Travel with brain aneurysm survivor - advice

[DisMomAmy]

I’m looking for tips to help my bff have a fun Disney trip. She almost died 2 1/2 years ago from a ruptured brain aneurysm. She’s been back to Disney once since then & it was a fail. Family pushed too hard & she paid the price. She has always loved Disney & is ready to give it another shot. She gets dizzy more easily now so I know certain rides are out. She’s familiar with most of the rides and knows which ones to skip. She does ok on mine train but BTMRR threw her off all day. I think it’s rides with jerky movements that give her trouble. What about the newest rides?

I’m also looking for any other tips you all might have. Her biggest issue is neurofatigue.

Help me bring the magic back for my BFF.

 

[AgentMama]

Ruptured brain aneurysms cause the same effects as other traumatic brain injuries. Not sure what other symptoms she's experiencing, but if she knows what rides she can and can't do and suffers from neuro fatigue, can she guide what she thinks she's capable, or are those skills she's struggling with now?

I'd tailor your trip to if she's a morning person or evening and make sure there are plenty of breaks, even the opportunity to go back to the room for a nap or decompression. If she enjoys table service places, reservations might be a good forced break. Maybe look at some of the tours or other experiences that reduce crowd size and allow a more personalized experience?

 

[DisMomAmy]

I think that is going to be key. Being flexible & following her lead. We did Keys to the Kingdom the weekend before the pandemic shut down & loved that. I’ll have to look at other tours.

 

[Caseheidi]

I love the idea of looking into tours and other special things. You might look at activities that are available at the hotels that would still allow for Disney Magic, but not the crowds of the parks. We have a daughter that has major anxiety, and we find that we like to take a down day for every two park days, and this helps her refuel for the parks. We visit hotels, play mini-golf and just try different activities. We also slow down in the parks and enjoy the shows and prioritize the attractions that are must do's for our family.

As for the new attractions, several are really smooth. I would suggest researching them on YouTube before your trip to determine if they will work for your friend or not. I would avoid rides like Dinosaur, Star Tours or any of the coasters as it sounds like they may be too much for them and have long reaching effects.

 

[RoseGold]

I guess it depends on what "paid the price" means. If she is easily fatigued, maybe a wheelchair would help?

I would have an honest discussion about limitations. WDW is expensive, and there are plenty of other, cool places to vacation that are more chill. You need to figure out whether the trip that you have imagined is possible in the real world.

 

[Selket]

I’m looking for tips to help by bff have a fun Disney trip. She almost died 2 1/2 years ago from a ruptured brain aneurysm. She’s been back to Disney once since then & it was a fail. Family pushed too hard & she paid the price. She has always loved Disney & is ready to give it another shot. She gets dizzy more easily now so I know certain rides are out. She’s familiar with most of the rides and knows which ones to skip. She does ok on mine train but BTMRR threw her off all day. I think it’s rides with jerky movements that give her trouble. What about the newest rides?

I’m also looking for any other tips you all might have. Her biggest issue is neurofatigue.

Help me bring the magic back for my BFF.

You might search for some of my older posts. I had a traumatic brain injury (bike accident while wearing a helmet) several years ago. Some of the jerky/bumpy rides space mountain, Kilimanjaro safaris (I can do it but I think sitting towards the front of the jeep helps), Dinosaur, and so on. Everest isn't bumpy to me but the "pressure" I feel on hills almost always gives me a headache still. RnRC also made me feel awful but I've ridden it more recently and it was ok. Perhaps she too will find it changes for her over time. I've ridden GoTG with no problems (could ride it all day), ToT, and Tron (only once so not a lot of data) and all are fine. Slinky doesn't bother me but I only do it once.

I agree that spending more time on the other stuff can be fun - resort touring, dining, special event parties, tours like Keys to the Kingdom, nicer hotel to enjoy the resort, etc.

 

[lovethattink]

My family member had his aneurysm clamped back in the 80’s. At the 2 year point he tired easily. So we’d go at a leisurely pace. Made full use of benches. He watched shows. Stayed away from rides with a g-force.

As time went on, he could outwalk all of us and he’d go biking at least 10 miles every morning. He use to go on everything except Rock N Roller until his stroke.

Even then his last trip was in 2015 or 16, and he could still outwalk us, but got tired much faster. He stopped going on coasters and ToT completely. Soarin’ gave him issues. Wasn’t able to ride bike anymore. He did pretty great for someone who had an aneurysm and decades later a massive stroke and was over 80 years old.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Regarding Kilimanjaro Safari-yes, sitting near the front of the jeep does make a very big difference in the amount of jerkiness. I have a disc problem, had a really bad time several years ago, and now I tell the CMs that I need the first or second row. They're always very accommodating, and now there's never a problem with my back.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Thank you all for your suggestions & sharing your experiences. I made a resort change that I think will be really helpful. We’ll definitely spend our park time going at her pace.

 

[keishashadow]

Does she have any current restrictions as to activity (if applicable, ok to fly, G forces on attractions etc)?

Perhaps a good idea to run it past her dr before planning the details?

 

[ttintagel]

I guess it depends on what "paid the price" means. If she is easily fatigued, maybe a wheelchair would help?

I would have an honest discussion about limitations. WDW is expensive, and there are plenty of other, cool places to vacation that are more chill. You need to figure out whether the trip that you have imagined is possible in the real world.

Yes, I would think a wheelchair or ECV could be a great way to stave off fatigue. Rest breaks are great, but you can't always count on finding a good place for one when you need it

 

[ttintagel]

Regarding Kilimanjaro Safari-yes, sitting near the front of the jeep does make a very big difference in the amount of jerkiness. I have a disc problem, had a really bad time several years ago, and now I tell the CMs that I need the first or second row. They're always very accommodating, and now there's never a problem with my back.

Yes, they did the same thing for us when we had a member in our group with spinal fusion.