I cried over the wheelchair ** Final update about Bill 4/4**

[jcc0621]

I'm here. Hopefully I will be able to keep up!

Are we the only Fockers on the DIS these days???

Coming out of retirement to read your TR, Tracy.

Me too.

 

[queenbetsey]

thanks to smidgy's fb post I get to come along for the ride from cali

 

[spiritsim]

subbing......just had to find out why all the crying.......

 

[Disneylvr]

So happy that the meds helped Bill and that he rebooked your trip! We share your feeling, WDW is one of the few places that feel like any other family.

 

[tazdev3225]

Are we the only Fockers on the DIS these days???

Rosie is still here and I posted on the Focker threads for a year or so. Don't know if that counts. I did enjoy them when it was still around.


Ace is a real cutie. I do remember the planning, canceling and rebooking. I was so sad when you canceled and thrilled when Bill rebooked behind your back. So glad his meds are working. I have begun to develop a lot of hip pain so I know uncomfortable, OK down right painful, that can be.

Looking forward to more

 

[mrsksomeday]

Yeah for Bill rebooking behind your back.

Yeah for dismeets.

UH-OH!!!

Bill is always up to something . I love DISmeets.

I'm so pleased Bill's meds worked and he rebooked! (I hope he's sleeping better now too!)

Yes I do think Ace is very cute and you and Bill aren't bad either

Are we the only Fockers on the DIS these days???

Hi Jo!! Thanks for joining. I am happy about the meds working and he is sleeping, I am the one that can't right now, sooo frustrating.

I see some Fockers pop in now and then, I love my Focker ladies .

I am finally getting here!!! I can't wait to re-live this trip with you!

YAY!!! Hello! I can't wait to read your TR!

Coming out of retirement to read your TR, Tracy.

So glad Bill's hip improved!

So happy to see you here, thank you so much for reading!!

So glad the meds worked and you were able to go - and keep your BOG!

I don't want you to have problems the next day! All your crying should be happy tears.

Thanks, I just couldn't let that BOG ADR go, I was going to give it to Tammy or someone if we didn't make it but I just couldn't cancel it. Aww thanks about the happy tears comment, there are good tears later, but bad ones first .

I'm here. Hopefully I will be able to keep up!








Me too.

Hi Janet!! So happy you are here. I will post individual links on FB and on the first page have all the links set up so if people don't want to read anything but the installments they can.

thanks to smidgy's fb post I get to come along for the ride from cali

So nice of you to join us, Smidgy was so sweet to post my TR link on her wall.

subbing......just had to find out why all the crying.......

Oh there is crying on and off throughout the trip so you will just have to stick around .

So happy that the meds helped Bill and that he rebooked your trip! We share your feeling, WDW is one of the few places that feel like any other family.

Thanks for being here, you are actually one of the reasons I decided to write this report. After a while you think people wouldn't want to hear about your trips anymore, so thanks for joining in.

Rosie is still here and I posted on the Focker threads for a year or so. Don't know if that counts. I did enjoy them when it was still around.


Ace is a real cutie. I do remember the planning, canceling and rebooking. I was so sad when you canceled and thrilled when Bill rebooked behind your back. So glad his meds are working. I have begun to develop a lot of hip pain so I know uncomfortable, OK down right painful, that can be.

Looking forward to more

We were on a roller coaster for a bit and I whined about it on FB . I was so happy he rebooked I was so looking forward to seeing Tammy and her family, Scott, and you and Jim. I am so sorry for your hip issues, I hope you can get them resolved.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hi Tracy! Thanks for posting a link on facebook, I haven't been over here in awhile! Looking forward to reading about your trip.

 

[kimbo0569]

I'm in! Bill was right to rebook the trip! It's not over till it's over. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Mermaids]

I've been on the lookout for this TR! I'm looking forward to it! Can't wait to read more! Thanks!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[Thanlis]

Subscribed!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Hi Tracy! Thanks for posting a link on facebook, I haven't been over here in awhile! Looking forward to reading about your trip.

Hello!! Thanks for posting, I hope I don't bore you to death.

I'm in! Bill was right to rebook the trip! It's not over till it's over. Looking forward to reading more!

It's not over till it's over is Bill's motto, he never gives up. He might step back and regroup, but he doesn't give up.

I've been on the lookout for this TR! I'm looking forward to it! Can't wait to read more! Thanks!

Thank so much for being here, I hope I don't disappoint.

Following along!

Welcome!

Subscribed!

Hi!

 

[ddstratton]

I'm glad Bill rebooked your trip! Reading along...

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

 

[MRYPPNS]

Look what I stumbled upon today.......I'll be reading along even if I don't post

 

[Miz Diz]

I love your kermit hat.

 

[mrsksomeday]

I'm glad Bill rebooked your trip! Reading along...

I am glad too

Look what I stumbled upon today.......I'll be reading along even if I don't post

Hi, thanks for joining!

I love your kermit hat.

Thanks, I took it from Bill. He already has Animal and Beaker

 

[LuvEeyore]

Joining the fun of reliving the trip. Got my box of tissues and snowed in so hope you post more soon.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Joining the fun of reliving the trip. Got my box of tissues and snowed in so hope you post more soon.

I hope not to make my readers cry, I am the crier of the bunch as you will soon see.

 

[mrsksomeday]

We got up, checked out, and tried to confirm the wheelchair accessible shuttle van to the airport. I could hear the driver on the radio saying “I would have to go get it” and the hotel clerk said “go get it NOW”, then she smiled at me. About 10 minutes later we were off on what Bill likes to call “the first ride of the trip”. He calls it that because the drivers always act like they are in a Nascar race and we are behind a lap and trying to catch up.

We checked in at the airport, got through security and made the long, long trek to the newer part of the airport to wait to board. It was so new that the seats were not really anchored down and people could rearrange where they wanted to sit. We are allowed to board first since they have to have time to put Bill’s wheelchair in the belly of the plane. I transfered him into a seat, then went disassemble the wheelchair. I took off the seat, the foot rests, his tray, and his back pack. I told them it had a tilt system and if they needed to use that to get it in the plane fine, but do not take the back off. We have spent over a year and a half getting this chair adjusted right.

The flight went well, the landing was a little hard but no problem. I always hold on to Bill’s arm and hand when we take off and land telling him I love him and he likes to annoy me by quoting Hans Solo and saying “I know”. We are always the last off the plane, the chair got there and I went to reassemble it. I could tell that they had used the tilt because it wasn’t in the original position. I put Bill in the wheelchair and we started up the walkway. Bill wasn’t in the chair for two minutes when he said “this isn’t right, something is wrong”. I said wait until we get out of everyone’s way and I will see what is going on. We got into the terminal and he told me the back didn’t feel like it was secure and it was moving. I looked and saw this:



This is an extreme close up of the back of the chair. The bar is over 1 inch away from the rest of the back and you can see the metal has been scratched. The other side was about ½ and inch out of place. To say I was livid was not enough. I asked a Southwest employee who I needed to talk to about this. I was told we would have to go to baggage claim and there was a department there what would deal with it. We were so unhappy, we take the first flight of the day to get on property early.
We had gotten the run around from about 3 different employees at this point and I lost it – I cried. (One of the reasons for the title) At first they tried to tell us to just go to the resort and they would have a wheelchair repair tech meet us there. I don’t think so, why you might ask?

No way was I going to have him hanging off the side of a bus with the back of his chair like that. I told them to call the technician and we would wait right there. What does any frustrated person do while waiting for something to be done? They complain about it on twitter:

“NOT HAPPY with @SouthwestAir AT ALL. Apparently they tried to take the back off Bill's custom power wheelchair and now it's loose.”

The tech showed up about 40 minutes later as did a tweet back from SouthWest:

“Sorry about that, Tracy. Have you spoken with the Baggage Office about getting it repaired?”

We tweeted back and forth and I will come back to that story later. The tech showed up and stated it had clearly been messed with and fixed it. We were on our way finally after over 2 hours of dealing with this. The stress of his custom back possibly being messed up was enough to have me crying again. When I composed myself we headed to the Magical Express. I will say the magic bands made that a very easy process. It also seems that almost all the Magical Express busses are wheelchair accessible now, so no more waiting for them to call one into service. Although I didn’t mind sitting waiting for one in the past while everyone else was standing in the huge lines.





We weren’t there in line for 5 minutes when we were called to load. We know the routine, Bill backs on the lift, gets pulled high into the air and I have heart palpations watching it. He also knows I am sitting up front, 1) to get a picture of the WDW sign and 2) saving me and all our fellow passengers the embarrassment of me trying to fit my huge self down the aisle. It is just better for everyone.

Bill was in the bus and there was some CM’s gathering around the back of it. It seems they couldn’t get the lift to come back down. How many Disney employees does it take to finally make that happen? About four apparently, that didn’t give me much confidence.

Here’s your sign:



We finally get to Pop Century, I waited for everyone else to get off since I know Bill will be last then made my way off. Then I met Elisa from St. Thomas, a fantastic Cast Member, she must have seen the stress on my face and decided to talk to me. She was a joy and a blessing that day. This is why I love Disney so much. She just talked to me about Disney, the weather, and other trivial things, it didn’t really matter what we talked about it was that she took the time to talk to me. Bill got off the bus and she went to go talk to him too.



We really appreciated her.

Next installment... Crying again