Over the river and through the woods to Mickey's house we go: The Remix

[mickeystoontown]

I can't believe I'm so late to the party. I can't wait to hear all about your trip plans, though!!!

You aren't late. I've only done the introductions and you know who we are already.

Yeah, PTR started!

Now I need to go back and read.

Glad that you made it over. Haven't done much so far but hope to rectify that as soon as the boss takes in another client.

 

[BelleTinkMom]

Hi Lisa... I'm in. Can't wait to hear all about your plans. I think we may be there around the same time, maybe our paths will cross.

Hope John's doctor visit went well yesterday.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hi Lisa... I'm in. Can't wait to hear all about your plans. I think we may be there around the same time, maybe our paths will cross.

Hope John's doctor visit went well yesterday.

Thanks for joining in! You've definitely got to stop me if you see us out and about at Disney. I'd love for us to actually meet in person.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Non Disney update: John and I met his new neurologist yesterday. He was a nerdy guy but he was personable and seemed to know his stuff. His first few words to us were "I've looked at your recipe of medications and I don't like them." Oh crap! Not what we wanted to hear.

There have been studies over the last few years that have proven that two of John's medications cause osteoporosis. One of the meds that he was referring to is, of course, one of the ones that he's been on the longest...probably at least 10 years or more. The doctor is going to try to get the worker's compensation carrier to approve a bone density test because he is almost certain that John has osteoporosis.

John has vertigo and his fingers have tremors sometimes. Oh and ringing in the ears which we always thought was due to his hearing loss from being around large machinery. The doctor said that all of these things may be caused by the mix of medications he is taking.

He also ordered an EEG because he hasn't had one done since...since...I don't remember when. We know he hasn't had one since 2006 because his chart starts in 2006 and there were none done from then until now. John had blood drawn yesterday and they are supposed to get with us about the other tests.

We have a return visit May 10th and I guess the doctor will decide what to do from there. It sounds like we are going to have to go through an entire redo of his medicines. I hate doing that since we have to wean him off one or more and work him into others. Usually, this is a 6 week process and during the entire process, there is an increased chance of seizures. He hasn't had a full blown seizure in over 10 years. But, we will do whatever the doctor says we need to do.

***Up next: Let's get back to Disney plans!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I know it's scary to look at 6 weeks of not knowing if John will have a seizure...but maybe a good look at his meds will be helpful in the long run. I know it's not good to be on some of those medications long term and with advancements in medicine, maybe this new doctor can come up with a safer and better mixture. I'll pray that John is able to get through this process seizure-free and that you will have peace about it.

 

[deedeew80]

Hi Lisa! I guess I can kinda say, Glad John's appointment went well! Despite the fact in the changing of medication. Hopefully the transition goes over well! I will be praying for no seizures!!!! Good Luck to John!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I know it's scary to look at 6 weeks of not knowing if John will have a seizure...but maybe a good look at his meds will be helpful in the long run. I know it's not good to be on some of those medications long term and with advancements in medicine, maybe this new doctor can come up with a safer and better mixture. I'll pray that John is able to get through this process seizure-free and that you will have peace about it.

Hi Lisa! I guess I can kinda say, Glad John's appointment went well! Despite the fact in the changing of medication. Hopefully the transition goes over well! I will be praying for no seizures!!!! Good Luck to John!

Thank you both. John is one of the best patients I know. If a doctor tells him that we have to do something, then he does it. We've made the medication transition before and we'll do it again if that's what the doctor advises. It's just a hassle and a stressful time. But, like you said Missy, it may be a better 'recipe of medication' in the long run.

 

[PittypatBR]

Well it's about time, girlfriend. I thought you were going to start the pre-trippie the day before you left at this rate!
I'm glad the new neurologist seems to know his stuff. I think it is smart to take a fresh look at the meds, too. And it's good to get news tests done. So overall, even though you don't really want to go through the medicine change and rock the boat, if it clears up some of the extra symptoms that would be awesome. Where did y'all go to the doc?
Okay, on with the show!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Think of this as a positive thing. A new perspective from a new doctor could bring changes that improve John's life. Hope all the tests show things that can help John.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I made the introductions of "who" we are. I know ya'll are an intelligent bunch and can figure out the "what".......a Disney vacation! Let's move on to the when and where. I am going to forewarn you that this post is long on words and I don't even know if it will include a picture until I am done working on it since I just type from the heart.

I guess I need to backtrack a little (even though I haven't gotten that far along in the story). John comes from a pastor's family and there were six kids. Needless to say, not only were they obligated to their church but with six kids funds were a bit tight. They didn't go on many vacations and if they did, it was just a day or two trip.

I grew up with a family of three kids but my oldest sister is 12 year older than me and got married when I was almost 6 so it really felt like it was a family of just 2 kids. We took vacations every Summer. They weren't anything extravagent but we did go somewhere for a week. We also had a few adventures as a family. Like the time we were in New Mexico and our daddy had us posing by a huge cactus and we ended up running from the swarm of bees we disturbed. And I'll never forget the time we were in Colorado and looking for an Indian museum and ended up driving right smack into the middle of a reservation and were run off by the head honcho. Yep, we had totally missed that rusted, half hanging sign that said NO TRESPASSING! RESTRICTED AREA!

Once John and I were married, I introduced him to the wonderful world of vacations. We traveled to Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, New Mexico, Colorado. We explored caves, Indian ruins, climbed mountains, rode in offroad vehicles on cliffs, took a train through a mountain range and drove through prairies. He was hooked. He was bound and determined that his kids would experience new things and see new places. They have and they continue to.

Hunter was about to turn 1, Lacey had just turned 11 and we were trying to decide where to go for the Summer. John suggested Florida. I am not a full-on beach vacation kind of girl and suggested a Florida vacation that included the beach and somewhere we had never gone....Walt Disney World! Back in 1997, I knew nothing about Disney. I don't remember if we had internet back then since we live in a semi-rural area. I do know that I bought a Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World that was 2 year old and on the clearance rack at Books A Million. I also checked out a book or two from the library.

I did a little planning and it was decided that we would visit two Disney parks, Sea World, Universal Studios and Cocoa Beach. We stayed offsite at Days Suites (before it turned into a bug infested run down hotel) and drove to and from the various parks and the beach.

No amount of planning could have prepared us for the instant love we would feel for Walt Disney World. We were in total awe of everything....the smells, the sights, the attractions, the food, the feeling of being some place totally outside of the real world. We knew that we had to come back and come back we did......14 times. We have toured Walt Disney World in early May, mid-May, late May, early June, early August, mid-August, over Labor Day and Thanksgiving week.

We once thought about possibly going somewhere else for our annual Summer vacation but we took two aspirins, the fever went down and we came to our senses. Seriously, though, we've come to the realization that there is no place better. There's something for everyone at Walt Disney World and it's the perfect vacation destination for our family. I do not see us going anywhere else in the near future.

Wow! I said I was going to backtrack a little but that wasn't a little, it was a lot! What can I say? I'm a detailed wordy kinda gal.

Let's get back to our upcoming Disney vacation. As most of you know, Mama traveled to Walt Disney World with us last Summer and, right after coming home, she said "Well, I've been to Disney again and it was fun. I don't guess I need to go back." That was a few days after we got home. After about a week, she started suffering from the Disney withdrawals just like the rest of us. She was now saying "If you go back and stay at Caribbean Beach again, I wouldn't mind going back." We told her she was more than welcome to come and the planning began.

I started watching the Disboards and the rumors and discounts and deals threads to see if anybody had heard any chatter about any May discounts. There was talk that a free dining deal was about to come out and there was a possibility that it would include our dates. What? I had never ever heard of any free dining promos during May and June. I watched the boards and the Disney site like a hawk and BOOM! BAM! out came the free dining deal. I was calculating like a mad woman and almost pee'd my pants when I realized it would save us over $1,000.00 to book with the promo. I was on the phone with Disney before you could count to 10 and the package at the Caribbean Beach Resort was booked! All I had to do was find a hotel for our arrival night since we would get to Orlando a day before the promo began. Not a problem, we'd figure that part out later.

I called Mama and told her about the deal. She said she'd think about it. She's always afraid that she's going to be a pest or she'll slow us down, etc. We told her that she was welcome to come and we wanted her to come but we weren't going to put any pressure on her. After what seemed like an eternity, she said she'd go. We booked her room with free dining and she saved about $300.00.

Lacey moved home over the Summer and we asked her if she wanted to go too. She thought about it for like 2.2 seconds and said SURE! I called up Disney, added her to the package for less than $300.00. I did more calculating and we were now saving over $1,400.00! Even better than that, we were getting to spend quality time with our entire family before Lacey got married. We were stoked!

It was also decided that we would take Mama's van to Disney instead of trying to fit all of us into my car. It's a 14 to 16 hour drive to Disney and we'd be pretty cramped.

Not too long after I booked the vacation, John went back to work for a company that he worked for many years ago. He told them that he had a Summer vacation planned and Lacey was getting married in August and he wouldn't come back to work unless they would let him take time off for those things. They said no problem and back into the work force he went.

One evening, we were sitting at home and I was telling John that we needed to go ahead and decide where we were going to stay our first night. We thought about staying offsite to save a few dollars. But, we were already saving over $1,400 so why stay offsite? Take those dollars and stay at a Disney resort. So, should we stay value since we would get there late afternoon? Should we stay in a deluxe for one night so we could say we'd stayed in a deluxe resort? Or, should we stay at another moderate so that we'd see if we were missing something by staying at the CBR year after year?

Oh decisions, decisions! I hate making 'em. John mentioned that his boss asked him for our vacation dates so he could put them on the calendar. John had forgotten the dates and told Keith (his boss) that he'd bring them in the next day. Hum.....what if we added another day to the reservation? His boss would never know that those weren't our original dates. My boss doesn't even have a clue when I am going until I remind him. John said do it! Now, where do we stay? We ended up booking a 2 night room only reservation at Port Orleans Riverside with the Late Spring/Early Summer % off special offer. For two nights, it was going to be less than $300.00. Not bad at all!

By now, you are probably saying "shut up already and post some pictures".

We were going to be staying at the beautiful Port Orleans Riverside with the % off special offer:

(borrowed from Allearsnet.com)

for two nights and then we were going to switch over to Caribbean Beach Resort with the free dining special offer:

I had all of our ADRs made, was excited to be trying something new and then I started doubting our plans. Why the hecka decka do I do this to myself? Why?

About two weeks ago, I started bugging John again. He is perfectly happy letting me plan everything and tell him when we need to pack the car. He wasn't too excited to be talking yet again about my doubts. Tough! He was going to talk about them. By the end of the talk, we had decided to see if we could change our Port Orleans reservation to Caribbean Beach. This way, there would be a possibility of keeping the same room the entire time. It would make it so much easier on us if we could.

I was on the phone with Disney in the shake of a lamb's tail and changing our reservation. Thankfully, I was able to keep the % off and change resorts with no change fees. Ahhh, Caribbean Beach, I can hardly wait to see you again:

And, we will on May 25th and we'll be staying for 10 glorious nights!

**Up next: Our arrival dates and plans

 

[mickeystoontown]

Well it's about time, girlfriend. I thought you were going to start the pre-trippie the day before you left at this rate!
I'm glad the new neurologist seems to know his stuff. I think it is smart to take a fresh look at the meds, too. And it's good to get news tests done. So overall, even though you don't really want to go through the medicine change and rock the boat, if it clears up some of the extra symptoms that would be awesome. Where did y'all go to the doc?
Okay, on with the show!!

I know! I can't believe it took me this long to start.

We were pleased with the neurologist and were very happy that he seems to be up to date on the goings-on in the epilepsy world of medicine. We'll do whatever he suggests even if it is going to be a pain in the buttocks. The doctor is at the Green Clinic in Ruston which isn't too long of a drive....just 30 minutes.

Think of this as a positive thing. A new perspective from a new doctor could bring changes that improve John's life. Hope all the tests show things that can help John.

That's exactly how we are thinking of it. This little nerdy baldheaded man may be a real blessing to us. All kidding aside, I do think this may work out for the best and all of the little nagging symptoms John has may eventually go away.

 

[MaryAz]

Yay a new PTR!!! 10 nights-AWESOME!!!

John's new Doc sounds like a good one. And if changing some the meds means less side effects.....

Can;t wait to read about all your plans!!

 

[rndmr2]

Glad John's new MD seems to know his stuff. Sometimes a change in Doctors can be a good thing as you get fresh eyes looking at the med list/tests, etc. My DH's MD he has had for a couple years recently left the practice (moved to the sleep center) and he went to see a new guy who sent him to see the doc's at the Epilepsy Center near us, he couldn't understand why none of the ones he has seen before sent him there.

Well he went there and he has been weaned off one med he has been on since 2000 or 2001 that was actually showing some side effects like him having difficulty with word finding, etc and gradually increased the 2nd one that is the newest one. We are so glad for this as he is actually only on one med now which we never thought would happen. they also did an overnight EEG where he had the wires hooked up to a small machine and he went home with a log book and a button where we had to keep track of any seizures we saw. Well before his changes he had been having them at least 1 or 2 a day and now they are actually pretty rare.

I agree the weaning/tapering process is a pain (Make sure you get a good pill cutter ! LOL) John is lucky that his seizures are under control, hopefully the med changes will not affect that.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yay a new PTR!!! 10 nights-AWESOME!!!

John's new Doc sounds like a good one. And if changing some the meds means less side effects.....

Can;t wait to read about all your plans!!

Welcome Mary! This is our longest stay at Disney. If it were up to me, I'd add at least a day or two more.

The doctor does seem to know his stuff which was a relief. Now we'll just wait and see what he decides to do.

Glad John's new MD seems to know his stuff. Sometimes a change in Doctors can be a good thing as you get fresh eyes looking at the med list/tests, etc. My DH's MD he has had for a couple years recently left the practice (moved to the sleep center) and he went to see a new guy who sent him to see the doc's at the Epilepsy Center near us, he couldn't understand why none of the ones he has seen before sent him there.

Well he went there and he has been weaned off one med he has been on since 2000 or 2001 that was actually showing some side effects like him having difficulty with word finding, etc and gradually increased the 2nd one that is the newest one. We are so glad for this as he is actually only on one med now which we never thought would happen. they also did an overnight EEG where he had the wires hooked up to a small machine and he went home with a log book and a button where we had to keep track of any seizures we saw. Well before his changes he had been having them at least 1 or 2 a day and now they are actually pretty rare.

I agree the weaning/tapering process is a pain (Make sure you get a good pill cutter ! LOL) John is lucky that his seizures are under control, hopefully the med changes will not affect that.

Oh my word! What a great blessing to have your husband on just one seizure medication. I bet you were glad when you found someone who specialized in treating seizures and knew what they were talking about.

Right now, John takes five seizure meds., one for his stomach because of the meds, one for hand tremors and one that he takes periodically for facial twitching. His total pills per day: 27 plus a multi-vitamin and a bone health vitamin. I would love it if he got down to just 10 pills a day. We haven't ever seen less than that.

 

[MissLiz]

Glad to hear that you had a good experience with the neurologist. It may actually be a blessing to have a new set of eyes looking at things.


I can't believe you are going for 10 days!!!! That is awesome! We did 10 days last May and it was so nice. I didn't feel like I had to rush around and do everything all the time. We just took it easy and enjoyed ourselves.

And I'm just going to say "Chicken!" to changing your mind about the split stay.



We have stayed off-site our first night for the past few trips, so I've always packed an additional overnight bag. Last September, we stayed at 3, count 'em, 3 resorts! That was a little much.

This September, we are doing a split stay at AKV and BLT. Luckily, we had to buy two new bags for our vacation this month, so I have two new big bags that I can split things up into. I'm hoping it works out okay.

Can't wait to hear all your plans! I wish I was going in May this year again. Maybe next year.

 

[aprilisis]

I'm so sorry that you guys may have to go through changing John's meds. Hopefully the doctor will work with you to make it as easy & stress-free as possible.
I absolutely loved your paragraphs about your vacation history. I never knew a lot of that about you before! It just made me smile because my first real vacation (which was to WDW) was at age 23!
I'm glad you are staying at CBR for the length of your trip- I always love to see your photos of the plants & flowers from your walks around the resort!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

10 nights....

 

[mickeystoontown]

Glad to hear that you had a good experience with the neurologist. It may actually be a blessing to have a new set of eyes looking at things.


I can't believe you are going for 10 days!!!! That is awesome! We did 10 days last May and it was so nice. I didn't feel like I had to rush around and do everything all the time. We just took it easy and enjoyed ourselves.

And I'm just going to say "Chicken!" to changing your mind about the split stay.



We have stayed off-site our first night for the past few trips, so I've always packed an additional overnight bag. Last September, we stayed at 3, count 'em, 3 resorts! That was a little much.

This September, we are doing a split stay at AKV and BLT. Luckily, we had to buy two new bags for our vacation this month, so I have two new big bags that I can split things up into. I'm hoping it works out okay.

Can't wait to hear all your plans! I wish I was going in May this year again. Maybe next year.

I admit to being a chicken....a great big fat one! I couldn't fathom packing bags for our driving day, our first two nights at POR and then for the CBR stay. I just couldn't do it. I don't know how you did!

I wish you were going in May too so we could meet.

I'm so sorry that you guys may have to go through changing John's meds. Hopefully the doctor will work with you to make it as easy & stress-free as possible.
I absolutely loved your paragraphs about your vacation history. I never knew a lot of that about you before! It just made me smile because my first real vacation (which was to WDW) was at age 23!
I'm glad you are staying at CBR for the length of your trip- I always love to see your photos of the plants & flowers from your walks around the resort!

The doctor seems to know what he is talking about and did say that the process of changing his meds would be a gradual things (which we already knew).

Glad I didn't bore you with our vacation history stories. My daddy was kinda sorta strict and you didn't do anything without a reason but when he played, he played hard and we had so much fun together. Not only on vacations but in every day life.

He retired on disability (he worked for the State and was run over by a motorgrader) when I was a little older than Hunter. From the time I can remember, I was a daddy's girl and was stuck to him like glue. I would go fishing with him, catch frogs, lie on the ground on a blanket at night and look at the stars, skip rocks...just about everything. My uncle owned (and the family still owns) the biggest road construction and bridge building companies in Louisiana and they operated a plant that made the black stuff they put on roads. I was at the plant at least twice a week with my daddy. I knew that place like the back of my hand. I sure do miss my daddy and wish that he was still alive to see what fun my kids have with me and John.

I am looking forward to spending more rest/relax time at the CBR. When we were there last year, they were planting new plants and flowering shrubs on the island and around the buildings. I can't wait to see how they have grown.

10 nights....

I know! If it were up to me, we'd add even more nights to the vacation. Of course, we'd be so broke by the time we got back home, we'd have to eat bologna sandwiches every day for a month.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I've told you "who" were are. I know you've figured out the "what". I've told you all about the "when and where" along with the "should we switch resorts" ordeal. I now need to move on to posting more about our plans. Again, this post is going to be long on words but I promise I'll throw in a picture or two when I can.

First, a little history of our travels to Walt Disney World. Years ago, when Hunter was just a baby and then a toddler, we broke the trip down into two entire travel days. We didn't want to get too worn out from driving so we would leave about 7:00 a.m. or so and drive to Tallahassee, Florida where we would stay the night. The next day, we'd walk next door to a Denney's that was beside our hotel, eat breakfast and then drive the rest of the way to our hotel offsite.

Back in those days, we cut down through the middle of Tallahassee and went through the beautiful countryside. There were dozens and dozens of thoroughbred horse farms and training facilities and we also rode alongside the Suwannee River at times. We traveled through a little "town" named "Turkeytown" and we would always laugh because we couldn't figure out how it qualified as a town since there were only two or three houses and a couple of open pastures and right after you saw the Turkeytown sign you'd see a sign say you were leaving Turkeytown. The drive to Walt Disney World was pretty and peaceful.

Except for the year when there was all the big hullabaloo during the Presidential Election and they were recounting the votes in Florida for 19,000,000 times. We were stuck in the middle of Tallahassee and it took us forever to navigate our way through all of the national and local television crews, reporters, etc. I bet it took us at least an hour to go the block or so in front of the State Capital.

Anyway, over the next few years, we noticed that many of the horse farms and training facilities were shutting down. The cows and horses that were in the pastures in Turkeytown were gone. Even the Turkeytown sign was starting to look rusted. The beauty and peacefulness was not really there any more.

Since the kids were older and had electronic devices to keep them happy in the backseat, we decided to skip Tallahassee, Turkeytown and the Suwannee River and take the ugly, nothing-to-look-at Interstate route. We also decided to leave after I got off work and drive as far as we could. We would get up the next day and make the remainder of the drive.

Although the drive was nothing to really call home about, it did seem to work out better for all of us. This has been our routine every since. Well, except for a few years ago, when we chose to take our old route down to see if anything had changed. It hadn't and the paint on the horse farm buildings was peeling and the fences were falling apart. It was so sad and we wished we had never gone back that way.

Enough of the history already, let's talk about our plans for this trip! I know that I won't get to posting all of our plans but will get as far as I can before I hear my boss' booming voice bellowing down the hallway.

May 23rd: The day before we leave
I always say I'm not going to wait until the last minute to pack. But, I do. I "gather" stuff days before but I don't actually pack until a day or so before we leave. We'll finish up the packing this night and hopefully start putting a few things in Mama's van.

May 24th: The day we start the drive AND Hunter's 14th Birthday!
I know that this will be a hectic day. It's always a hectic day at work on the day I am leaving. My boss starts stressing out that I'll be gone and piles on more and more crap that just has to be done that very day even though he's put it off for weeks. The clients start calling to find out how long I will be gone because they are supposed to be signing paperwork, dropping off stuff, etc. It never fails that someone shows up at the office at 4:30 p.m. when I am closing up at 5:00 p.m. I wonder if I could get away with telling everybody I'm leaving on the 23rd so they'll pile it all on that day instead of my departure day? Hum.....that's a thought!

I plan on getting out of the office right at 5:00 p.m. and making the drive home. I work right next door the courthouse, the Sheriff's Department, the District Attorney's Office, two bail bonds offices, the State Office Building, the Federal Courthouse, two six story office buildings and the hospital. If I don't hit the road right at 5:00 p.m., I'll never beat the traffic.

Last year, I was fortunate to beat the traffic and make it over one of the three bridges over the river. Unfortunately, this is what the skies looked like:

John gets off work at 2:30 p.m. and should make it home with plenty of time to shower, change his clothes, throw the few last minute items in the duffle bag, ice down a few Cokes in the portable cooler and load it all into the van. Lacey will be home during the day and can help Mama get all of her stuff in the van. Hunter gets out of school at 3:05 p.m. so he'll have time to gather up his last minute items as well.

It is my hope that we can be on the Interstate by 6:00 p.m. if not sooner. Last year, we left at 5:40 p.m. and this is what it looked like outside:

***Shoot, the boss has arrived. He's been to the hospital to check on his dad who has been in the hospital for a month now. I guess he has the right to be bellowing! I'll stop here but will come back to post more of our plans later.

 

[KatMark]

Lisa, I'm glad you found a doctor that you and John like. I hope the switching of medicines doesn't prove to be too difficult a transition.

I love your story of John not having family vacations and how you now always do them (we NEVER went on vacations...parents couldn't afford it; we've certainly made up for it with just Mark and I and the kids).

Your plans sound great--as always. I had a feeling that you'd end up with all your days at CBR. Like me and CSR, it is so difficult to leave what you love.

I like your idea of telling everyone you are leaving a day earlier so that you don't get pounded on during your "real" last day.

Looking forward to reading more.