Grandson has serious eye injury

[LILJAN59]

We are supposed to check in at SSR on Sunday 12/22.
We got a call last night that our 6 yr old grandson hit his left eye on a snow shovel. He has a lacerated cornea, and the lens is displaced. He was taken by ambulance from a local hospital to Indianapolis where an eye surgeon is preparing to operate. The Dr told her it is very serious and he may be blind in that eye, worst case scenario.
This was supposed to be our first family Christmas together since 2008.
I know if I call MS to cancel within 7 days, I will lose all 3 years of points. I had used 579 points for a 2 BR from 12/22-1/2/14.

How should zI proceed ?
We are in Iowa on our way to Fla. We will, of course be driving ti Indy to be with GS, DD, and DSIL.


HELP!
Do they ever make any exceptions?

 

[Dee77]

First of all, I am so sorry to hear that this happened and I will pray that the surgery is a success and your DGS will fully recover. In reference to what to do about the trip, I would probably speak with DD later today and see what she thinks, after more information is available post surgery etc, then contact MS in the afternoon and find out what possible options you have. Good luck and keep us posted on how he is doing.

 

[rlovew]

We are supposed to check in at SSR on Sunday 12/22.
We got a call last night that our 6 yr old grandson hit his left eye on a snow shovel. He has a lacerated cornea, and the lens is displaced. He was taken by ambulance from a local hospital to Indianapolis where an eye surgeon is preparing to operate. The Dr told her it is very serious and he may be blind in that eye, worst case scenario.
This was supposed to be our first family Christmas together since 2008.
I know if I call MS to cancel within 7 days, I will lose all 3 years of points. I had used 579 points for a 2 BR from 12/22-1/2/14.

How should zI proceed ?
We are in Iowa on our way to Fla. We will, of course be driving ti Indy to be with GS, DD, and DSIL.


HELP!
Do they ever make any exceptions?

You will get the points back in holding not completely lost them if you have to cancel as long as you cancel by the 21st. Now I don't know your use year and I do know you would need to use all the points before the end of it but you might be able to reschedule the vacation some if needed or to rent out the points rather than completely lose them if you cannot take the vacation.

 

[jdkdorn]

With proof there have ben many "one time only" point savings. I would call MS as soon as you know the whole picture and ask for a supervisor. They may be able to put them back to your current use year instead of holding and you could do Easter or Spring Break instead.

Good luck with your grandson

Judy

 

[com_op_2000]

So sorry for the injury, praying for your DGS!
I am one of those who have gotten the one time exception for my adult DD.
We were booked on a DCL, her BiL was KIA the 1st week of the Iraq war, the funeral was scheduled during the cruise, I had to provide MS with proof and they refunded all the points I used for her cruise with no penalty.

 

[Chuck S]

I also got a one time exception. I was driving to WDW, taking an elderly couple down for their 50th anniversary. They were tired so we stopped for the night in Lake City, FL, rather than drive on into Kissimmee and find a room for that first night. Our DVC Reservation started the next morning. The woman had a heart attack and passed away in her sleep. MS was kind enough to give the points back, but any banked points did have to be used by the end of my use year.

 

[jekjones1558]

OP, I certainly hope that the surgery is successful. Modern medicine is amazing.
There have been many examples posted here on the DIS of points being refunded for examples like this and I think that you will be one of them. I was not so lucky when my mom died (I maybe should have asked for a supervisor) but I was able to use the holding points for a trip later in that use year. Good luck to you and your grandson.

 

[ninjagirl]

I certainly hope that all goes well with his surgery. The only bad news is that because eyes are so important it's usually best to follow doctors orders exactly. I'm not a doctor, but I can say with 90% certainty that with a dislocation it's highly unlikely he would be better in time to participate in the jostling around that goes on in many of the Disney rides. Sometimes I know they require you to lay face down for 6 weeks to avoid the effects of gravity. It really depends on what his specific instructions, but I can imagine jostling of any kind is a big no-no. As a 6 year old I can't imagine what's worse - not being able to go at all or not being able to do much. With that said, I wouldn't wait too long to make the decision. I can see member services having issues with a traumatic event that happened within your window to cancel and have them go into holding but you waited.

If it were me, I wouldn't risk it. He's so young and eyes are so important. Once your vision is lost, that's it. I'd call it now and plan a low key Christmas with them at home but that's just my two cents.

 

[conandrob240]

The good news is that it will still be Christmas together as you are going to be with them either way.

I'd see what the doctor says tomorrow but I agree with others that with this type of injury, Disney isn't going to be much fun and potentially could be dangerous for his recovery. At best, he'll have an eye covered and have all of the depth perception issues, headaches, etc that that would involve. At worst, his motion will be severely restricted.

Call tomorrow. I'll bet they'll make you some sort of concession.

Wishing your GS healing thoughts!

 

[WMorganS]

If they can't use the res or the points, is there a forum where they could at least try to rent it out, instead of canceling it? Then at least they could use the money to rent from someone in the future.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh goodness, poor kiddo.

If by some wild chance* the whole family does end up in Florida, I want to tell you that my cousin's family absolutely swears by Shands eye clinic in Gainesville for her childrens' eyes. She and her kids were born with congenital cataracts, and the kids have had their eyes cared for at Shands almost entirely since birth. There aren't a lot of people with congenital cataracts so it takes a specialist to do it, and they have them there, according to my cousin.

So if he's able to travel and needs followup visits, that's a place to have his records sent for your trip.


That said, I bet they'll help you out if you have to cancel. And if they won't, definitely try to rent it out.



*I'm not saying I think that'll happen...just wanted you to know of this place that is, apparently, REALLY good with pediatric eye care.

 

[com_op_2000]

OP, any update?

 

[Dean]

Oh goodness, poor kiddo.

If by some wild chance* the whole family does end up in Florida, I want to tell you that my cousin's family absolutely swears by Shands eye clinic in Gainesville for her childrens' eyes. She and her kids were born with congenital cataracts, and the kids have had their eyes cared for at Shands almost entirely since birth. There aren't a lot of people with congenital cataracts so it takes a specialist to do it, and they have them there, according to my cousin.

So if he's able to travel and needs followup visits, that's a place to have his records sent for your trip.


That said, I bet they'll help you out if you have to cancel. And if they won't, definitely try to rent it out.



*I'm not saying I think that'll happen...just wanted you to know of this place that is, apparently, REALLY good with pediatric eye care.

We use Shand's Pediatric Ophthalmology as our referring source and they are great but they are 2 hours away from Orlando. Orlando has 3 Pediatric hospitals (Arnold Palmer, FL Hosp and now Nemours), 2 world class and one that should be but it fairly new. While I don't know the ophthalmology there, it'd be difficult to imagine it wasn't pretty good to great at one or two at least.

 

[LSchrow]

i hope you have had good news about your GS

last year, our mother passed away (unexpectedly) while DB & family were at the BWVs.
i called MS to tell them that DB/family needed to leave a few days early, and why. the CM's response was silence, then, a monotone "is there anything else i can help you with?"
apparently, our pain and loss bored her, so i ended with "no, thank you".
i called back (not sure when, those days are pretty blurred), and this CM was so incredibly opposite (truly sympathetic). she offered to put the unused points back (borrowed points stayed in the current use year, but she helped swap points from another reservation using current pts) - yes, i wrote an email about how outstanding she was
we weren't as fortunate for our DCL vaca scheduled to leave a few days after 9/11. Delta was great, and offered full refunds. MS could only offer the next cruise out (when planes were flying again), where we would lose some points, or cancel and lose them all.

most importantly, i hope your GS heals perfectly....but if you get a chance call MS (and call back, if needed).

 

[LILJAN59]

It has been very hectic since SAT NITE. HE was taken by ambulance to U of I
Riley Children's Hosp in Indianapolis. They did a 3 hr surgery Sunday at 6am. They repaired the torn cornea, removed part of the iris ( colored part of the eye) because it had dried out from exposure to the air. The prognosis is he will have visual impairment for depth perception, but since he is so young, his other eye will compensate. If he has problems as an adult, the Dr said, "he can just have a corneal transplant, and that will fix it.
We have not cancelled the trip. We will be in a 2 BR at SSR. Our other daughter, from Seattle will join us. If grandson does well, he may be down later on. He does have 9 stitches in his eye, and is on eye drops and ointment 3 times a day.
We have been very busy, driving 6 hrs from Iowa to Indiana to see him. We are South of Macon, Ga right now.
He sees the eye Dr tomorrow, and it depends on what they are told if they make the trip or not.
We decided to keep the ressie as is, in case they are able to make it down next week. He feels great, stillcannotopen the eye, but was playing Disney a Infinity with his a Dad today, and shared treats sent from school with his brother who was with him when he hurt his eye. Thank you for your comments, mentions of eye clinics, etc.i use these boards a lot, and respect all of your input!

Thank you

 

[Dean]

It has been very hectic since SAT NITE. HE was taken by ambulance to U of I
Riley Children's Hosp in Indianapolis. They did a 3 hr surgery Sunday at 6am. They repaired the torn cornea, removed part of the iris ( colored part of the eye) because it had dried out from exposure to the air. The prognosis is he will have visual impairment for depth perception, but since he is so young, his other eye will compensate. If he has problems as an adult, the Dr said, "he can just have a corneal transplant, and that will fix it.
We have not cancelled the trip. We will be in a 2 BR at SSR. Our other daughter, from Seattle will join us. If grandson does well, he may be down later on. He does have 9 stitches in his eye, and is on eye drops and ointment 3 times a day.
We have been very busy, driving 6 hrs from Iowa to Indiana to see him. We are South of Macon, Ga right now.
He sees the eye Dr tomorrow, and it depends on what they are told if they make the trip or not.
We decided to keep the ressie as is, in case they are able to make it down next week. He feels great, stillcannotopen the eye, but was playing Disney a Infinity with his a Dad today, and shared treats sent from school with his brother who was with him when he hurt his eye. Thank you for your comments, mentions of eye clinics, etc.i use these boards a lot, and respect all of your input!

Thank you

Good luck, I bet it will work out OK. My niece had a fellow student break off a pen clip and shoot it out of a straw like a spit wad. It went straight through the cornea like a knife. She had to have surgery including a cornea transplant and is doing well though she will have to have lifelong followup.

 

[bumbershoot]

We use Shand's Pediatric Ophthalmology as our referring source and they are great but they are 2 hours away from Orlando. Orlando has 3 Pediatric hospitals (Arnold Palmer, FL Hosp and now Nemours), 2 world class and one that should be but it fairly new. While I don't know the ophthalmology there, it'd be difficult to imagine it wasn't pretty good to great at one or two at least.

Yes Dean, I know, and I did mention where it is in the post My family travels from Daytona Beach to get there (and they get the kids' glasses ground in Jacksonville! eye visits for them involve a hotel stay), but they feel the doctors there are worth it.


and omg your story in the other post. I think I just fainted.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

I really can't add to anything that hasn't already been said. I just wanted you to know that I praying for a good outcome for your dear grandson and all your family.

What a tragic event. Disney will always be around but family and good health come first.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I really can't add to anything that hasn't already been said. I just wanted you to know that I praying for a good outcome for your dear grandson and all your family.
...

Me too.

 

[CarolMN]

I really can't add to anything that hasn't already been said. I just wanted you to know that I praying for a good outcome for your dear grandson and all your family........

Me too.

And me.