Advice please regarding my mom...

[bartleby1]

We are going to disney next week and mom decided to join us. Here's a little background. Mom fell and severly damaged her knee about 15 years ago. Many, many surgeries later and living on painkillers every day since, her knee is no better. She walks/limps with a cane and the bottom half of her leg no longer lines up with the top part. To put it mildly, she suffers a great deal. However, mom is a saint. We NEVER hear her complain and she keeps plugging away doing whatever she can. She does have a handicapped parking sticker for her car though.

Here's the problem. She is VERY stubborn and refuses to ride in a wheelchair!! I have spoken with her about using one at disney but I just can't convince her. She just says she'll do fine. I know that she will walk and walk and never complain regardless of how much she is suffering. She will just load herself up on more pain pills (which is a whole other problem because I'm sure she is destroying her insides). She still works but has to sit during her lunch hours every day with an ice pack on her knee to try to keep the swelling down, but still, you will never once hear her say that it hurts.

Anyway, when we went a few years ago, she got some sort of pass/card that allowed her to go through the fastpass (I think?) with only minimal waiting on lines? I'm not sure of the details. Does this still exist? Anyone know what I'm talking about?? I know she will still be in incredible pain but I'm trying to find any way that I can to cut down on the amount of inflamation and pain she will encounter. I really wish she would go for the wheelchair, but that is definitely out of the question. She just won't do it. I just hate to see her limping around and making her knee so much worse.

Any other suggestions are welcome also.

Thanks!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Welcome to disABILITIES.

You might want to show some of these posts to your mother. Most of us posting are much younger than she is, with problems that can be similar.

Rather than a wheelchair, you might be able to persuade her to use what is sometimes referred to as a "scooter". The more formal name is "Electric Convenience Vehicle", or ECV. This will give her much greater freedom than a wheelchair; I think this percption might be important to her. She is not being pushed but can drive it, just as she drives a car.

If she will go grocery shopping with you in a large store, you might get her to try out an ECV in the store. Most large groceries have them, with large baskets in the front.

Th Disney ECVs are smaller and easier to use than the ones in the stores. They currently have a daily charge of $30.00 plus a $10.00 refundable deposit. I remeber the first time I used one, when still less than 60 yo. My reaction was "Why have I suffered with pain in the past because I was too proud to use it". Since then on every trip to WDW or DL I have arranged for the rental of an ECV from an off-site location; the prices are lower, they are even easier to use than Disney's, and they are always available.

To answer the other part of your question, what you are asking about is a "Guest Assistance Card", usually referred to as a "GAC". When you go to your first park go to Guest Services with her. Explain the limitations and needs; the cast member will give a card with the requirements on it. The card is good for the bearer and up to five members of the party. It is good at all four parks and for the length of stay.

Be sure to bring her HP hang tag for use in the car. It will allow her to use medical parking. Also, at the deluxe hotels they will waive the daily valet parking fee. Please note, if using the valet parking, that the valets are "tip positions", similar to waiters, and they do not get any part of the fee charged.

Others will probably chime in with similar comments, and you will probably find other threads that are related. Again, I would suggest you might want to print out severtal of these threads, or the responses to your question, and show them to your mother.

 

[SueM in MN]

She sounds like my FIL (except that he hasn't had surgery on his knees). Each year, he thinks a little more seriously about renting an ecv (but so far he has been "thinking about it" for about 8 years and "thinking about it real seriously" for about 3 years). It hurts just to see him walk. I haven't been able to convince him, but one of his reasons is that his wife could also benefit from one, but there is no way they would rent 2, so he just won't rent one.

My personal feeling about a GAC is that it is not going to really that helpful to anyone with that much pain walking or standing. What they need is a wheelchair or ecv. Yes, with a GAC she might be able to avoid some standing in line, but she will still be standing in line a lot, even with a GAC and the distance in line is tiny, tiny compared to the total amount of walking in the parks just to get from point A to point B. Some of the rides (like Pirates and ITTBAB have long queues that you need to walk thru even if there is no wait. Just walking around WS is over a mile. People have estimated the average walk in a day at WDW is between 3 and 8 miles. Someone who needs to ice her knee to make it thru a normal workday is going to be in agony after a few hours with that much walking, whether she has a GAC or not.

This site might be helpful to you. She has information about how to convince someone to use a wheelchair or ecv. I remember one poster who just ordered one for her traveling companion. The first day, it didn't get used much, but by the second day, they were wondering why they had been so silly not to use one before. If you do decide to rent a wheelchair or ecv, it's less expensive to rent from off-site. Here's a list of places DIS posters have used:
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/

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

 

[bartleby1]

Thank you both for responding!

Cheshire Figment - I am definitely going to work on trying to convice her to rent an ecv or wheelchair, but she is still insisting she will do fine - stubborn to the core. I'm not going to give up on trying to convince her though. I just know that would help her sooo much. I really wish she would just do it. It would make things so much easier on her. If she used it to get around between attractions the standing on lines would be much more do-able for her. I'll keep on her about it.

SueM - I absolutely understand what you are saying about the GAC not helping much for someone in her condition. I agree with you 100% that she needs a wheelchair or ECV. I am just grasping at straws here trying to find a way that she will let us help her. It is so hard to watch someone you love in so much pain all of the time. I am trying to understand it from her point of view, but I just don't see what the big deal is about using one to get around the longer distances in the parks. She could still get off and walk through attractions, stores, etc. I don't get it. Unfortunately, like the old saying goes, you can't help someone who won't help themselves.

Thanks again for the info and links. I'm going to keep trying!

 

[Wendy P]

Are we sisters because you sound like you're describing my Mom. My mother has no cartilidge in her knee yet she continues walking in spite of the pain. Her leg has deformed as you described and it's painful to see her walk. In addition she has osteoporosis so whenever she falls she breaks something (just got the cast off her most recent broken wrist).

Mom REFUSES to use a wheel chair in spite of the pain she's in. However, a few years back on a trip to Disney she discovered ECVs. She was like a kid in a candy store - she explored every alley and passage in every park. It was nice to see her enjoying herself so much. Since then we've reserved one off site and had it delivered to our hotel. We use www.scootaround.com. They'll deliver it to your hotel and pick it up when you're done. We've used them for Disney and also for Las Vegas. It's cheaper than Disney, you're guaranteed to have one (the parks run out early in the day) and she doesn't have the walking at the hotel or in the parking lot. She wasn't crazy about getting off and on the bus with them last time we went so this time we're renting a car. They're a little heavy to lift, but she's always traveling with me or one of my siblings so it's not an issue.

See if you can talk your Mom into using one of these. I know with my Mom she didn't want to be in a wheelchair because she felt like she was putting someone out having to push her and pushing herself all that way was out of the question. With the ECV she's completely independent. They're also very easy to use. My Mom is the most non-technical, non-mechanical person I know (she's never figured out how to use her VCR) and she operates one with no problem.

Good luck.

Wendy

 

[bartleby1]

Thanks Wendy - it does sound just like my mother, lol! I am still working on her but she is insisting she doesn't need it. I think I may rent one and have it delivered to the hotel anyway. That way, if she knows I already paid for it she might feel bad NOT using it, hehe. I know it's sneaky but I just won't feel good knowing she is in so much pain.

Thanks again!

 

[Talking Hands]

I have multiple medical issues and have been using an ECV or scooter since I was in my mid 40s. What independencce to be able to get around the world without constant pain. Tell her I said stop being stubborn. LIfe is too short to be in constant pain.