Can not wait to go to Disney World this year. My daughter has had a very rough year (she is 11). Her ankle started hurting in the summer (former gymnast and started doing all star cheer after she quit gymnastics). Her ankle was hurting off and on and by the end of September it was hurting almost every day.
Brought her to the ortho, X-rays and she was diagnosed with accessory navicular and posterior tibial tendonitis. Also known as navicular pain syndrome.
She has an extra bone on her navicular bone (bone that supports your arch) and this is causing the tendon to be inflamed.
She was put in a walking cast x 4 weeks followed by physical therapy. She quit All Star Cheer in November because the very mean coaches also had difficulty understanding what a doctor's excuse from tumbling/basing, etc.
Ankle felt better but never pain free through December. Started hurting with a vengence toward the end of January. Back to the ortho, this time we saw the Pedi ortho in the same group... He told me I was lucky my kid doesn't have leukemia

and that there is nothing to do it will
probably feel better when she stops growing. (she was about 54" at the time so I think she has a ways to go with that). He told us to take her to CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia), but had no doc recommendation. When my daughter asked him for a note for gym he said, "you just loaf off in gym anyway, don't you?" Sad thing is, I used to work with him when he was a resident and he was nice back then. He is an arrogant cotton headed ninny muggins now...
We brought her to CHOP a few days later and they put her in an air cast/walking cam boot for 4-6 weeks. At 4 weeks her pain was worse and the ortho there said another 4 weeks. I told her uh... no... she is worse now, not better. So we got an appt 2 weeks later with the Ortho Surgeon at CHOP (well after a lot of phone calls we got the appt). He put her in a non-weight bearing cast (which is actually helping) for 5 weeks. She has been in it for a week and instead of a kid crying every night in pain (always worse in the evening when tired and she's walked on it all day) I have a kid annoyed by her cast. Of course, I'll take the latter....
His hope is that we will calm down that tendon and we can avoid surgery. His concern with the surgery is that he removes the bone and the tendonitis doesn't go away. Not likely but possible.
We go back to him on 5/9/13, hopefully he will remove her cast then. Then she will start physical therapy again. We leave for WDW on 5/17/13. She doesn't think she'll do the slide (which is saying a LOT) but should be able to enjoy the rest of SAB. If she is still in the cast... then she will wear her Drycast swim and make the best of things.
We already have our wheelchair rental reserved through apple
scooter for a great rate. We of course will bring our crutches and just let her decide when she "crutches," if/when she does some touch down weight bearing and when she rides in the chair.
We were unable to get an accessible shower for our week at the Beach Club or our 2 nights at Jambo but we have this suction arm rail that attaches to the shower wall.
But either way, very excited to have some free time with family at our favorite Resort in our favorite place.
I just feel like we need this vacation more than the others.
To those of you that deal with children or any loved one really with pain or disabilities on a daily basis I salute you. It really is so hard to watch the ones you love get so frustrated and have pain.
I am a nurse and deal with suffering in my patients daily, but that is in a different place in my life kept very separate from my personal life.
Anyway, can't wait to get there and see Teena and the bell staff. Love those guys such a helpful wonderful group.
We just can NOT wait. 35 days but whose counting????