external fixator on leg

[bex7583]

hi i had a accident in februray and currently have a external fixator on my lower leg

we are travelling from the uk and this trip has been booked ages so im determined not to cancel it

has anybody been to the parks while in a external fixator? wil i be able to ride anything

i currently use crutches and wheelchair for longer outings

 

[minnie mum]

Did your orthopedist clear you for the trip? I'm surprised they would OK such a long flight, since your leg would be down for so many hours.

 

[gap2368]

As long as your dr says you can go and they do not have any restriction on you you will be fine at disney as long as you can get in the ride and what ever restraint fits

I would look in to renting a ECV as wheel chair can be hard to push you do not have to use the ECV the whole time either.

 

[SueM in MN]

We've had hospitalized patients with external fixators and I can't imagine going to WDW with one. There are many attractions which are difficult to get in and out of because of steps in, then down. Follow the link in my signature (Or look near the top of the board to the disABILITIES FAQs thread.
Ther is quite a bit of helpful information, and one particular post on page 2 has boarding information.

If you have to talked to your doctor yet, you need to. They may not want you to travel so far away from home because the risk of infection, risk of DVTs (clots) due to the long flight an/or of anything happening to the fixator. Even if they say going is OK, you will want to have a list of possible issues to watch out for and who to contact/what to do. If the doctor feels you should not go, they may be able to write letters/help provide documentation to get a refund or reschedule the trip.

If the doctor says you can go, I would suggest a wheelchair rather than an ECV. There are some lines that are wheelchair accessible, but not ECV accessible;for those, guests using ECVs need to transfer to a wheelchair. There are also some wheelchair accessible ride cars that are not ECV accessible.
So, using a wheelchair would mean less transfers. I would not go on anything where you can't stay in the wheelchair for the entire attraction - so shows and the rides with accessible ridd cars.

For readers who don't know what an external fixator is or how it looks, you can check out this weblinks. Warning: the pictures are pretty shocking, so you may not want to look

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2504087/#!po=1.47059

 

[bex7583]

yes its one of the only questions i ever ask my surgeon !!. he is more than happy for me to travel with the fixator on i just have to get super insurance which i have priced up at just under £500. His only other advice was to keep it covered so the heat doesn't conduct thru the frame and burn me and i have to wear a waterproof cast cover for swimming. He did mention the dvt so he may put me back on the injections i had for the 2 month following the surgeries

I think i will upgrade to premium class flight or pay to reserve a extra leg room seat as im not going to lie i know it will ache sat so long.

Researching some emergency contacts/clinics and having details of them to hand is a great idea and not something i would have though of.

i can walk confidently for a good 2 hours on my crutches at the moment so i will be ok to move through queues on my crutches, but will need either a ecv or a wheel chair if we are going to do full park days.

If i am physically able to transfer to the rides will i be able to ride for example splash mountain . i am not going to be totally crazy and try ride things like rock n roller, but would love to still enjoy the family rides.

it looks much worse that it feels, i get a ache in the area where i had the worst breaks but the frame hurts much less than i though!!

 

[bex7583]

also that link is great i have read so many articles online since but not yet come across that site. But some of those photos are gross !! even i am squirming at those.

mine is a full circular frame and i have no fixings over the ankle or knee so am able to maintain a lot of mobility

 

[SueM in MN]

Splash Mountain is very tight for getting in.
You need to step high over the side of the ride car and then kind of slide down into the seat. It is not one I would attempt if I were you.

 

[redberyl]

A lot of even the calm rides have at least one quick turn or hard bump. Howpainful is it if your leg gets bumped? Also, very little leg room for many rides, how far out does the fixator extend from your legs? people do not watch where they are going when in the parks, so plan for your leg to be jostled just being in the crowds. I used to work in a daycare for medically fragile kids, so have planned/attended excursions for 20 kids with trachs, vents, feeding tubes, meds, wheelchairs, etc to farms, petting zoos, etc, and just took a solo trip to Disney with my 7 year old who has trach, oxygen, gtube, ankle braces, lots of meds, wheelchair, and aspergers. So I'm not timid when it comes to special needs trips. But honestly, I don't think I'd be brave enough to dare try a trip to Disney with an ex fix. I admit my experience with fixator s is in the hospital and are newly placed, so I see them at the worst/most painful point, but if there's any way you can postpone the trip I would.

 

[bex7583]

omg im the most clumsy person in the world ( hence breaking my leg in 4 places slipping in some mud) . If somebody reached in the cage and pressed my leg it would hurt but i bang it most days on the bed frame , toilet , drop my crutches on it, my daughter threw a can of deodorant at it !!

I would probably prefer to try view parade etc from a good spot in the wheelchair as i would be a bit nervous stood on my crutches in a large crowd and especially the rush to exit the park.

The fixator is from my knee to ankle , i still have full range of movement in my knee so when in seating position it is in the same position as my good leg.

i just read the faq on all the rides and access it was so helpful.i hadn't realised how long the ride entries were on some rides ( you just don't notice these things when walking at a regular pace able bodied). also a good point in the articles was getting in something then not been able to get back out again something i had not though of

I don't want to cancel the trip as next year my son goes to high school so taking a month holiday traveling around florida will be impossible for him to catch up his school work .

i am accepting we will probably drop busch gardens as missing the big rides there will be disappointing , universal im also unsure of. i just felt disney parks have a more family feel plus with the shows and parades etc i can still feel i am getting some enjoyment and able to join in . The rest of the plans will be resort/beach based .

I see my surgeon on 2nd june for xrays and review , he did say at my last appointment he was quietly optimisitic for a August removal. We dont fly until 25th Aug hence optimism the trip can go ahead. We only have flights booked so far and i want to be as well prepared for all eventualities, even if the frame is removed my mobility will not be up to walking round the parks so will still need to use a combination of wheelchair/ sticks.

I have looked at changing the dates but the admin fee x5 plus the difference that the flight has gone up since we booked means i would rather just loose the flights. I booked them in june 2015 £313p.p they are now around £700p.p. it was also a surprise so at least my kids wont hate me if we cancel as they never knew !

 

[elmoandzoey]

I think your problem will most probably the leg room in some of the rides. I don't know know where your fixator is located (side or front) but I was wearing a stiff ankle brace on our last trip most of the time and damn did I have a problem on some rides bending my leg just right so it would fit into the legroom! Space Mountain I always had to request the first seat in the rocket because I wouldn't have been able to use the second or third seats. And even then it was a bit of a hazzle to get in and out of the rocket because of the lap bar. 7DMT is also tight in leg space. I don't see a problem with vehicles like HM or Little Mermaid or even Peter Pan. GMR has larger leg space in the back with the wheelchair spot so you could take advantage of that. TSMM could also a bit tight in leg space because of the lap bars. Personally, having done this with a stiff leg brace I couldn't even imagine what I would do with an external fixator. I left the brace at the hotel for the last few days because it was just so uncomfortable wearing it on many of the rides!

AND DO DROP UNIVERSAL! They will NOT let you on the rides with the external fixator! They are very, very strict about that. Besides, most of the rides you'd have a problem with the ride vehicle anyways because of tight leg space. The only thing from the top of my head that I can think of you could do at Universal would be Poseidon's Fury which is basically a walking tour and Hogwarts Express. Maybe you could also do Minion Mayhem in a stationary seat. But everything else they will either not let you on with the fixator at all or leg room will be way too tight. Believe me, I tried with my leg brace and I was very awkward in some rides (like Gringott's which even has shin bars on top of lap bars!).

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I cannot imagine a long plane ride with such a device. Good luck to you; I would postpone.