Obsessive planner needs advice on asthma, strollers etc.

[suepmcc]

Hi,
My DD 5 yo has Down's Syndrome. We go to WDW every other year and are DVC members. Our next trip is Nov 21-Dec 2 this year. Being the obsessive wdw planner that I am, I am looking for advice on some of the issues we might face:

1.She was recently (Feb) diagnosed with asthma with colds/URI being her "trigger". She is treated with a nebulized steroid once a day (twice a day during "flare-ups, with albuterol as needed). With the new airline regs, will I need to pack her medications in the luggage, instead of carry-on as I had planned? If so and the luggage gets "lost", how would I go about getting the medication replaced in Fl?[/COLOR]

2.Stollers. She can walk but is about 2-3 years behing on her gross motor skills and low muscle tone. We are planning on ordering a larger stroller/disability stroller for her because she is outgrowing all the "regular" ones. What brand/model would you recommend?[/COLOR] She is 40" tall and about 45 lbs right now.

3.Lacose intolerance. Has anybody ever gotten lactose-free milk at the sit-down restaurants or should I just bring my own? She is not a big fan of pop or apple juice. we will eat breakfast in the room but usually do a sit down dinner.

Sorry this is so long. Any advice woud be greatly appreciated. Also, any reports from other moms out there with recent WDW experinced with similar aged Downs kids to share?

Thanks,
Sue

 

[tacomaranch]

First, I hope you have a great trip to WDW this year.

I can only answer one question on the stroller. I have been looking at Maclaren strollers on Ebay. They make one called the Major but it looks a lot like a push chair. It has a high weight limit and is durable.

Hope that helps, April

 

[debbiemomto4]

We have a pogon stroller but it looks just like the Macclaren Special Needs Stroller and it has a weight capacity of 125 lbs. Adaptivemall.com has pics of the Maclaren but we went through our insurance so we ended up with the Pogon. Nice stroller fits his needs.

As far as medication I did hear medication labeled with patients name was allowed on airplanes. Do you use a nebulizer- not sure of those anymore but we did take one a few years back not sure with new regulations though.

 

[Cheshire_cat]

I have not seen lactose free milk at the parks, maybe check allears.net - they have all of the menus for every restuarant and I think they have a section on food allergies/intolerances. My son is 8 and is lactose intolerent and he takes the chewable Lact-aid pills before he eats or drinks dairy products. They are okay tasting - tolerable I should say. He's pretty picky about new foods etc... and he doesn't complain about these at all. Maybe try these before you leave home?

Good luck!

 

[suepmcc]

Cheshire cat,
That's a great suggestion about the lactaid pills! I hadn't thought of that. I will give it a try because my DD LOVES her milk! Thanks!

Debbie,
Does the pogon have a basket underneath and a canopy shade? I tried to look at the theradyne website but it won't come up right now. I'm not sure yet how/if insurance will cover it- my DD's PT will be working on it in September. Does the Pogon cost more than the Maclaren? Thanks for the reply.

Sue

 

[mytwotinks]

Hi Sue!

If you would maybe just want to get a regular stroller until you find out about your ins. I just bought one on Ebay that sounds like it would work great for you. It is the Maclaren Volo. Just an umbrella stroller, but it goes up to 55 lbs. and it pushes very easily. My dd is 4 1/2 and 45 lbs. so she is probably about the same size as yours. The seat on this stroller is quite a bit wider than any of the others I found. You could get it for about $100 on ebay! It has a pretty good basket in the bottom that I think you could hold a nebulizer and some other stuff.

Good luck, have a great trip!

 

[tink2dw]

I just wanted to add that if you need to do nebulizer treatments while in the parks the First Aid Stations are great places to go, they are caring helpful people!!

Also 1 other thing to consider? My friends child can not go on Pirates Of the Carrebean, the mold smell trigggers an Asthme attack.

 

[ducklite]

Also 1 other thing to consider? My friends child can not go on Pirates Of the Carrebean, the mold smell trigggers an Asthme attack.

All asthmatics have different triggers. I am highly allergic to a variety of molds, but have never had a problem riding POTC. Not all allergies trigger an asthma attack.

Anne

 

[SueM in MN]

I'd second looking on adaptivemall.com

Even if you don't end up buying from them, they have a very good assortment of special needs strollers you can look at and compare.
Here's a direct link to their master Stroller and Pushchair page. Some of them are more complicated than it sounds like you need.
You should not have a problem getting a special needs stroller covered under insurance. After you kind of narrow down the type of stroller you are interested, you may be able to get a look at some if you have a medical equipment supplier in your area.

 

[neonurse]

They used to sell lactaid drops that you just put in the milk. I think you let it sit overnight in the milk,if you have a fridge or a cooler and bring it with you to the parks the next day-not sure if it has to sit over night though? I'm not sure if they are available still. Also Lactaid tablets are chewable. Appearently the equate brand is cheaper and very tolerable. Good luck. Talk to a pharmasist for help and other suggestions.

Medications on the plane. I think you should talk to someone at the airline re:bringing meds on the plane. I thought if it was a prescription they had to let it on. Ventolin and steriod inhalers are a vital necessity (sp?) just like insulin which they allow.

Wishing you a wonderful trip.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

There was a big thread on here a while back about lactose intolerance in the parks. You could probably find it either by searching, or flicking back through the pages. I think the gist of it was that if you let them know in advance, they can sort pretty much any allergy. At TS restaurants you can let them know when you make the reservation and with SC you can ask to speak to the manager about it. They're usually really friendly and helpful about these sort of things, and will go out of their way to make things special. Brenda Bennett deals with special diets at WDW, her email should be on any thread about food intolerances. I have heard of people having Rice Dream milk and ice cream at the parks.

Good luck and have a magical time !

 

[CPT Tripss]

Liquid medications are OK to carry on planes. To be safe, have them in the box with the pharmacy Rx label.
You should also be OK carrying the nebulizer on . . . any TSA worker should know it is medical equipment. That said, they may want to unpack it and swab it. As you never know what they were examining before you, ask them to change their gloves . . . no sense getting some other passengers germs crossed over on to your neb supplies.

 

[SueM in MN]

I just noticed that this original thread was from last August.