Need Opinions From Those Who "Get It"...

[Tbone17701]

Not sure where to post this, so I'll start here.

My big 40th bday trip that I've been planning for years seems to be cursed. First, my DD10 decided she just couldn't be pulled from her first year at Middle School to go over my actual bday (late Feb...lower crowds, prices and cooler temps). Stinks, but is understandable if you knew her and how hard she works for her grades (which are top notch). So, we sucked it up and planned to go over Easter this year (our first peak/holiday season visit EVER). Then my dream resort has a pool refurb scheduled, which makes it a no-go for the one time splurge we are making to celebrate (especially with the hike in prices over Easter). Now, I fall down the basement stairs and break my ankle in two places resulting in surgery. Did the first two weeks in the post surgery splint wrap and just got the hard cast today. IF all goes well, I'll get the cast off March 3rd. That gives me a month before we leave. I've never broken a bone, but the Dr & PA are acting like April is light years away and not to worry, while telling me I'll need a walker to walk the first week after the cast and two weeks PT to help with healing in light of the scheduled trip?! That leaves one week free and clear before tackling a 10 day trip that we typically walk miles a day on. I'm starting to sweat how realistic this trip will be given all of the circumstances and how much is invested.

My question to all of you who get how big of a deal this trip is due to our common love of all things Disney, but also know what a trip like this can entail physically, is simply...what would you do?

 

[perditax]

Having recently travelled on a much anticipated vacation while I was sick ... I would wait till I was 100%. It wasn't worth it for me.

 

[Cuppie]

RenT a scooter. My mom broke 3 toes 2 days before our 14 day trip. She rented one and loved it. I loved it cause we "used" her and "cheated" on our epcot passport...lol she drove her cart to the last few places we needed while we stayed in japan...lol

Just remember to take breaks and go easy.

 

[bumbershoot]

If at all possible (travel-wise, emotionally, etc etc), I would delay the trip until you were totally healed. And maybe for a lower-crowd time, or at least not a holiday weekend.

Otherwise, take it easy, budget to rent a scooter if you find you need it. And if you don't already have this in your household, buy some arnica cream/lotion/gel (the Boiron brand is easy to find now at grocery stores) to help promote healing. Rub it on the skin and the herbal tincture in it sinks in and can reduce pain beautifully.

 

[AllieBoo]

I would wait

 

[agavegirl1]

Agree with the "wait" crowd. I broke my ankle in 2009 but didn't realize it was an actual "break" until 2012 when I got arthritis in it and needed surgery for bone fragments and bone spurs. My good friend just had surgery and is very energetic. However, her time on her feet is limited. No limitations can be worked around at WDW that soon with normal functioning. You will either need to rent a scooter or wait until you have completed physical therapy before attempting the amount of walking required. Check out my trip report (posted in my signature) for a blow by blow of overdoing the walking thing and the inevitable results.

 

[JimmyV]

Postpone until you can visualize a less stressful and painful trip. You probably already know this or else you wouldn't have posted. In your heart, you came here to get reassurance that other Dis Nuts would do the same. We would.

 

[Keels]

I would do your PT and listen to doctors - that's what they're there for! You can even advise your physical therapist of what your plans are so they can tailor treatment and exercises with your Dis goal in mind, or give you realistic input on whether you can do it or not. And be honest - you're not just walking the 10+ miles a day, but you're CONSTANTLY on your feet, standing in line on not the best surfaces in the whole wide world (I'm looking at you, ALL of Animal Kingdom and Splash Mountain).

That said - ankles are right there with knees (in my opinion) as the most important parts of your body. Don't risk a lifetime of pain and further injury if there's an opportunity for you to postpone the trip until you're 110%!

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I think it depends on how you're feeling and if you think you can handle all the walking (or if you're willing to rent a scooter). I went on a 2 week trip to WDW (as part of a 3 week vacation) just a couple weeks after having broken my tibia and didn't have any issues. But it sounds like your break is a lot worse (mine didn't require surgery); and I was still a spry 20-something. My leg hurt sporadically for most of a year, but not badly enough to prevent me from using it.

Conversely, my mom (in her 60s) suffered a mild ankle break a couple years ago and it still hurts her (she hobbled around for months). I'm prepared to rent her a scooter in May if we need to. So it's difficult for anyone who isn't your doctor to say when you should be able to walk around WDW like you normally would.

If I were in your position and truly worried that I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself, I'd maybe delay a month or two (especially if my dream resort had a higher chance of being completely up and running by then).

 

[IrishNYC]

Having broken a bone (arm, several breaks) at age 40, I would wait. You will not be able to walk all day, and you may even still be in significant discomfort.

You'll probably be doing physical therapy at that time too. Knowing how tough recovery was for me, I would not skip those early sessions of PT.

 

[wishing4PA]

My question to all of you who get how big of a deal this trip is due to our common love of all things Disney, but also know what a trip like this can entail physically, is simply...what would you do?

My sympathies!
I'd reschedule for summer, assuming there is a week then that your DD is available, if it were me.
Best wishes, and don't break anything else!

 

[illinidp]

I would postpone if I were you. I'm the opposite of a hypochondriac but I don't think that time frame is at all realistic for walking 10+ miles per day and doing a lot of standing on concrete. I suspect you will be in quite a bit of discomfort esp after the first day and will want/need a scooter if you go then. That is an extremely painful injury with s long recovery time. Most people have barely started driving with that foot at that time. It's a minimum of 6 months before returning to sports and I would liken a week at Disney without a scooter to that.

 

[ORMom2Four]

I would postpone the trip until August, if not until the following winter or spring break.

I am sorry your plans are not going as expected

 

[ArwenMarie]

I would reschedule.

 

[ellie05]

Since it won't be on your actual birthday anyway I would postpone the trip. No reason to rush it to and maybe not enjoy it as much as you could have.

 

[HockeyMomNH]

I'm with the others, I would wait. I broke my upper arm two months before my first girl's only trip with my BFF when I was 35. I was determined not to miss the trip so we went. I didn't even last one night before I decided that I needed to come home. I was miserable.

I'm happy to say that we had a redo of the girls only trip for my 40th and made up for the bad trip. It was much better when we were both healthy!

 

[Flynnismine]

If it were me, and I'll be 45 next week, I'd definitely hold off and go when I knew for certain that I was 100% healed and could do all the walking involved with a Disney trip. Look at it this way, you'll be 40 all year long and since you can't go on your actual birthday, that opens up alot of other possibilities for your trip this year, plus the pool renovation you mentioned would probabky be completed by then. How about going in October and catching F&W at Epcot and maybe a Halloween party at MK?

 

[karly05]

Agree with all the PP who said to postpone. I get the excitement and planning and anticipation we go through, but I would want to be 100% healed and ready to hike before I tackled such a trip. When is your DD's last day of school, and could you go early summer? Or does she have some sort of (non-Thanksgiving) fall school break you could use? (I also would strenuously avoid Easter if I had a choice, for crowds and prices.) I'm also in the camp that says, if you're waiting anyway, I'd wait till the pool refurb was done so you could have your dream resort, too. I know it will seem like forever away, but it will come, and I'd rather wait a bit if it means a better trip.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Obviously you are concerned about it, so if it isn't a big deal to reschedule you could do that. Your ankle may not be any different in April than it will be come the summer, but you could eliminate the worrying.

Me? I'd listen to my docs, and based on what you've told us so far I'd probably go, assuming things heal up as anticipated. To summarize....about 3 months before your trip you had a broken ankle requiring surgery, the surgery went ok and you are moving into a hard cast that you will wear for a month, after which the docs and PT have a plan for recovery and therapy that takes into account your anticipated trip, with all of that being completed 10 days prior to your scheduled trip.

Your situation is different from mine, as your break was more severe than mine. However, I broke a coupe bones in my foot maybe 8 weeks before our last trip to WDW. Doc told me it would take 6-8 weeks to heal. No surgery, no hard cast, no PT, but it was still a broken foot, with the typical healing time ending right about the time of our trip. I didn't consider canceling. Why would I? The healing process went well and I was back to normal activity.

Here's the other thing you need to consider. Back to normal activity may not be back at 100% for a much longer time, if ever. Yes, my foot had healed, but it was still sore. Doc said it would be for some time. I was a little concerned about walking around WDW before we left. My foot was sore, and got more sore, on our trip. However, I wasn't going to hurt my foot worse, and I wouldn't have wanted to postpone our trip until some elusive date in the future, one that might never come, when I was 100%. Just sayin'. Good luck!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I agree with the others, postpone the trip. With that much walking you will be in a lot of pain.