Defibrillator at WDW??

[strmtroopr96]

...What about a defibrillator? My father had one implanted last year. Does anyone else have one and what has your experience at WDW been with it in? Thanks!

 

[XYSRUS]

Please ask his doctor. Have fun!

 

[jimz]

You posted in the wrong place, having an ICD ( implanted cardioverter/defibrillator) is not a disability, quite the opposite .

The ICD is there to rescue him from sudden death, the cause of death of the two children that died, the boy at Mission Space and the girl at one of the water parks. The girl had Cardiomyopathy and the boy had a ventricular muscle band, both conditions are very high risk for sudden death-ventricular fibrillation. If the children had ICDs they would not have died, but their conditions were not previously known.

Sorry, to the point. Your father has his own little paramedic with him at all times to rescue him from any arrhymias ( too fast or too slow heart beats).
Let him do what he feels up to and enjoy his life.

Stay away from any electrical and magnetic fields. Electrical fields, such as arc welding,can cause the ICD to think the heart is too fast. Magnetic fields will turn the ICD off only while the magnet is close to the ICD, which is why they told him to use a phone in the opposite ear. Once the magnet is removed the ICD will turn back on.

If one of the rides precipitates an arrhythmia the ICD will take care of it. Make sure he takes his medications,doesn't get dehydrated,doesn't over-do-it, and use common sense. A year since it was implanted everything is healed up well enough nothing will pull out if he goes on Space Mountain.

Run it by his Doctor, since he is more familiar with his particular condition.

Relax and enjoy your trip,that is why he got his ICD in the first place- to experience and enjoy more life.

Jim-Cardiac Cath Lab and Cardiac Electrophysiology RN

 

[katymae]

I posted a reply to your question on the pacemaker thread.

 

[strmtroopr96]

.....Thank you everyone!! This is all very reassuring. He thinks it is all no big deal but the rest of us worry. LOL This all first started a year ago this week, just before our 2005 trip. He was in the hospital for nearly 3 weeks. My were unable to go on the trip.

.....He has been doing real good. His heart has gone back into Atrial Fib a few times since but he didn't really notice it. His Dr decided to take him off of whatever meds were helping avoid that but a month or so ago, tests showed he had been back in for 2 weeks. After a day and a half on the meds again, his heart was back to normal. But because the meds can cause other problems (his thyroid has also been affected), they decided to a Cardiac Ablation to hopefully take care of it all for good. That was just a few days ago.

.....So now he is recovering. So far, one of the Dr's has said it is ok to fly. We leave the 22nd so hopefully all will be fine. He has said that there are a few rides that he won't so (mainly because he never liked them anyway) but then there are others that he says that he can. I'm sure that some of these have restrictions due to heart issues. I guess we'll see.

.....Again, thanks everyone!!

 

[SueM in MN]

The attractions that have warnings are well marked. You can see which ones have warnings by going to the disABILITIES FAQs thread; look at the 3rd post. There is a link to the official WDW Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities for each park which lists a little bit (not much detail) about the individual attractions, including the warnings.
The warnings are also listed on the park maps and on signs before you get into line and before boarding. The icon for warnings is a red triangle.

He should talk to his doctor about specific restrictions and also look at those attractions with warnings and decide which ones might be OK for him.