my husband has

[Madisonsmom45]

My husband has been diagnosed with charcot foot. This is after the 45 day deadline. To make a long story short it's not a pleasant disease. We are hoping that the vacation can still take place. Does anyone else here know anything about this? We are not sure what to do. We have the vacation insurance, but not sure if this is covered. He may be facing amputation if they can't get it stabilized.
Please help. How easy is it to use a ECV because he has to stay completely off the foot?
Thanks so much,
Bonnie

 

[KPeveler]

If he has ever driven a car or a bike, he can handle an ECV. They are quite easy to drive.

I suggest renting one from offsite, as it seems that he will need it all the time. You can ask rental companies to put crutch holders on the back, so he can have those with him in the parks for the rides and such he has to transfer for.

There are many rides which have cars that can handle wheelchairs (but not ECVs), but those rides will usually have a park wheelchair there he can transfer in to, and ride like that, or he can transfer into a regular car. They can stop the moving walkways for everything but the TTA and Peter Pan.

I am sorry to hear about your husband. Travelling with a ECV is not too hard.

Check out the FAQs at the top of the page for rental companies and info about the parks.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I don't have any experience with ECV's but I have been in a regular wheelchair at WDW. I believe that it is possible to still have a wonderful vacation even if your husband is in an ECV.

Best wishes and I hope that his foot gets stabilized soon.

 

[cm8]

My husband has been diagnosed with charcot foot. This is after the 45 day deadline. To make a long story short it's not a pleasant disease. We are hoping that the vacation can still take place. Does anyone else here no anything about this? We are not sure what to do. We have the vacation insurance, but not sure if this is covered. He may be facing amputation if they can't get it stabilized.
Please help. How easy is it to use a ECV because he has to stay completely off the foot?
Thanks so much,
Bonnie

I am sorry to hear about your husband. I think EVC's are easy to use once you get them down packed. I think that you should have your hubby try one out at the supermarket and see how well he does. I hope that they can get his foot stabilized. Please make sure your husband does what his DR. tells him too so that he can possibly save the foot.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sorry to hear about your DH. Those things can be scary - hope it all works out for him and his foot improves.
This website has a very good explanation of Charcot Foot.

I think whether or not the trip insurance will cover a cancellation will depend on the exact wording in the policy. If the foot condition is related to a pre-existing condition like diabetes, they may say that it is not covered.

If he needs to avoid all weight bearing, I would probably concentrate on attractions that don’t require a transfer - like shows or things where he can transfer into an attraction wheelchair and then staying in the park wheelchair in an accessible ride car - things like Small World, Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear.
If he has the OK to use crutches, those can make transfers easier, but I would still not try to get into any of the hard to transfer rides, like Pirates.
There are some things like Soarin’ where you do need to transfer, but could park the ECV very close to the ride car and slide over without putting weight on the foot.

 

[hematite153]

I just recently read an article about the use of a circular external fixator to stabilize Charcot foot. The results so far look very promising. Look into it, or ask your doctors if it's an option. It reportedly has much better outcomes than standard treatments and often takes less time as well.

As for WDW, you may wish to postpone your trip until you are sure that your DH won't accidentally make things worse. Even though you are inside the 45 day window, if you call and explain the health problem they may let you move everything to a later date. (If you've booked a special package it may or may not be available at that time, so, the components of your vacation may change, but, I suspect that you could move your payment to cover a changed booking and then just pay any additional fees.)

ECVs are definitely better than wheelchairs if there's a concern about his foot getting banged by others. But, I'll warn you, avoid crowds! My DW always gets bonked, nudged or something on every WDW vacation and the one time we got stuck in a crowd she was clobbered by other guests.

Also, if he can't put any weight on it, you'll need to make sure you have some sort of leg lift/rest attached. Most people in ECVs rest their foot in front of them and that would include some weight.

Think through airports. My DW often says that she doesn't need supports in airports and then ends up injuring herself. There's always more walking than you thought.

Good luck!

 

[Debbie-TN]

My mom has had Charcot foot in both feet for about six years now. It started as neuropathy in her feet(does not have diabetes). Since she couldn't feel the bottoms of her feet, she started walking on the sides of her feet and breaking down the Charcot joint. She had huge ulcers on the sides of her feet and it took a long time for an orthopedic surgeon to get them healed. After they finally healed she had orthopedic shoes made to fit the way her feet had become shaped and it has helped to not have the ulcers any more. What has the doctor put on his feet for protection? My cousin rents a scooter off-site so you have it 24/7. Go and practice and some of the stores. WDW is very ECV friendly. You might just want to avoid rides where you have to leave the ECV and walk to the ride, but are really very few of those. Some you can even transfer to a wheelchair that the provide and go right up to the ride.

 

[SueM in MN]

As for WDW, you may wish to postpone your trip until you are sure that your DH won't accidentally make things worse. Even though you are inside the 45 day window, if you call and explain the health problem they may let you move everything to a later date. (If you've booked a special package it may or may not be available at that time, so, the components of your vacation may change, but, I suspect that you could move your payment to cover a changed booking and then just pay any additional fees.)

THat's a good point.
I know people have posted in the past that they were able to postpone their trip without a penalty even though they would not have been able to cancel it without one.
If you booked yourself, you can just call the number you used to book it.
If you used a travel agent, you would have to go thru the travel agent since they actually 'own' your reservation until a few days before checking in.