry-on, so you may wish to put a day or two of bottles in your carry-on, as well).

Alternatively, pack a small duffel bag with the case of bottles and either check it or carry it on (if you carry it, be sure the case will fit in the overhead bins or you'll need to take the bottles individually in Ziploc bags within the duffel).

Or, as others said, have a company ship it to your hotel (or ship it yourself, though that might not be worth the price, as I imagine it would be a heavy box!).

[D,L and K's Mom]

Hi, We have a DS who is a special needs child and we always need diapers, wipes, gatorade, bottled water etc. We used to pack these and ship them but it is much cheaper to have Garden Grocer bring them to your hotel. I have used them 2 times in the past and they are wonderful!!! They bring your items to the hotel and then store them in the luggage section. When you check in call the bell station and they will bring them to your room. It is so much cheaper than shipping them and it saves luggage room. I called the day before we let just to make sure they had the order. They do have pediasure but not sure if it is a good price.Good Luck

http://gardengrocer.com/items.php?cid=49

Half way down page. They have vanilla, Choc and Strawberry.

If you need a medical kind of suppliment we have used Turner Drugs for lots of medical things (diapers, meds etc) they may have what you want and the DO deliver to the WDW hotels.

http://turnerdrug.com/

[fenfur]

Thanks everyone :grouphug: . Getting water isn't a problem, I use tap water (it's going thru a g-tube into the stomach, as his GI doc once told me- The stomach isn't sterile so water doesn't need to be.) Also we will get a rental car and making a trip to the grocery store anyways.

I will have to ask his DME company if they will ship, but I don't know if they will, they get really persnickity about things like that. Also I'm worried about it shipping ground and sitting in the back of a giant brown UPS truck in the hot summer August sun for a week :scared: With our funky insurance I don't know if it is possible to order 1 case from a supplier there, I'm sure it's possible, how much of a PITA it would be I can only guess.

Since it is for his feeding and it is supplemental, if it were to get lost it wouldn't be the end of the world, I'll just have to get more creative in finding him what he'll eat more often.

I think we are going to carryon his pump and charger (if those got lost we would be hosed), a few cans and bags, and disperse the rest of the cans throughout our luggage. Since we are buying 5 tickets we have a decent luggage allotment. Unless the DME company would ship there, but who knows, my gal is out this week.

Thanks again everyone.

[pumpkinboy]

As medical supplies, we simply check an unopened case with our luggage; since it is medically necessary for our g-tube fed child, we have gotten our case of food exempted from the checked baggage count (i.e. does not count as an extra bag). I always bring a few cans in the carry-on as well, just in case luggage is delayed. But having the whole case dropped off in our room by DME is incredibly convenient.

In the unlikely circumstance that the case of food is lost by the airline and never recovered, you will have a car and can always go buy a few cans at the local CVS or Walgreens.

Good luck!

[fenfur]

As medical supplies, we simply check an unopened case with our luggage; since it is medically necessary for our g-tube fed child, we have gotten our case of food exempted from the checked baggage count (i.e. does not count as an extra bag). I always bring a few cans in the carry-on as well, just in case luggage is delayed. But having the whole case dropped off in our room by DME is incredibly convenient.

In the unlikely circumstance that the case of food is lost by the airline and never recovered, you will have a car and can always go buy a few cans at the local CVS or Walgreens.

Good luck!

Oooooooooo now THIS sounds good. Hmmm reinforce the box with packing tape, once I check it, it disappears until I see it in my room, does not count towards bag allowance, sounds pretty good. If I carry on a few days worth (4 cans) and check a case (24 cans) it gives me enough for 14 nights, but we are staying 11, BUT if he is not eating well (halfway expected) I can always put in a extra can every few nights or as needed and still not come home with any. :thumbsup2

[cdhheidi]

Oooooooooo now THIS sounds good. Hmmm reinforce the box with packing tape, once I check it, it disappears until I see it in my room, does not count towards bag allowance, sounds pretty good. If I carry on a few days worth (4 cans) and check a case (24 cans) it gives me enough for 14 nights, but we are staying 11, BUT if he is not eating well (halfway expected) I can always put in a extra can every few nights or as needed and still not come home with any. :thumbsup2

The only concern I have with this is that the baggage handlers tend to not be very careful with the boxes... maybe if you put it in a suitcase padded it would do better, AND you have would have an extra suitcase to bring home those goodies that you buy on the trip to bring home? With the way they throw boxes around, dented cans are a BIG possiblity.



Just my thoughts...

[pumpkinboy]

...I think we are going to carryon his pump and charger (if those got lost we would be hosed), a few cans and bags, and disperse the rest of the cans throughout our luggage. ...Always, always, always bring the pump and charger as carry-ons. Since they are medical equipment, they don't count toward your carry-on allotment either. I can only imagine just how hosed we would be if these got lost ever. I usually give DS a feed on the plane on the way down; I like to think it helps him deal with the pressure changes and/or any motion sickness he might be experiencing, but this is just speculation on my part. He's usually due for a feed about then anyway.

In our carry-ons we have DS's pump bag, with a feed or two already measured out and ready to go, and another bag containing all of his meds (~a dozen), his pump, some spare bags for the feeds, a spare MIC-key button, a spare extension, his H/C placard and anything else realy important. And in the third medical carry-on, I pack his CPAP machine and all of the stuff it needs. When flying, I know where all three of these bags are at all times, given their importance.

For checked luggage, I send his specialized car seat (DS is unable to sit up on his own), a case of Glucerna cans right in the shrink-wrapped case they came in, and a box containing all of his other consumables (Bags, dipes, another spare MIC-key button, other spares of other items). Thank goodness for DME making life easier for those of us with kids with lots of medical needs.

Good luck!

[fenfur]

The only concern I have with this is that the baggage handlers tend to not be very careful with the boxes... maybe if you put it in a suitcase padded it would do better, AND you have would have an extra suitcase to bring home those goodies that you buy on the trip to bring home? With the way they throw boxes around, dented cans are a BIG possiblity.



Just my thoughts...

I was thinking that too, but personally I don't have a problem using dented cans, as long as I know they are freshly dented, lol. The cases are packed in a fairly sturdy thick cardboard box, if I reinforce everything with packing tape, it would take A LOT to really muck it up, it's like carrying around a case of soda with a moving box around it.

Since we are DLR AP's (and former cast members ourselves) our radar awareness for junk is set pretty high, I'm not anticipating buying a ton of souveniers, or at least not enough that we would need a extra suitcase, lol. But I have been holding out on buying the light up swirly character thingys and also all the potato head pieces, I figure those will keep them very well occupied on the flight home.

Pumpkin boy- Thanks for the thought of packing his extra mic-key button on carry on, I would have assumed to just pack it into checked with everything else, d'oh.

[5dwarves]

Wow...you have gotten some excellent advice. The only other thing I would offer is to let your airline know ahead of time. There are notes sections on your reservations on their computer. Call them now and let them know you will be checking medical supplies and then tell them again when you confirm your flight the day before, and obviously when you are checking in. Reiterate to them how important the supplies are to your special needs son. If anything were to be misplaced you could let the airline know that you gave them advanced notice, notice the day before and notice when you checked in and that the formula is medically necessary and they need to expedite finding it or replacing and delivering it by the end of the business day. If you have alerted them (multiple times) and something were to happen, I am sure they would bend over backwards to get it resolved right away.

~Elisa

[fenfur]

Wow...you have gotten some excellent advice. The only other thing I would offer is to let your airline know ahead of time. There are notes sections on your reservations on their computer. Call them now and let them know you will be checking medical supplies and then tell them again when you confirm your flight the day before, and obviously when you are checking in. Reiterate to them how important the supplies are to your special needs son. If anything were to be misplaced you could let the airline know that you gave them advanced notice, notice the day before and notice when you checked in and that the formula is medically necessary and they need to expedite finding it or replacing and delivering it by the end of the business day. If you have alerted them (multiple times) and something were to happen, I am sure they would bend over backwards to get it resolved right away.

~Elisa

Thanks, I'll remember to do that once I book our flight. Here's to hoping Southwest has decent rates on their release on Friday.

[shoes99]

My sister only carried her pump, charger and 6 cans on the plane. She had her distributor ship a case to our hotel. When we checked into the Marriott Grande Vista, the case was waiting for us.

[Ms_Butterfly]

Just be sure your airline is one that doesn't count checked medical supplies towards the baggage limit. I'm not sure which ones don't, but I know Delta doesn't, JetBlue doesn't, and United changed their rule to allow "medical devices" - not sure if they'd give you a hard time with supplies instead of a device (some of those airline agents can be real persnickety, as I'm sure you know!). Not sure about the other airlines.

[pumpkinboy]

Pumpkin boy- Thanks for the thought of packing his extra mic-key button on carry on, I would have assumed to just pack it into checked with everything else, d'oh.I usually pack two: one in the Med Bag (carry-on) and one in the checked luggage (supplies box). Though we have never needed to change DS's MIC-key button on vacation, I take grat comfort knowing that we have two spares in case we need them.

OT: re g-tubes; isn't it sweet how the g-tube is called a "MIC-key" ::MickeyMo while the competing device is a "Mini" ::MinnieMo . As a Disney geek, I have always found that amusing.

[pumpkinboy]

Thanks, I'll remember to do that once I book our flight. Here's to hoping Southwest has decent rates on their release on Friday.Here's hoping SouthWest has some good fares for you. :goodvibes In case you're disappointed in SWA when they release, I plugged your dates into the search engine Kayak.com, and am finding a non-stop LAX-MCO for $339 per person, round-trip, and a one-stop (Denver) ONT-MCO for $345, both on United. In my experience, for trans-continental flights, these are pretty decent fares, and possible fall-backs.

Another advantage to taking an airline other than SWA is DME resort check-in; United and Delta both do resort check-in on the return, so you can check your bags in the lobby ar POR and just bring your carry-ons with you on the DME bus back to the Airport.

Good luck!

[fenfur]

Here's hoping SouthWest has some good fares for you. :goodvibes In case you're disappointed in SWA when they release, I plugged your dates into the search engine Kayak.com, and am finding a non-stop LAX-MCO for $339 per person, round-trip, and a one-stop (Denver) ONT-MCO for $345, both on United. In my experience, for trans-continental flights, these are pretty decent fares, and possible fall-backs.

Another advantage to taking an airline other than SWA is DME resort check-in; United and Delta both do resort check-in on the return, so you can check your bags in the lobby ar POR and just bring your carry-ons with you on the DME bus back to the Airport.

Good luck!
Ahhhh But Continental has a flight out of San Diego for $277 with taxes, with a stop in Texas ;) and since we are in SOuth County it wouldn't be too bad to drive down there, about 1 1/2 hour (1 hour to LAX, 1 hour to Ont, 15 min to JWA) Too bad JWA is always SOOOOO expensive.

[fenfur]

Ok, we booked our flights with Jet Blue. So before I call, does anyone have any experience with Jet Blue. if it came down to it we bought 5 seats (cross country travel with a lap infant is NOT gonna happen) and Jet Blue still allows 2 checked bags per person so we could, if needed, use a checked bag allotment for the case of kindercal.

[Ms_Butterfly]

I've flown JetBlue a few times. Last time I went (Feb.) I declared one bag as medical supplies, since it was and I had three bags (instead of my usual two). I had no problems about the bags on either leg of the round-trip. My Ensure bottles were packed in my suitcase (inside Ziploc bags, though I've never had an Ensure bottle break on any flight). My third checked bag was a small duffel and inside it one of the items was a cardboard box with foil packages of water in it (doggy water for my service dog, since we were going on a cruise and I didn't want her drinking ship water or Mexican water) - those made it through fine, as well.