Doing Disney after a Hip Replacement?

[jerseygirl81]

We have a trip planned that we were going to cancel due to my hip replacement. After going over dates and considering vacationing elsewhere we kept coming back to the trip we already planned and thinking about doing it and making some changes to make it easier and more careful for me. I will be at the 14 week post surgery time by the time we take the trip. I'm planning (assuming we do go) on taking my cane and walker which has a seat on it and we are renting a car, I will have a tempory handicap parking pass and we will have a preferred room at the resort, close to the food court and pool. I'm thinking about renting a wheelchair in the parks if needed and we plan on spending more time relaxing at the resort than we usually do. If there is anything I hav'nt considered please let me know? Doing rides is another consideration. I know I can't sit on low seats and jerky rides so there are some rides I won't be doing. I was thinking about bringing some type of pillow to sit on to give me a little boost on some rides I thought I could just pit it in a back pack and then just sit right on the bag instead of having to pull it out or blow it up for each ride does this sound stupid? Thanks for any info you can give me to make this trip work, any words of advice as to what to do or avoid are welcome. Thanks, Linda

 

[KerBear]

Hi, I may be able to help some, I haven't been to wdw, only dlr, but I have had a hip replacement. How long after surgery is the trip planned? I am 5 years post and still use a cane at Disneyland, so I would say you will want to plan on a wheelchair if it is fairly soon. I am at work using my phone to post but I will log in when I get home tonight and try to give you some more info!

 

[jerseygirl81]

It would be about 3 1/2 months after the surgery. I'm using a cane now and I can do stairs without it if theres a railing. I can walk around the house without the cane for the most part and I'm taking short walks and do P/T. I realize a wheelchair or ECV would be good to use in the parks with all the walking and standing. We will probably do 2 park days with down time in the middle of the day. And maybe a water park for a few hours another day, it would be just a 5 night trip and pretty low key for a disney trip. Linda

 

[MomRN]

I work on an ortho floor, and we get all the hip replacements that come to our hospital, provided no heart monitoring is needed. I know there is a huge list of "no-no's" while in the hospital as far as positioning and what to sit in (we don't even use standard wheelchairs and use special chairs meant for hip pts). What I can honestly tell you is that I don't know how long these precautions are implemented for... a few weeks, a few months, a few years? I would ask your orthopaedic surgeon for specifics and can google "hip precautions" for an idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[jerseygirl81]

I work on an ortho floor, and we get all the hip replacements that come to our hospital, provided no heart monitoring is needed. I know there is a huge list of "no-no's" while in the hospital as far as positioning and what to sit in (we don't even use standard wheelchairs and use special chairs meant for hip pts). What I can honestly tell you is that I don't know how long these precautions are implemented for... a few weeks, a few months, a few years? I would ask your orthopaedic surgeon for specifics and can google "hip precautions" for an idea of what I'm talking about.

I know I need to sit at 90 degree meaning my knees can't be at a higher level than my hips when I sit, so I am planning on skipping some rides that are lower seats or real jerky like space mountain and test track and probably splash and thunder mountain as well. There are also certain whys to pick things up off the floor and certain ways to bend and get into a car. I know what chair you are talking about its the hip chair its highher up like a bar stool it makes it easier to get up. I'm not going to make any flight ressies until I talk to my surgeon at my appt. the end of June and see what he says. From what my P/T said everyone is different depending on how well you are healing so only time will tell. Thanks for the info. Linda

 

[peemagg]

If you do have a wheelchair (instead of an ECV) there are some rides like "It's a Small World" where you can stay in your chair and do the ride. That is something I would recommend for any rides that you can. This would eliminate some problems with low seats.

If you look at the "Sticky" sections at the top of this forum, you will find descriptions about different rides. You could also get the "Passporters book Open Mouse for Walt Disney World". It gives all sorts of help for many different issues. It might give you some answers to things you hadn't even thought of.

 

[KerBear]

I say as long as the Dr clears you, go for it! It sounds like you have realistic expectations, and you are doing well in the recovery process so far. Just take it slow, take pain meds in case you over do, and have fun! (I wish my recovery had gone so well, I could barely make it from the car to my couch on my own at 3 months, but I had alot of complications.)