My son was granted a trip to WDW this summer through the Make a Wish program. He was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis last December and is on Two diffrent breathing treatmentsand other medication including a enzyme he has to take with all meals. Do I need a special Doctors note to bring his Medication into the parks?
No, you don't need a doctor's note. There are security bag checks when you come into the parks, but they are looking for things like weapons and won't be concerned with the medications.
How equipped are the parks in handling any medical problems that may arise? How close is the nearest hospital? (JIC)
Don't want to be overprotective, but it's our first trip and I want to be prepared.
Corrine
Each park has a First Aid station that is operated thru Florida Hospital. They are staffed by nurses at all hours that the park is open. If more assistance is needed, or someone needs to be transported out, there is EMS service available within a few minutes.
If something happens out in the park, away from First Aid, many CMs have radios or telephones and can summon help right away. So, just have one of your party go to the nearest CM and they will help right away. (And I mean right away - we witnessed a child who was standing in a stroller and fell out when one of the other kids in the family pushed the stroller. Before we had a chance to even get over the 30 feet to where they were, a CM with a radio arrived. Within about 2 minutes, emergency responders were already there).
The First Aid stations are not just for emergencies.
If your child needs to lie down and rest for a little while or you need a quiet place where he can can lie down for postural drainage or pummeling, you can do that there. You can also store medication or equipment in First Aid until you need it (for example, if your child has a vest for doing vest treatments, you can store it there).
As for the hospital question, there is a very close hospital in Celebration. You may want to check with your child's doctors to see if there are any particular hospitals in the area that they would recommend.
If you are staying at Give Kids the World Village, like many WISH families do, they are used to having kids there who may have a need for medical care and they will be able to help you.
ALSO, if you have not checked it out yet, there is a lot of helpful information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board. One post is about travel and has information about travel with medications and medical equipment.
Post #3 of that thread has a lot of helpful links, including a link to the WISH Trip thread on the Community Board that is for people planning or helping others plan WISH Trips.