Broken bones at Disneyland

[oklamomof4boys]

My 11 y.o. son had a serious compound fracture to both bones is his leg- above the ankle- 3 weeks ago. He was very lucky not to have lost his foot. This is our first broken bone, so we're not real sure what to expect. He is in a wheelchair right now and will be completely non weight bearing for at least another month ( early May). At that point they hope he will be ready for a boot and to start rehab. They have warned us it will be a long ( 3-6 month), painful rehab. We had planned a trip to DL for the first of August and after what might be a miserable summer, we are hoping to still be able to go. We have no idea how long he will be in the boot. We know we will need to take his wheelchair because, even if he is walking well by then, his stamina will not be good. I know some rides won't let you on with a cast, but can you ride with a boot? Somebody told me you shouldn't ride thrill rides for a while after you have broken a bone, even after the cast is off. Has anybody else ever heard this?

 

[DoomBugger]

All you can do is hope the rehab goes well and that he will be physically able to go to DL. If not still go, just wheelchair him and make the best of things. Good luck.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

my ex broke his leg before our wedding. the docs said he wouldnt be well enought to dance, well he did. But while I was going though it i learned a few things. I have never heard about them not allowing you on with a cast or a boot. He should use the wheel chair and just transfer when he goes on rides.
The only reason i could think some rides might not like casts.. is the water rides? maybe thats what some one ment.

Good luck.

 

[NWPrincess]

My mom actually saw a little boy break his arm in TT at DL in the 1990s. The worse part was that he was unaccompanied (his parents must have went off to ride rides ) and they could not give him medical attention until they could find his parents.

As far as your son goes, I'm sure he will have fun in DL. Just remember, you can have a great time at DL without riding a single ride! I have!

 

[LoveThatMouse!]

Sending HAPPY thoughts and prayers!

 

[farmfresh]

We took our daughter (6) to disneyland with a broken arm - not quite as serious - but she went on every ride, not problems. In fact, she even did the perilous plunge at Knotts.

One thing to bear in mind is if he has a cast at all, it will need to be split before he flies anywhere - thismight not be a probalmewith the boot.

Splitting is no big deal - they just saw a gap and then tape it up to allow for expansion.

By August I think you might find he is doing well. My older daughter managed a two bone compound break in her arm (again, without the weight) and although it was painful for 6-8 weeks, the remaining 6 week recovery time was not too bad. and it might help having something to look forward to.

 

[oklamomof4boys]

Thank you everybody for the encouraging words. You have given me much hope that we can still have a wonderful trip. I agree, having something to look forward to will really help. He is pretty bummed because he plays a lot of sports. His baseball team won state last summer. The doctor told him no sports until after Christmas. I just couldn't imagine telling him we had to postpone our trip. He also found out yesterday he has to get braces. He was much more upset about that than I imagined he would be. I kept asking him what was bothering him so much and he said, " How much are they going to cost?" He was worried that he was costing us too much and we wouldn't be able to go to DL- poor baby! I assured him that we had money saved for vacation and we would work everything else out some way ( he had to be mediflighted to the nearest big city after his accident and we aren't sure our insurance is going to pay for it.)

 

[mommy2kande]

God bless your family, it sounds like a family vacation to Disneyland is just what you need. I have no idea what the rules are for a cast, but there are a TON of rides I will be able to go on at 7+ month pregnant. If they'll let me on, they will surely let him on.

I hope you all have a very magical trip.

 

[jeeperwy]

I hope I can help some. My 11 yo DS broke his ankle in 2 places ( one was in the growth plate, so we are still x-raying) this fall playing football. He was in the non-weight bearing cast for 7 weeks then in the "boot" for 7 more. We went to DL in January (6 weeks into the boot). He did really well, but it did slow him down some. There were no rides that he was told that he couldn't ride because of it. I asked our ortho before we went if there were any special concerns, and he didn't feel there were. He said that we might get a GAC card, but we didn't feel he needed one. We went to the parks in the morning, then took an afternoon break so that he could take the boot off and elevate his leg, then went back in the afternoon. I was really worried that it would bother him, but I think the pixie dust of DL helped the aches and pains moreso than when we were home. I hope that helps, but if you have any other questions, I would be happy to help.

Kari

PS Good luck with the shower for the next few weeks!!! That was definately the WORST part!!!

 

[oklamomof4boys]

Thank you again, everybody! And, Kari, your information helps a lot! I hope your son's growth plate ends up being okay. Both of Sam's have a small crack, but they are hoping they will be fine. He said we won't really know for sure for another 6 months. Is your son going to play football still? Sam broke his leg in a freak trampoline accident- didn't fall off, didn't go through- was just jumping and landed wrong in the middle of the trampoline. Snapped both bones and nearly ripped the foot completely off ( in fact, looking at the x-ray, it looks like his foot isn't attached at all). He was really looking forward to 7th grade football. That is out for sure, and maybe football completely- we haven't discussed that far ahead.

I am so glad we won't have to cancel our trip. DL is our magical "escape from reality" place. Our youngest has a heart condition and has been approved for a Make a Wish trip ( hopefully on a Disney Cruise- that part hasn't been confirmed). We were hoping to do that earlier this summer, but we are going to put that off until Sam is fully recovered. The kids were already disappointed about having to postpone that.

I think we will still bring the wheelchair- that way Sam can keep it elevated more. Also, our youngest has always REFUSED to rent a wheelchair when he is at DL, even though he gets so tired because of his heart ( he would ride in a stroller, but a "wheelchair is for sick people" and at 9, he doesn't fit in a stroller anymore!) but he thinks Sam's wheelchair is "cool" so maybe they can take turns riding in it!

 

[jeeperwy]

Thanks for asking. We still have one more x-ray to go but it looks good so far. We live in Wyoming (pretty rural), but our ortho is a young guy that worked at UCLA for the last couple of years in the football program. He said that DS should be able to play, but I'm not sure if he will. We just finished 4 weeks of physical therapy to help strengthen his ankle (and leg) but also to help his confidence. It still bothers him some, but he is a big kid (5'6 and about 175 pounds). Nobody would believe that he's only 11 if you saw him. His class went ice skating the other day, and he put the skates on, but the pressure to try to balance really hurt his ankle. We are going to try baseball in a couple of weeks, but I'm not sure if he can do that and it is way less physical than football. We just take it one day at a time and hope for the best. He was blocking the coach when it happened. Everybody thought that it was just sprained, but when we went to the next game in a cast the coach felt pretty bad and was teasing DS to cover it up so nobody would see it!!! He is my oldest and I didn't know that midget football could get so rough!!

Good luck!! If I help in any other way, let me know.

Kari

Just a note--I'm assuming you are in Oklahoma. My family is from there, about 50 miles south of OKC.

 

[quiltymom]

Make sure to pick up a copy of the brochure that tells you where to enter the line queues with a wheelchair. We too my mom a couple of years ago, and this worked out real well for us. Most of the time we entered the "exit", then waited for the CM to get us on the ride.

I hope he feels better soon!

 

[oklamomof4boys]

I'm glad things are going well. How was physical therapy? They warned us it will be very painful. But that might be because he had a ton of soft tissue damage also.

Yes, we live in Oklahoma-90 miles west of OKC.

 

[momofeva]

I actually went to DL with a broken foot in a walking cast. Talk with your ortho doc when it is closer to time to go, my ortho doc wouldn't put me in the boot until we were home from DL, he didn't want me to be too confident in what I could do and overdo it. We took a wheelchair and the CM's at the wheelchair rental offered to and fixed the squeaky wheel for us. I rode everything, the CMs would ask me if I could walk from the handicapped entrance to the attraction car. We even flew and I didn't have my cast cut, I didn't know that had to be done and my ortho doc never mentioned it, maybe it depends on the duration of the flight, ours was about an hour.

Use the wheelchair, it helps both you and him. Pick up the brochure on where the handicapped entrances are, they vary ride to ride. Have fun!!

 

[DevilDuckie]

Pop over to "DISabilities" for good tips and facts on using the GAC ( a card to help them accomodate his needs). Sure, it's a temporary "disability", but some of the same challenges apply.

As for what he should ride or not ride, call the doctor. People on the internet are not a good source for that sort of health advice.

 

[oklamomof4boys]

As for what he should ride or not ride, call the doctor. People on the internet are not a good source for that sort of health advice.

Oh, don't worry, we will certainly ask his doctor. But we don't see him for a couple of weeks ( and he is on vacation so I can't even call )and I was just trying to get a feel for whether I should continue to plan and anticipate our trip or start trying to find an alternate vacation idea. We certainly don't mind the "hassle" of a wheelchair- but if he wasn't going to be able to ride much of anything, we would have postponed our trip. If that were a distinct possibility, I wanted to be prepared with a fun alternative if the doctor gave us bad news.

 

[nunzia]

Thank you everybody for the encouraging words. You have given me much hope that we can still have a wonderful trip. I agree, having something to look forward to will really help. He is pretty bummed because he plays a lot of sports. His baseball team won state last summer. The doctor told him no sports until after Christmas. I just couldn't imagine telling him we had to postpone our trip. He also found out yesterday he has to get braces. He was much more upset about that than I imagined he would be. I kept asking him what was bothering him so much and he said, " How much are they going to cost?" He was worried that he was costing us too much and we wouldn't be able to go to DL- poor baby! I assured him that we had money saved for vacation and we would work everything else out some way ( he had to be mediflighted to the nearest big city after his accident and we aren't sure our insurance is going to pay for it.)

I hope the insurance will. Our son was air vaced out after a car accident and the flight cost $14,000. Naturally the guy who was driving the car had no insurance. Our insurance paid it, and the rest of the bills, thank goodness.
Poor kid..I hope knowing he has a fun thing to look forward to helps him with all the rehab.