Medical Staff on the Dream

[buckeyejennifer]

I just wanted to pop in and put in a plug with how wonderful the medical staff is on the Disney Dream.

We cruised this past weekend (2/17-2/20) and our daughter had a febrile seizure during the safety drill (we were in the Buena Vista Theater when it happened). She had been tired all day that day, but I just figured it was from all the travel and loss of a few naps. While we were sitting in the theater, I could literally feel her temperature start to rise very rapidly. I knew it was going to happen. She hasn't had a seizure in almost 2 years, so we thought we were in the clear.

Anyway, she seized and they called the "Bright Star" over the loudspeaker (which freaked me out because I knew what that meant). The medical team was there within a minute and they were wonderful. I've been through this with her before and I'm an RN, so I knew how I wanted her to be handled.

I carried her down to the medical center and a whole team was there to help us. Dr. Noel and Nurse Tim were the ones I dealt with the most and I just can't say enough how great they were. She had started to come around by the time we arrived in the medical center, so we laid her on the bed with some oxygen. Dr. Noel drew labs (which they ran immediately and got results) and examined her. He discovered a pretty bad case of pharyngitis was brewing. He said that since her labs were normal and that we had found a source for the fever , he was comfortable with her staying on the ship. The Captain was literally waiting for an update because the ship was ready to go. She was alert enough at this point to assert how badly she wanted to stay onboard, so we agreed to give it a go. We were given antibiotics to start immediately and instructions to return the next morning for a follow-up. Fortunately, by that evening (after a long nap) she was feeling well enough to leave our stateroom and take a stroll around the ship.

We obviously kept her out of the kids club for the duration of the cruise and did spend more time than usual in our stateroom (thank goodness we had a verandah!), but we all still managed to have a wonderful time and I'm just so grateful for the folks on the ship who helped us.

I just have to say that Dr. Noel is one SMART guy. He was telling me about some of the other situations they have had on the ship recently and some of the issues were very tricky and the fact that he figured them out was amazing to me. I would feel very comfortable traveling on the Dream knowing that he is on the job.

 

[Jessica_Mouse]

Glad to hear everything is okay with your daughter!
Good to know that there is great medical staff aboard

 

[Homemom]

Yikes!
I'm glad all went well and your DD is ok!!!

 

[spacecanada]

Wow, thanks for sharing this story. It is very comforting to know that when you are out at sea, far from hospitals, or in foreign countries, (or even just at he pier waiting to leave,) Disney has doctors that can care for you when you need them. I hope the rest of your trip was uneventful and everyone had a great time.

 

[HappyontheLake]

This is good to know (and I am glad your daughter is doing well and that you were able to stay on board).

I have three girls who carry EpiPens for food allergies (need to refill the Rx in order to have more on hand during the cruise), one of them has a tendency for any cold to turn straight into pneumonia, and knowing that if I needed to obtain medical assistance (God forbid) that we could expect the best of care.

 

[Camonkeygirl]

Glad your DD is ok, and that you were able to enjoy the cruise.

 

[mjaclyn]

I'm so glad your DD is okay and that you had a wonderful cruise! My DD had a febrile seizure while we were on vacation in Maine when she was 2 1/2. I had NO clue what was going on, so you can imagine how panicked we were. We went with her in an ambulance to the hospital there and found out that her temp. had risen very quickly and that's why she had the seizure. She's now 4 and hasn't had one since, but I've been very paranoid about fevers after that incident. How old is your daughter? I'm so happy for you that you knew what was going and are an RN, because when it happened to us I thought our DD was dying. I can't imagine what kind of scene could have been caused if someone else was in your situation and didn't know what was happening. That makes me feel SO much better about cruising! With 2 small children one of them almost always gets sick when we go to WDW, so it's very comforting to know that if something does happen we are in good hands.

What does 'Bright Star' mean?

 

[dddisrunner]

So sorry to her that your DD was sick on your trip. Thank you for the report on the medical staff, its nice to know that a quality doctor is onboard!

 

[peloha86]

I just wanted to pop in and put in a plug with how wonderful the medical staff is on the Disney Dream.
We cruised this past weekend (2/17-2/20) and our daughter had a febrile seizure during the safety drill (we were in the Buena Vista Theater when it happened). She had been tired all day that day, but I just figured it was from all the travel and loss of a few naps. While we were sitting in the theater, I could literally feel her temperature start to rise very rapidly. I knew it was going to happen. She hasn't had a seizure in almost 2 years, so we thought we were in the clear.
Anyway, she seized and they called the "Bright Star" over the loudspeaker (which freaked me out because I knew what that meant). The medical team was there within a minute and they were wonderful. I've been through this with her before and I'm an RN, so I knew how I wanted her to be handled.
I carried her down to the medical center and a whole team was there to help us. Dr. Noel and Nurse Tim were the ones I dealt with the most and I just can't say enough how great they were. She had started to come around by the time we arrived in the medical center, so we laid her on the bed with some oxygen. Dr. Noel drew labs (which they ran immediately and got results) and examined her. He discovered a pretty bad case of pharyngitis was brewing. He said that since her labs were normal and that we had found a source for the fever , he was comfortable with her staying on the ship. The Captain was literally waiting for an update because the ship was ready to go. She was alert enough at this point to assert how badly she wanted to stay onboard, so we agreed to give it a go. We were given antibiotics to start immediately and instructions to return the next morning for a follow-up. Fortunately, by that evening (after a long nap) she was feeling well enough to leave our stateroom and take a stroll around the ship.
We obviously kept her out of the kids club for the duration of the cruise and did spend more time than usual in our stateroom (thank goodness we had a verandah!), but we all still managed to have a wonderful time and I'm just so grateful for the folks on the ship who helped us.
I just have to say that Dr. Noel is one SMART guy. He was telling me about some of the other situations they have had on the ship recently and some of the issues were very tricky and the fact that he figured them out was amazing to me. I would feel very comfortable traveling on the Dream knowing that he is on the job.

Wow, that is good to know I'm glad to know your daughter is alright. RN to RN (I'm a nurse too ) One of the first things I looked for was the location of the Health Center, Deck 1 forward. Thank you for your report. The importance of the Health Center gets overlooked sometimes, and it's great to know that there is acess to immediate lab results! Awesome!

 

[Kewz1]

Thank you for sharing such a positive-ending story with us!

I'm so glad your DD was ok and you were able to enjoy your cruise.

Kristen

 

[lidec]

Thank you so much for your report. We are cruising in Nov and my biggest fear is that our daughter gets sick. She is disabled and has a seizure disorder. Lucky for us she has been seizure free for 4 ys. I just fear that something medical will happen on the boat. Its good to know that theres a great med. staff onboard. We had our TA check out the med. staff when she went 2 weeks ago.
Whenever we go away the first thing we do is find the nearest hospital so we know where to go incase of emergency

 

[dovbniak]

Thanks for sharing your story and glad to hear everything turned out alright.

This makes me think about an emergency and what we should do.

If you have an emergency do you go to the health center or does Disney dispatch an emergency medical team?

I am thinking specifically of an anaphylactic reaction. Where I am from, protocol states that you administer the epi and keep the person quiet, don't move them around, and to wait for the paramedics.

What would we do on a Disney ship?

 

[Stinkerbe11]

Thanks for sharing your story and glad to hear everything turned out alright.

This makes me think about an emergency and what we should do.

If you have an emergency do you go to the health center or does Disney dispatch an emergency medical team?

I am thinking specifically of an anaphylactic reaction. Where I am from, protocol states that you administer the epi and keep the person quiet, don't move them around, and to wait for the paramedics.

What would we do on a Disney ship?

Definitely administer the epi-pen right away and call the emergency number onboard (7-3000 on the Wonder). This is another great feature of the wave phones!

 

[Jennifer in MI]

Yikes! That must have been scary! I'm so glad you were able to stay on board and have a good time anyway.

We, too, got to see how good they were! I was at breakfast and I heard the "Bright Star" and then my sister's room number. I asked a CM what that meant and he said it was a medical emergency. I ran to her room and the doctor and nurses were already there. I asked what had happened and one of the nurses told me that my nephew had had a seizure. He was still seizing and they ran him to the "ER". They did everything you mentioned.

Our emergency happened while we were in port on our last morning on the ship. So, they escorted my BIL and sis and family off the ship and through customs QUICKLY and into a cab to the local ER for further followup. They think his seizure was caused by a lack of potassium. He'd thrown up a couple times the day before.
to anyone else who has had to experience this!

 

[buckeyejennifer]

Thanks for sharing your story and glad to hear everything turned out alright.

This makes me think about an emergency and what we should do.

If you have an emergency do you go to the health center or does Disney dispatch an emergency medical team?

I am thinking specifically of an anaphylactic reaction. Where I am from, protocol states that you administer the epi and keep the person quiet, don't move them around, and to wait for the paramedics.

What would we do on a Disney ship?

Yes, I would definitely administer the epiPen and then contact the medical team. Just have it out and available so that the team knows what you gave and when. We had a CM call them for us and they RAN to us. I couldn't believe how fast they made it to our side.

 

[dovbniak]

Yes, I would definitely administer the epiPen and then contact the medical team. Just have it out and available so that the team knows what you gave and when. We had a CM call them for us and they RAN to us. I couldn't believe how fast they made it to our side.

Thanks for the reply. I forgot about the phones and the emergency number. It is good to read their emergency teams are so responsive.

 

[GoHerd1028]

We too have only positive things to say about the medical staff. Last year we were on the magic and son was struggling to breathe. He was only 5 and has always had problems since he was a child. Anyway, we took him to the medical area and the nurse yelled for the doc to come quickly because they had a very sick boy. His oxygen levels in his blood were low and he had to immediatley have breathing treatments and steroids. The care he received was exceptional and they called daily the remainder of the cruise to check on him and make sure that he was doing well. I dont even worry now knowing that Disney has the medical staff they do if they are needed!