Options for older child with mobility issues

[sweetpeama]

Thanks for all the replies and ideas. Not sure if buying a wheelchair is in the budget. He really doesn’t need one on a regular basis. And I am not sure how easy we could get it down there. We are taking us (DH & I), our daughter and son-in-law, and our 4 grandkids. We will be driving in two cars from Illinois. 8 people with luggage may be cramped already. I looked at EVCs, but you have to be 18 to operate one with all the rental companies I looked at. Plus, he has never used one. Not sure how a 12 year old would do in a crowded park. I never could find an electric wheelchair to rent. I saw ones for sale that are powered by the pusher, not the rider. Kind of like a self propelled lawnmower. But have not seen one to rent. I know it seems like we should have enough adults to push him. But he is a pretty big kid and both my DH and DSIL have high blood pressure and carry some extra weight. My DD is a little thing and I have arthritis in my hands and wrists. I know, it sounds like we are refugees from a medical facility. Guess I will keep lookin.

My be worth having him and his parents talk over options with his medical team if nothing else due to his age and be moving onto high school and college soon. At 12 years old in some areas they are still in elementary school depending on when the birthday falls. While middle school does class exchanges often each grade is on a different wing on a single floored building at least in my area so the classrooms are closer to gether. High schools in my area are on 2-3 floored building depending on which one you are in so you could be on the bottom floor in the southeast corner of the building have your locke on the 2nd floor of in the nothwest corner and your next class on the middle of the east side of the building on the 3rd floor with 5 minutes to get from one to another-no running in the halls either-hard enough for students who can move easily.
I had both friends growing up as well as knowing kids through out the over 25 years since I graduated from high school who had issues similiar to your grandson who while they could walk in normal every day life made the decison to move to using a wheel chair either manual or power during the 12-15 year old age range in order to more easily keep up with friends. Then if it was something like a group of friends going out for pizza together they would walk and for more strenous activities like going to the fair they would use the chair-people just accepted it and it was ok who cares.

 

[Groot]

Exactly, I’ve had my disability from birth and am able to walk, but not for long distance(s). Looking back and knowing what a quality-of-life improvement my powerchair has given me, I should’ve asked my mom for one when I was younger instead of having to struggle with keeping up with everyone around me and constantly having to “Bench Hunt” whenever we went somewhere that involved a lot of walking (above 1/4 mile).

 

[mamabunny]

Thanks for all the replies and ideas. Not sure if buying a wheelchair is in the budget. He really doesn’t need one on a regular basis. And I am not sure how easy we could get it down there. We are taking us (DH & I), our daughter and son-in-law, and our 4 grandkids. We will be driving in two cars from Illinois. 8 people with luggage may be cramped already. I looked at EVCs, but you have to be 18 to operate one with all the rental companies I looked at. Plus, he has never used one. Not sure how a 12 year old would do in a crowded park. I never could find an electric wheelchair to rent. I saw ones for sale that are powered by the pusher, not the rider. Kind of like a self propelled lawnmower. But have not seen one to rent. I know it seems like we should have enough adults to push him. But he is a pretty big kid and both my DH and DSIL have high blood pressure and carry some extra weight. My DD is a little thing and I have arthritis in my hands and wrists. I know, it sounds like we are refugees from a medical facility. Guess I will keep lookin.

Our daughter has been autonomously using her own personal mobility devices since she was 10. She grew up going to Shriner's Hospital, and knew from birth (literally) that wheelchairs, power chairs, and ECVs are *tools* not toys, so when it was time for her to get her first "real" one, she did pretty good.

But, 12 is a tough age for kids because they tend to be moving into/through the "middle school" portion of their school career, and it's stupidly hard from a social standpoint. Add in anything that makes you "different" at all, and it just ratchets up the drama and emotional distress. And the unexpected freedom of a powered mobility device can be heady stuff for adults, let alone kids.

I do agree with others here - it may be time for him and his family to start talking with his medical team about his future mobility needs. Kids of *all* ages deserve a good quality of life, and if he would benefit from, and genuinely needs a mobility device, then his team should be able to help guide his family through getting one at little to no cost (depending on insurance).

Given that it sounds like you won't really have anyone who is capable of being a "pusher" for this trip, and you don't have room to take along anything, I would recommend strongly considering buying a Rollator-type device that you either have delivered to your hotel via Amazon Prime (so it can be waiting for you) or you can typically find one at places like Walgreens or CVS for less $100. A Rollator will look like this:


So he will hold on to the handlebars to push it (they roll easily) and then can sit on the little seat when you all are standing still in line.

That way he is self-ambulatory, but with a place to sit whenever he needs it.

It's not a perfect solution, but given the unique set of circumstances you are operating under, it might be your best option at this point.

All of the other options that I can think of will cost you more money - for example, you could rent a wheelchair from a local Orlando vendor (they will generally be a better quality than the Disney Parks rental wheelchairs) and then hire a local person to be his "pusher" for Parks Days. I have no idea how much that would even cost - in addition to paying the person to push him, you would (of course) have to pay their ticket into each Park, as well as food/drinks, etc. Or, you could rent a wheelchair in Orlando, and bring along a teenager to be the pusher (again, you will have to pay Park admission, meals, plus travel expenses to come along with you minimally).

He will *not* be able to self-propel; he *might* make it through the first day, but his arms, hands and shoulders will be extremely sore the next day. Only someone who is experienced in self-propelling a wheelchair in their daily life at home should attempt to self propel at WDW; it's not the place to try it for the first time.

One last thought - if you think you can find room for a standard folding wheelchair in one of the vehicles, quite often local service organizations (like the Masons, the Shriners, The Elks, The Moose, etc.) and/or local churches may have a medical equipment "lending closet". In some larger cities, you can call 211, and they will help you find a local group or organization that lends out (for free) wheelchairs, crutches, Rollators, etc.

I hope you will let us know what solution you wind up using - there are other families like yours that might benefit from your experience and wisdom when the trip is over .