Advise please

[aanderson5]

I am planning a short trip at the end of Aug with my girlfriend, our Mom's and our kids (my DS 3.5, her DS 3 and her DD 1.5). The trip will fall on my Mom's 75th birthday.

My friends Mom has MS. She walks with a cane but gets around quite well. She has never been to Disney and I know there is no way she can walk all day. I am trying to figure out logistics.

Option 1 - We get an ESV for her and bring 2 strollers (a single and a double) for the kids. I am a little worried about her driving. She has never been on one before.

Option 2 - We get a regular wheelchair for her and just take the double stroller. She may actually want to walk part of the time and use the wheelchair for support. Only worry is that all 3 kids may want to be in the stroller at the same time.

Option 3 - We get the regular wheelchair and take both stollers. This would mean my mom would have to push a stroller and all the adults would be pushing something which might make it difficult to corral the kids. My mom is in great walking shape but she is 75.

Does anyone see any other options? How heavy are the wheelchairs to push? If we only took the one stroller could one of the kids sit on her lap. My friend's mom is a pretty small lady. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[zumbergc]

I would vote for option 1.
option 1: have her rent an offsite ecv, so she has complete access to it when she is back at the resort, and to and from the busses, as those can be quite long walks too.

Have the mom practice in the big box stores ecv's. Of course go when its not busy at first. From experience, the ones you rent offsite are much easier to maneuver than the ones in the big box stores. i was parking the walmart one, my mom used, it was absolutely horrible to navigate with, with bad steering, etc. So, if she can use those, and move forward, backward, etc thats a great signal she will do fine at the resorts.

When you first get to disney, have her practice at the resort, less people. Have her practice going forwards, backwards, parallel parking. This will help with getting on the buses.

offsite ecv rental info is in one of the stickies at the top of this board.

Best of luck,
connie

Aug is a hot month, option 3 with a kid on top of mom. gramma and kid are both going to be sweaty messes on top of one another. Plus, if she doesn't have much girth, then kid is going to be sitting on boney legs, not comfortable. Maybe if that child only sits on person for short periods of time.

I think it would be really dificult to push someone in aug with all that heat.

 

[mechurchlady]

Option 1

If you use a double stroller then what will you do if the third kid gets tuckered out. You can strap all the kids in the strollers and not worry about them running off. It is much easier to have the kids in the stroller and trust mom to learn how to use an ECV. If she gets stuck you can have her get out of the ECV and you do the driving but I think you should let her use the ECV. She can park and walk through the shops for example.

As stated it is the hottest time of year and that can drain a person. I last went in September and at times it was too much with the heat and humidity. Florida summers are nothing like dry Tuscon or Los Angeles.

 

[SueM in MN]

Another thing to be aware of is that most people with MS have some problems related to dealing with heat. Even though she is normally very functional with a cane, she may find that dealing with the heat makes her more tired than usual or intensifies some of the symptoms that she normally has from her MS.
I agree with the others that an ECV sounds like a good option, as long as she feels comfortable driving it. I would still bring the strollers like you mentioned in option one.

Your problem may come in getting her to realize that she has a need for more than her cane. One of the suggestions I have made in the past is to think of a place that is about 3 miles away from her home and is very familiar to her. Ask if she could walk there. If she says no, point out that the average person at WDW walks more than 3 miles a day. I've seen estimates from 3-9 miles per day. 3 is probably pretty low, when you consider that it's over a mile just to walk around WS in Epcot.
If she says she could walk it, ask if she could do that distance and back.
Every day for your whole trip?
At that point, most people realize they may need some assistance besides their cane.

Some other things to think about:

• Think about the strollers separate from her needs because with the ages of children you are bringing, you will need strollers in any case.
• If she has no problem walking, but uses the cane more for balance and support, pushing a stroller may provide all the support/balance she needs.
• A wheelchair or ECV may be much more than she needs. Other options - like a walker with a fold down seat (rollator) may actually fit her needs better and would be easier to manage (i.e. she would not need to use the wheelchair tiedown spots on the bus, but could just fold it and have it carried on).
• Those walkers are fairly inexpensive and you can find many places that sell them (Pharmacies, Sam's Club, etc). The ones with wheels (rollators) are easier to use than the ones without wheels. If you do an internet search for rollator, you will find a lot. Some are very expensive, but most are under $150. Her insurance may actually pay for one.
• Many people with MS have some level of 'fuzzy thinking' when they get tired (everyone actually does, but it may be more pronounced in people with MS than in the rest of us). That may impact her ability to safely/comfortably use an ECV, especially in crowds and especially as the day goes on and she becomes more tired.
• Many people with MS also have some visual involvment from their MS (commonly blurred vision). If she does, that might also impact her ability or comfort level with using an ECV.
• You can always take along phone numbers of some of the off-site rental companies (take more than one number). If she doesn't want to use an ECV initially, but decides it is a good idea later in the trip, you will have an option besides the park rental ones.
• Whatever is decided, if you are staying onsite, I would recommend using the buses to get to MK. If you drive, you still need to use either the boat or monorail to actually get from the parking area to the park entrance. The buses drop you off at the park entrance.

 

[aanderson5]

Thanks so much for the advise.

I agree that one of the hardest things may be to convince her she needs the ESV. I have been on 2 mini vacations with her in the past to Vermont. She tries very hard at to keep up but I really think it takes a toll on her. And Vermont shopping and touring around is nothing like spending the day in the parks. The battle to convince her is my friends and I think in the long run she will do what her daughter suggests. She has never been to Disney and has always wanted to go.

I am not sure how her MS would impact her ability to use the ESV. I know she does still drive a car. Her MS seems to be stable (I not sure if that is the correct word). She seems to be in the same condition as the first time I met her 5 years ago. She a tough lady.

I never thought about getting the ESV for the whole trip. I had assumed we would just rent it at the parks. Thanks for the suggestion. It would make things a lot easier. We are probably going to stay around the resort the first day we arrive so it would give her an oppertunity to practice. I like the idea for her to practice before she comes. I will suggest that to my friend.

On reflection option one really does make the most sense. I think that it is important to have on adult with hands free for the kids. And that all the kids have a place to sit, they are still little. Also pushing a wheelchair would probably be too much in the August heat. Another factor at that time, if all goes well, might be me being pregnant . Just to throw aother monkey wrench in there.

I am really looking forward to this trip. I am spending more time thinking about it that the trip we are taking in March. LOL I think the Mom's will have the best time just seeing the grandkids at Disney. We will go at a slow pace and not worry about going on the big rides, go back to the resort as needed for naps and relaxation.