Broken ankle and 2 weeks until sailing

[jworkkul]

Well, today I got the bad news that my right ankle is officially broken after I twisted it 2 weeks ago and it hasn't gotten any better. Has anyone been on a cruise on crutches or cast and can enlighten me how they got along?

 

[maggie blossom]

I went on my first cruise last year, on the magic to western.
In was 6 weeks post op from surgery to repair fractured tib/fib. I was in a boot and on crutches. I ended up getting a small lightweight wheelchair. The ship is so big and I wasn't that great on the crutches. I ended up using the crutches for places close and the wheelchair if I had to go to the opposite end of the ship.
Was it good? Yes. Did I have fun? Yes. Would I have liked it better if I wasn't 'broken'? Of course.
I would be happy to answer any questions. We re worked our excursions and I worried about getting on a tether boat and that was easy.
I wasn't able to get an accessible room as they were booked but our stateroom host got me a shower chair as I couldnt stand in the shower.
Feel free to PM me
Hope you feel better soon

 

[kcashner]

The Magic had a limited number of wheelchairs available for guests to borrow. Not sure about the other ships.

 

[Otimon]

Sorry to hear what has happened so close to your cruise.

You may not be able to run the 5K at Castaway Cay if you wanted to, but I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy a wonderful cruise.

Best wishes.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Ds15 sailed with a cast on his wrist when he was in 2nd grade. Luckily it was a very small buckle fracture so the cast didn't cover his elbow. Also we were able to get a waterproof cast so he still swam, snorkeled with stingrays in GC and had a great time. I would think it would be more difficult with a cast on the leg but only you can decide if you still want to cruise.
Do you have trip insurance?

 

[jworkkul]

I'm not going to cancel. I will make it no matter what I have been walking on it for two weeks now. It is a rather bazaar story but two weeks ago I just twisted my ankle while walking. I am a nurse in a hospital and I did it while at work and they took x-rays there and the ER doc came in and said, "no fracture" and then about 15 minutes later the nurse came in with a "boot" and said, "which foot is fractured?" Now, I was given 2 Vicodans and I thought she was being silly and said nothing. So the ER said to followup with my private MD in about 3-5 days so on Monday I went to see my private MD and they gave me a return to work slip with "light duty." I got a copy of the x-ray results to send to my doctor and on it said it was a questionable hairline fracture of the distal fibula. WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!!!! The ER MD said to me no fracture and here was the reading that said possible. I work in radiology and one of the doctors there took a look at the pictures and they ordered another set of x-rays. Now it read as nothing there. OK, I get it. So, I am continuing to work All this time my ankle has not been getting better.

I am on my feet anywhere from 10-15 hrs per day and when I come home I am hurting and my ankle is so swollen even with support. I went to my private MD again on Friday and they want to wait another 2 weeks to have an MRI but I told them that I would be on the boat so they gave me a prescription for an MRI. I went that night and had it done. Today at work is when I got the diagnosis of non displaced fracture of the distal fibula with bone contusions.

I have to wait until tomorrow to speak with my doctor to see how I should proceed next but my guess will be to seek advice of an orthopedist. Rather they cast it, boot it and tell me not to work is the next step. I will ask what they think in terms of a wheelchair for the cruise.

By the way, my daughter and I are sailing on the Dream for 4 days. I do have jet skies booked for CC but I will forgo it and my daughter can go without me. I know we will have fun either way. I don't need an accessible cabin. I can get by with what we have.

Thank you for letting me rant this way.

 

[shelbell77]

If you do need to stay off it, I know some local companies will deliver a rental wheel chair to the ship for you. The ship has a limited number. That way you will KNOW for sure you have one that is just yours. A friend of ours hurt her foot just before Dream last year, and this is what they did.

 

[jworkkul]

If you do need to stay off it, I know some local companies will deliver a rental wheel chair to the ship for you. The ship has a limited number. That way you will KNOW for sure you have one that is just yours. A friend of ours hurt her foot just before Dream last year, and this is what they did.

Thanks, depending on what the ortho guy says I just might take you up on the names of some of those companies.

 

[Billinaz]

This works great for keeping your cast dry (if you have one)

http://xerosox.com/index.html

 

[happytime]

I also broke my right ankle just before our cruise. My case: 5 days before we boarded the ship, I took a tumble from my front porch step...later that same day, I had surgery (10 pins, metal plate) and a cast.

We drove from St. Louis to Florida 3 days later and took with us a walker (a waste-imo-and something we definitely didn't use at all, a wheelchair, which we did use for those trips that were from one end of ship to the other, and finally, we used a thing called a knee walker, which I loved the most. Here is a picture of it.

We rented ours for $20 a week and they can be found at local pharmacies. You'll probably need to check your phone book (either via internet or regular book pages). Along those lines, we also secured waterproof leg covering at Walgreens for $15 (for two). Here is a picture of it.

The Dream DID NOT have anything available except for what they had in their medical facilities. We called ahead to Disney Cruise Line and was told we HAD to bring our own equipment.

They did, however, set us up for a shower chair AND an elevated toilet seat for our regular room. The day we left St. Louis, I was able to secure a handicap room at the last minute and it was truly a godsend because the bathroom was already set up and I utilized all the equipment in there. Continue to check with Disney to see if you can get one of these rooms. They are spacious. Believe it or not, I used all the room in the room with the wheelchair.

We did cancel the other equipment. For us we would never have been able to get in the regular room with the wheelchair...impossible (too narrow). The knee walker would've been hard, too, because the space is also to narrow to turn things around. The little jump to the bathroom would've been tricky.

As you know you can't put any weight on the foot and it's quite difficult to not do that from a regular sized toilet/chair/sofa etc.

I found that I was really at an inconvenience so early going on the cruise after the break. You, however, do have a little more time between the break and the cruise trip... and it shouldn't be bad for you.

We didn't do any excursions. This was our 8th cruise so it was okay, but I would've been bummed if it was our first or second. On Castaway Cay, our family (10 out of the 14 of us) rented a cabana, which was wonderful. Everyone could move around and I stayed put, yet I had the view of the water. On Castaway Cay, they have wheelchairs that are made for beaches, which was very nice.

One thing I learned about the elevators is either go early (before the crowds) to get on the elevator or you won't be able to get on them due to the "walkers" (a.k.a normal everyday people who don't have any special needs) walking much faster and securing themselves and their families thus filling up the elevator and leaving you no room to get on (with a wheelchair). This happened MANY times during our cruise. OR do what I learned to do, hit the button opposite of where I (and everyone else) wanted to go so that I would get on the elevator and be on it when it came back to the floor where I started.

For our cruise, and in hindsight, it wasn't our best ever cruise. However, that said, it still was a decent cruise because anytime I'm on vacation, away from the daily grind, and on a Disney ship, how could it not be wonderful. I jokingly tell my hubby that I want a do-over so that I could actually explore the ship and do some of the activities we missed because it was just too much hassle to get from one place to another. We didn't even use our veranda too much due to the wheelchair. If I had the crutches, it might've been easier to maneuver the door and chair.

Hope this has helped you.

 

[braysmommy]

I will keep my fingers crossed for you hopefully if it is a small non displaced fx of the fibula maybe you will only need a walking boot.
Course on the bright side of things if you are going to be out of work with a work place injury a Disney cruise would be the place to be
Hope it all works out for you!

 

[Mom323]

Well, today I got the bad news that my right ankle is officially broken after I twisted it 2 weeks ago and it hasn't gotten any better. Has anyone been on a cruise on crutches or cast and can enlighten me how they got along?

I second the knee roller!! I had surgery on my achilles.

http://www.crutchalternatives.com/

 

[OurDogCisco]

For our last Cruise in June I dislocated my elbow 7 days before we were to sail. They put the elbow back into its spot and I had to wear a sling and splint for 4 weeks. The biggest difficulty I had was with swelling as it is hot in Florida. Anyways, it wasn't the best cruise I ever been on. I had a hard time with the crowds, noise level. I felt like I was ultra senstive to everything. Kids running, etc... But I didn't have trip insurance so, we went. It was nice not having to clean or cook meals so, that was helpful. It was nice just to sit around and rest. But I didn't get to do all the things I wanted to do like kayaking at Castaway Cay, bike riding (we stopped twice there), going to Atlantis to do the park, ride the Aquaduck, take pictures (that was a biggie for me as I love using my DSLR), etc... But I knew I wouldn't be able to do those things so, I just went with the flow.

 

[jdb in AZ]

How's your balance? If the ship suddenly shifts will you go flying? Some passengers prefer the wheelchair so that doesn't happen.

Last summer DH and I were leaving the dining room (different cruise line) and the ship suddenly shifted and DH stumbled into a whole tray of stemware. Broken glass everywhere. oops. And that was without crutches.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm not going to cancel. I will make it no matter what I have been walking on it for two weeks now. It is a rather bazaar story but two weeks ago I just twisted my ankle while walking. I am a nurse in a hospital and I did it while at work and they took x-rays there and the ER doc came in and said, "no fracture" and then about 15 minutes later the nurse came in with a "boot" and said, "which foot is fractured?" Now, I was given 2 Vicodans and I thought she was being silly and said nothing. So the ER said to followup with my private MD in about 3-5 days so on Monday I went to see my private MD and they gave me a return to work slip with "light duty." I got a copy of the x-ray results to send to my doctor and on it said it was a questionable hairline fracture of the distal fibula. WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!!!! The ER MD said to me no fracture and here was the reading that said possible. I work in radiology and one of the doctors there took a look at the pictures and they ordered another set of x-rays. Now it read as nothing there. OK, I get it. So, I am continuing to work All this time my ankle has not been getting better.

I am on my feet anywhere from 10-15 hrs per day and when I come home I am hurting and my ankle is so swollen even with support. I went to my private MD again on Friday and they want to wait another 2 weeks to have an MRI but I told them that I would be on the boat so they gave me a prescription for an MRI. I went that night and had it done. Today at work is when I got the diagnosis of non displaced fracture of the distal fibula with bone contusions.

I have to wait until tomorrow to speak with my doctor to see how I should proceed next but my guess will be to seek advice of an orthopedist. Rather they cast it, boot it and tell me not to work is the next step. I will ask what they think in terms of a wheelchair for the cruise.

By the way, my daughter and I are sailing on the Dream for 4 days. I do have jet skies booked for CC but I will forgo it and my daughter can go without me. I know we will have fun either way. I don't need an accessible cabin. I can get by with what we have.

Thank you for letting me rant this way.

I've been an xray tech at a trauma center for 20+ yrs. This happens often. ER docs can see when it's obvious but sometimes it's soooo subtle even a radiologist can't see it. Sometimes it can't be seen when it's newly injured but as a fracture heals it forms a callous and that can be seen. So some fractures can be seen better 2-3 weeks after the injury. In some cases it's still so subtle it's only seen on a bone scan or MRI.

If you do need a cast, I would highly recommend you find an ortho that can offer a waterproof cast. This is not new technology at all. Ds15 broke his arms 3x. The last time we did have to pay something like an extra $20 copay to have the waterproof material. It's kind of like bubble wrap but thinner and the padding is inside the bubbles. The outer cast is fiberglass as usual so it's only the lining that's different.
His skin never got funky, flaking or itchy. So nice to just shake the water out of it.


Either way it's still so nice to just BE on the ship, see the shows, etc. Hopefully all goes well for you!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Best wishes for a good cruise & in healing!

 

[jworkkul]

Thanks everyone. So far I haven't heard from my doctor as to what I should do next. Whichever way it goes, I have some wonderful suggestions from my disboards friends that I can use.

 

[icehawkmom]

We did a cruise with at 12 year old with a broken ankle (absolutely no weight allowed on foot) It was okay. You should still go just plan differently. Maybe more spa time! Disney had no wheelchairs to borrow for the ports, but they did have sand wheelchairs on Castaway Cay that you could borrow on a first come basis. They worked well. They are a bit of a walk from the ship so I would send someone to get it and bring it back to you. We found out on Pirate night that there is also a special area for "handicap" viewing. It was slightly raised area with chairs and space for wheel chairs. Disney never told us about this and we stumbled on it by accident. It would have been great for the sail away party if we had known. I would ask as soon as boarding about what Disney has for options and be much better informed. You will have to be careful on the upper pool deck areas. They were almost always wet from the pools or cleaning and were very slippery. If you have a walking boot this will be less of a problem, but with a 12 year old boy it was a nightmare. He only knew one speed - really fast and those crutches were lethal weapons. I was suprised how few people were smart enough to give him a little extra space to maneover. (it was usually the parents of small children who were most considerate) If you have someone with you to give you a buffer zone of space that would be good. It prevents you from being cut off or small children wandering into your path. We also couldn't believe the elevators. We would wait with our son, put him on the elevator and then the rest of us would use the stairs. I couldn't believe how few people would even move a little to make room. They would just stare at the poor child.

Showers had a hand held option which works great for casts. I would also request a dining table close to an exit so you can avoid trying to travel in the tight spaces between tables and serving staff.

You will still have a great cruise just be flexible and it won't hurt to tell your family you expect them to wait on you hand and foot!

 

[jelo]

I too am headed to my cruise injured.

For two years we've been warning my husband to be safe(our WDW vacation 9 years ago was cancelled, fractured L1 of the spine)because we didn't want to have to cancel.

So what do I do? We put in a new garden this summer, and I don't know what I did, but I tore my MCL....surgery is April 5th....our vacation starts March 3rd!

So I'll be in pain, but I'm going anyway, it won't be the same trip I've been planning for sure. But I'd rather go before surgery than after, at least I'm managing the pain I have now, I have no idea what will happen after the surgery!

The cruise doesn't bother me as much as the parks, we plan on MK and Epcot...groan!!!

Oh well, at least I won't be working!!!

 

[disneyjunebug]

Ooooh traveling with a hurt ankle? I've done this lots of times! I had 7 surgeries on my left ankle over the past 11 years until last summer when I finally had a total ankle replacement. Over that time, I've been on 7 cruises, although none with Disney. I've traveled more hurt than well!

Definitely rent a wheelchair from a company for your trip. If you get that handicapped room, try and rent a scooter. (there won't be room for it in a regular room probably) If you are not used to pushing yourself over carpet, you might find that a challenge. (I was in a wheelchair over the past 3 years and I was used to it.). If you go with the manual chair, make sure it has elevated leg rests, so that you can prop your foot up. It will swell! Ask for extra pillows to prop it up in bed. Definitely plan a spa day to relax yourself. A massage, facial, any kind of pampering!

If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask