Mobility & Anxiety

[disneydreamgirl]

Hi there...I am new to this part of the boards (we are frequent enough WDW visitors from Canada) and am so grateful to be able to glean information from those of you who can provide advice on our situation.

Backstory: DH was hit by a car while bicycling home from work in September, spent almost 11 weeks in hospital with fractured left shoulder and badly broken left tibia and fibula. He has been home for only a month and has a long road of rehab ahead of him...that said, he is making progress. He is strong as he has been a very active person, playing high level sports for many years. He just recently turned 50 and is discovering that this injury, certainly worse than any prior ones, has been complicated because he is experiencing anxiety (while traveling as a passenger, amongst crowds of people, with sensory overload).

We have a trip booked for March, staying at POFQ with rental car and building a couple of rest days, and believe that a wheelchair is going to be of necessity. Also concerned about anxiety levels and managing lines, etc...

I would be very grateful for any advice around managing the trip, wheelchair rental, etc... that any of you could offer. (I am reading through the FAQ, feeling somewhat overwhelmed.)

This trip is a re-do for the trip we would have taken a week after his accident to celebrate his 50th and I want it to be a great experience and I know that will require different advance planning than we are used to!

 

[perditax]

Can he get a prescription for benzodiazepines (xanax, ativan, klonipin, etc) from his doctor just for the trip? I can't imagine a doctor saying no for a one-time travel situation.

As someone who is prone to panic attacks, just the knowledge that I have the rx available will often keep anxiety at bay. Also, they make klonipin in a sublingual form (that goes under your tongue) so it works a bit faster in the case of a sudden attack.

If it were me, just worrying that I was going to have a panic attack in line would in itself be enough to cause my anxiety to shoot up. And I don't do well with crowds either. But having a medical intervention on hand (even without actually taking it) really helps. Our brains can really screw us over sometimes.

I'm not sure about disability travel, but I'm sure people will have a ton of input. Probably the main thing is to allow lots of downtime/rest and do not overschedule.

(If he's having anxiety attacks now as a result of trauma from being hit by a car, he may also want to seek therapy.)

 

[disneydreamgirl]

Thanks for that advice...you are so right about the brain!

He has great care and has been addressing the anxiety in a number of ways, thank goodness he recognizes it is a concern. We'll explore the meds option and plan to have the occupational therapist work through this with us also...so nice to see a quick response as the experiential first-hand advice is of such comfort. Fortunately we have been to WDW quite a few times and are now not worried about seeing everything...this will be a new pace for us, for sure, but we are prepared to do things differently.

 

[Gracie09]

I would look into renting an ecv instead of a wheelchair. There are some that can be broken down for car travel. He will get some independence and you won't have to push him

 

[minnie mum]

I would also recommend that your DH discuss the possibility of an anxiolytic med such as Ativan for your DH, just for use on the trip. The quick acting sublingual form may be of help.

Unfortunately, you've picked a busy time of year to go (spring break), so the only effective way to manage the crowds will be to pick your park days wisely. Have a look at easywdw.com for his recommended parks for each day of your visit. Returning to your resort for a rest every afternoon will also be a welcome break from the most crowded part of the day, before going back to the parks in the evening.

If you haven't done so yet, read thru Mesaboys thread on the Theme Parks board to maximize your FP+ selections. I'd also suggest that you look at either the cheat sheets on easywdw.com or buy a subscription to touringplans to come up with a park touring strategy to minimize standby line times. Fortunately most lines are accessible either with the ecv or with a transfer to a wheelchair. That info is in the sticky.

I agree that you might want to consider getting an ecv instead of a wheelchair. Pushing an adult in a wheelchair all day is not for the faint of heart or weak of muscle. DH can push my chair without (too much) complaint. But I know that I couldn't push him for even half that, if our positions were reversed. Plus, being in control of the ecv may help with his anxiety.

Good luck on your trip. I hope you both have a wonderful vacation.

 

[disneydreamgirl]

Thanks for the advice...we are WDW vets and I am an uber-planner, having used touringplans and easywdw info to make best choices for each day for many of our trips and for others. We've also made trips with each of our parents and experienced a slower paced trip. Definitely being realistic with how it may play out for us this time and will discuss the ecv suggestion with him. Have to convince him to at least try one in the grocery store first. We wondered between DS (16) and I if we could spell him off as he tires...he self-propels himself very well, however we don't have much outdoor experience with a wheelchair as yet. So grateful for what has been shared so far.

Timing isn't ideal however we need to leverage school holidays for part of the trip to avoid too many missed days for DS who is in Grade 11. We've always taken him out of school for 7-10 days but school workload doesn't allow for that at this stage. We are early risers and have always built in table service, mid-day break and/or longer park activities (i.e. drawing classes) to manage

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I am so sorry - it's really hard to recover from such injuries when you get older.

Your husband might want to look into getting some therapy to help him before his anxiety gets out of hand. It's very likely he has some PTSD from the accident. It probably wouldn't take too many sessions before he feels better.

 

[disneydreamgirl]

Thanks for everyone's concerns...part of his rehab includes counseling sessions. He is working through the anxiety part of all of this.

We are considering alternate plans now for this first getaway...we're not sure that Disney is the best destination for us in March and are considering later in the year, once DH is further along physically.

There will always be WDW in our future!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I also second the ECV instead of wheelchair, self propelling wheelchair at WDW is very hard. one plus of EVC is he is in control of his coming and going. I would look into offsite rental instead of park rental so you have use at resort. park rentals will not help you get to car or transportation. I would also see if he can get a short term handicap tag for car

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Just wanted to mention emdr therapy. Not all details are known, but somehow the structure helps the brain make new connections and with that desensitizes to trauma. Unlike other therapy forms that take much longer emdr only takes a few sessions and has a rather impressive success rate from lower level trauma to the real bad stuff. Perhaps worth discussing and looking into.

Many many moons ago was dealing with a trauma and very soon found talk therapy not only opening wounds but feeling worse instead. Never heard of emdr, VERY sceptical as was my therapist who just had done a mandatory training in it. I was ons a waitlist for something else and we figured almost samenhing along the line of "well proof this for the crock it is". Oops. Or woohoo, depending ons how you look at it. A measely 5 half hour sessions it took. Draining, but in a beter way. Somehow I could easily detach from the intensity that bothered me whenever not in session. After those 5? I know how it felt, once. No longer canvas feel it though, let alone as if being back in the moment of trauma. I commonly describe it as a closed book. Read the story, know it, van reopen and reread the book, remember it all incl how it felt but the intensity is gone and with that the being in the moment, flashbacks, you name it. Nothing is magical, but this was way more of a magical easy fix than both I, therapists and specialists expected. Did take some hard enough work but easypeasy compaired to how much work talk therapy was with relatively any "backlash" after a session, where with talk I would always have quite some.

Would never dare to say it is an easy fix or works for all, that is nonsense. But wanted to mention it given the fast and drastic results for those of us that do benefit.

As far as crowds; discussing self hypnoses, for some that can be helpfull. Also visualisation can be very beneficial and again a skill one can practise and perfect within their means. Awareness of how the both of you move and compose yourself in crowds and moving around people can help or hurt. For instance standing behind him in line, allowing some space between you two will feel very different than strangers that walk all the way up (in front he can leave a bit of space open). I use all 3 and some other skills/tricks when out and about. No fears or social issues but ideal helpers when any input like sounds, movement, lights etc gets translated by my body as physical pain and knowing touching will also cause pain or injuries. I have done the parks solo most of my times and very succesfully eventhough using a powerchair (read be big, bulky, due to the make within eye sight height but magically invisible for many at Disney). Proactive strategies and movements can literally make a huge difference.

"Fun" with those tricks is that it gives something to "control", which in itself helps those who have issues with not being able to control everything.

 

[disneydreamgirl]

Thanks for all of the advice and suggestions...we decided to delay our trip to WDW and are opting for a low-key trip to South Carolina in March. We'll have rest days by the pool (hoping for nice weather) and are going to select just a few places we wish to see. Just a better approach for us at this point. We're hoping for WDW in the fall...time will tell!

 

[bocaj1431]

I am so sorry for what your husband has been through.

If his anxiety has reached a point where it leads to panic attacks, I would recommend DBT (dialectical behavior therapy). It is a therapy that many people who suffer from panic attacks and anxiety use. The group I was involved in had people who have suffered trauma, people living in constant pain, fire fighter, people living with cancer, and those suffering panic attacks. It's main goal is to get you to focus on the moment rather than the thoughts which cause the. anxiety. It also is a way to deal with the anxiety without medications. It consists of one on one therapy combined with group therapy.

It made a huge difference in my life. I originally used the meds already mentioned and did not like the side affects and worried about the addictive qualities they can have. After therapy, I rarely have panic attacks and the few that I do, I know what to do to make them stop.

Just a side note if you chose to use Xanax, which there is nothing wrong with that, for some people it can make you very drowsy. Every time I used to take one, within an hour I would be asleep.

A trick I learned from DBT is to use an ice pack or bag of ice on the back of your neck when you feel the attack coming on. I am not good with medical jargon but there is a scientific reason this works with panic attacks. If in parks you can put an ice pack in plastic Baggie in backpack. Also can get ice from drink stations in various food stops in the park, just have plastic baggies on hand. Or put frozen water bottles in backpack, takes hours before melts and use that on your neck.

My son who has autism also can not handle the crowds because it leads to anxiety and the wheel chair is what we are going to try this time.

Wishing you and you husband have a wonderful celebration!

 

[disneydreamgirl]

bocag1431 - Thanks so much for sharing your experience, concern and well wishes...we are fortunate that he isn't forced to manage with meds at this time and his Rehab team have him set up with a number of therapy sessions to help him with ways to work through when he is feeling anxious. He will also have time on a driving simulator and complete a few driving lessons when he comes closer to being ready to return to driving, although that is not imminent. It's surprising to think that four months have passed since the accident. At times it feels like yesterday and other times it feels like a lifetime ago. We are so fortunate to have great care providers...he is reaching milestones and improving slowly but regularly...we are very hopeful and his positive nature has a lot to do with that.