Less than 3 weeks tore knee cartilage

[sally howard]

What am I to do? It hurts to walk long. And standing in line will also be painful.
Wonderful doctor said he would be willing to write me a note to see if Disney has some sort of pass to keep me from standing in long lines. 3 kids would be too diappointed if we cancelled.
I guess I could pack up on the Motrin and go.

 

[jann1033]

i tore mine a few yrs ago and it hurts !so sorry for you ( it was the day before a surprise anniversary trip i planned for hubby to the Blue Ridge parkway when i did it. it worked out ok but it wasn't walking like disney)
you could rent a wheel chair or ecv..i don't really see much else of an option because the lines might be better but the walk sure wouldn't.hopefully the aprks still won't be that busy. you can get a disablity type card. maybe check on the disabilites board on here and i'm sure you could get more info about it.

 

[Twinks]

Sally

Sorry to hear of your problem

My daughter dislocated her knee 5 weeks before we went to Disney and only had her plaster off 2 days before we flew. We hired the motorised scooters and they were fantastic. You can do the child swap scheme and some of the rides have separate wheelchair access which you would all be able to use so that you can ride together.

My advice would be to pay for some intensive physio before you go preferably with a knee clinic (been there, done that)

Good luck and I hope you sort it out.

Notify the airline too, they may be able to allocate you extra leg room seats.

Donna

 

[minnie61650]

What am I to do? It hurts to walk long. And standing in line will also be painful.
Wonderful doctor said he would be willing to write me a note to see if Disney has some sort of pass to keep me from standing in long lines. 3 kids would be too diappointed if we cancelled.
I guess I could pack up on the Motrin and go.

I'm so sorry to hear about your knee.
Please concider renting an ECV
(Electric scooter) from an offsite company.
Disney's lines are mainstreamed now so there is NO FRONT OF THE LINE card with the exception of the "Make A Wish" children.
I have a disability and have rented mine from Care Medical (800-741-2282) and Walker Mobility (888-726-6837) in the past. I would recommend either one. The cost is about $30 a day. The ones at the parks cost $35 a day and are bigger and have 4 wheels kinda like a golf cart. They are harder to steer and to control. If you rent from an offsite rental they will deliver the EVC to bell services at the resort. (If you are staying offsite and plan to drive the EVC can be broken down to fit in the trunk of a full size car in a couple of min.) You could use it to go to the pool, and get around the resort as well as the bus stop.
Almost all the Disney buses are accessible. I love using my EVC it gives me more independence and helps keep my pain to a minimum. If you decide to rent an EVC (which I highly recommend) you can practice using one at a local store such as Wal Mart or Target. Those are a little bigger than the rental ones but the practice will help.

Please ask yourself the following questions. Here are the suggested answers to go with them.

1. Are you disabled (even temporarily)? Yes.

2. Do the people you are travelling with, such as your family, know you are disabled? Yes.

3. Do you expect to meet anyone you know during this trip who may not know you are disabled. Probably No!

4. Do you expect to meet a bunch of people who you will probably never meet again in your life? Probably yes!

5. Is there any reason at all that you should care what these people think about you? Absolutely No!!

6. Will using a wheelchair or ECV make for a better vacation for you and your family? Absolutely YES!


If you have any Questions please PM me.

Have a wonderful time at Disney!
Linda

 

[sally howard]

I am an ortho nurse at a large hospital so I have great access to Physical therapist. And see my Doctor several times a week there. He is so sympathetic. Especially as I was limping around taking care of his patients yesterday. LOL. We are driving about 8 hours, taking the camper. Even got a new bike for the trip. Anyway My Doc is trying to figure out what to do for me. Surgery will have to wait.
Can't really see myself in a WC. Kids would run me into people. I am afraid to drive the electric. Could be dangerous to others. LOL.
Thanks for caring.

 

[minnie61650]

I am an ortho nurse at a large hospital so I have great access to Physical therapist. And see my Doctor several times a week there. He is so sympathetic. Especially as I was limping around taking care of his patients yesterday. LOL. We are driving about 8 hours, taking the camper. Even got a new bike for the trip. Anyway My Doc is trying to figure out what to do for me. Surgery will have to wait.
Can't really see myself in a WC. Kids would run me into people. I am afraid to drive the electric. Could be dangerous to others. LOL.
Thanks for caring.

Please don't be afraid to drive the ECV. If you can drive a car or ride a bike you can use an electric. It is like riding a bike except you don't have to balance and you won't fall. Good Luck!
Linda

 

[Paul_Pearce]

We are in the same boat, my wife has a torn knee cartilidge too, and the op wont be until after our trip. She is currently having physio, (but that doesn't help a torn cartilidge much) and taking pain killers.

We're travelling from England on 16/10 and spending 3 weeks. We are planning lots of rest days at regular intervals (every 3-4 days).

Hopefully the lines will be short - this will help a lot, in that you can take your time and sit down for more/longer breaks.

We have visited a few theme parks here in England, and the amount of queuing makes a difference to the pain she gets i.e. more standing in line = more pain, and the need for a sit down break occurs sooner.

My experience of WDW at this time of year is that the parks are quiet and you can walk onto most rides. If you get to the park at opening and do two of the busiest rides first (if they are close together), I think the rest of the day will be a breeze in terms of lines.

One other thing we are trying to do, is plan trips so we space out visits to the parks with most walking e.g. MK and Epcot, and go to MGM and AK in between, where there are more sit down shows. Not sure how much help that will be, but its got to have some!!!

At the end of the day, if she has to take a rest for an hour and our kids want to do some rides, she says I should take them, but we are hoping that's a last resort.

I have experienced pushing a wheelchair around WDW and US for 10 days, (daughter sprained ankle badly on last trip) and felt quite guilty about getting priority treatment in the queue lines, also its very hard work for the person pushing!!

Hope this helps. Even if its knowing there is someone else out there in the same boat!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I have a disability and have rented mine from Care Medical (800-741-2282) and Walker Mobility (888-726-6837) in the past. I would recommend either one. The cost is about $30 a day. The ones at the parks cost $35 a day and are bigger and have 4 wheels kinda like a golf cart. They are harder to steer and to control

Minnie didn't stress that enough - the ECVs you can rent at the parks are MUCH, MUCH harder to steer than those from the offsite companies! I had a bit of trouble with one from Walker in the Magic Kingdom (where they were extremely helpful, by the way) and was loaned a Disney ECV to get to the park exit. OMG! What a difference!

To the original poster, and to the gentleman from England whose wife is in the same situation, PLEASE check out the Disabilities FAQ on the DISabilities board here for information on off-site rental companies. The advantages are many - guaranteed availability, 24 hour use,,, also, the distance BETWEEN attractions is often much greater than the line for the attraction.

 

[Big Fat Disney MaMa]

I am in late 30's and last year went to the world exactly three weeks after full ACL and Meniscus surgery. My PT was not very happy about it, but since I was having a very hard time walking normally, I promised to get the ECV. I tried the EVC the first day and have to tell you that it was a nightmare! Although you can actually get on some rides faster because of it, when people see that you can walk and that you get out of the chair, they heckle you. Guests were rude and cut in front of me, complained about my chair, etc.

The second day I decided to walk with my full leg brace on and actually after about an hour, when my leg loosened up it was very easy. I made sure to stop frequently and rest and when standing in line, not put my weight on the bad leg. At the end of the day it was very swollen, but I just got a "beverage" and sat on the edge of the pool and let it dangle in the water for about an hour while I relaxed.

When I got back from Disney, my PT was absolutely amazed at the range of motion I had and how much improved my walking was.

I definitely would not recommend this approach for a park like EPCOT, but doing portions of MK and MGM, even AK it worked for me!

 

[safaulk]

I am afraid to drive the electric. Could be dangerous to others. LOL.
Thanks for caring.

I wouldn't be afraid at all to use an electric wheelchair. They are so simple to operate and are truly a Godsend.

Only 4 more days til we're in the world!!! Whoopeeeee!!

Shel

 

[emnrich]

Take bags to ice it down....

Good luck.

 

[jann1033]

hmm just thought of this...i had abrace on my knee and couldn't bend it ..you might have a problem with some rides due to leg room

 

[SueM in MN]

I wouldn't be afraid at all to use an electric wheelchair. They are so simple to operate and are truly a Godsend.

Only 4 more days til we're in the world!!! Whoopeeeee!!

Shel

Just want to make a correction...
Electric scooters (also called ECVs) are relatively easy to drive.
Electric (or power) wheelchairs have a joystick that controls both the speed and the direction. They look easy to drive, but actually take quite a bit of practice. For that reason, the outside rental places don't rent them out to people unless they are experienced drivers.
I mention this because people who wanted to rent ECVs have posted after their trip that they had to rent a manual (push) wheelchair because they asked for an electric wheelchair and were told they could not rent one. In most cases, there were ECVs available, but that was not what they asked for.

 

[pth]

I was just diagnosed with torn cartridge in my right knee with a bakers cyst in back of the knee. That hurts worse than the tear. A couple of things you can do in the meantime.
1. Get a knee brace that has supports on both sides of the knee. This keeps your knee from moving side to side. This has helped me alot.
2. You can get a cortizone shot which will help you in the too.

Take lots of breaks and elevate your leg as much as you can when you get to the parks and when you retire for the night at the hotel. Ice the knee also to help any swelling. My doctor sent me for an emergency ultrasound when he saw the swelling in my let. He thought I had a blood clot (which I didn't).

I'm scheduled for surgery on Oct 10th. Whoo hoo!!!

Good luck!!

 

[ladysoleil]

The parks should be pretty quiet when you're going, so I wouldn't worry about a wheelchair or ECV too much.

I'm normally fairly athletic and walk a good deal, but when we were at WDW in March, I took a bad spill into a ditch and severely sprained my ankle. I hesitated about renting a wheelchair, but after trying just a couple hours in the parks, was very grateful that they were available. I could barely walk at all, and it was very painful whenever I tried.

Honestly, the park rental wheelchairs are a bit clunky, but I really had no problem getting myself around in one using the rails on the wheels to push myself around when DH needed a break from pushing. I actually got to be pretty fast and good at making turns after a couple hours of practice. Even in Spring Break crowds, we didn't have too many issues with running into people/things, and the CM's were wonderfully helpful to us on all the attractions we visited.

Please, don't be shy about getting a chair if you need one. It really will make your trip a lot better. The folks on the DISabilities boards can probably recommend a place to get a nicer, lighter rental wheelchair for the trip, I'd definitely advise that, it's probably much easier to manuever a smaller, better designed chair through crowds, and if I needed one again, I'd probably go that route instead of trying to rent a park chair, since you need to return them at the end of the day anyway. It would have been great to have one to use at the resort too. I know it's probably not the way you want to experience the parks, but it does make traveling with an injury so much more manageable.

 

[mckymama]

I was training for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll marathon, and tore my knee cartilege 5 days out! I was devastated, to say the least. I already had my flight and hotel booked, so I went anyway. My doc got me a knee brace. I could still bend it, but it had metal stays on the side to keep it from moving laterally. I wore that thing, and walked the entire marathon -- 26.2 miles. I bet you could do pretty well at the parks with one of those, and plenty of sitting breaks. Good luck. I feel your pain.