Sailing in 3 weeks, son fractured shoulder last night! Have questions!

[cheribelle]

Hi all. Hoping someone can help me cause right now I am panicking and so upset! We are sailing 12/24 on the Fantasy.
Last night at one of those indoor trampoline parks, my 12 year old son fractured his shoulder. We need to see an Orthopedic Dr but they are not open till Monday. Hospital has him in a soft cast/sling and they are estimating 4-6 weeks for healing.

I realize he won't be able to go on his favorite Aqua Duck or Mickey slide, and he won't be able to do the thrill rides at the Magic Kingdom when we go prior to the cruise.

Will they still let him in the kids club?? How about the soccer sports simulator? He's a 12 year old boy so he is really into sports and acitive things.

I am so upset about the beaches! We planned time at Castaway Cay and Grand Cayman. Hoping to find one of those waterproof covers for his whole arm and he can at least get in the water.

How about the other rides at the Magic Kingdom? Like Pirates of the Caribbean? Will the ride operators still let him on?

Sorry but we have been planning this trip for so long that this is just so disappointing for him. If anyone has any advice, I would so appreciate it.

Thank you.

 

[Steelers0854]

I'm so sorry to hear about that, and hope your son has a quick and complete recovery. But I think your questions are best answered by the orthopedic surgeon. There are many factors that will determine what your son can and can't do and it's all dependent on how bad the break is, which we can't answer here. I'm going to guess that even if it's a slight fracture they won't want your son doing anything jarring so any ride would probably be out.

But life happens, and I'm sure he will still have a great time, enjoy being with the family, and there are still pleanty of things for him to engage in. Just make sure to ask the orthopedic detailed questions about what and when your son can do the activities that are important to him.

 

[Shanti]

Hi all. Hoping someone can help me cause right now I am panicking and so upset! We are sailing 12/24 on the Fantasy.
Last night at one of those indoor trampoline parks, my 12 year old son fractured his shoulder. We need to see an Orthopedic Dr but they are not open till Monday. Hospital has him in a soft cast/sling and they are estimating 4-6 weeks for healing.

I realize he won't be able to go on his favorite Aqua Duck or Mickey slide, and he won't be able to do the thrill rides at the Magic Kingdom when we go prior to the cruise.

Will they still let him in the kids club?? How about the soccer sports simulator? He's a 12 year old boy so he is really into sports and acitive things.

I am so upset about the beaches! We planned time at Castaway Cay and Grand Cayman. Hoping to find one of those waterproof covers for his whole arm and he can at least get in the water.

How about the other rides at the Magic Kingdom? Like Pirates of the Caribbean? Will the ride operators still let him on?

Sorry but we have been planning this trip for so long that this is just so disappointing for him. If anyone has any advice, I would so appreciate it.

Thank you.

I'm so sorry this happened. Do you have insurance? It seems very likely you could get a doctor's note advising your son not to cruise, which would allow insurance to cover a cancellation. I just can't imagine taking my son on a cruise with a broken bone- not fun at all- so much that he'd be sad to miss. The heat & water will also likely make his cast more itchy & uncomfortable. Much better to cancel & rebook for another time.

There are casts that are mostly waterproof, by the way. My son broke his wrist last spring and had one. Was still a pain to dry out after being wet.

 

[perditax]

I'm so sorry this happened. Do you have insurance? It seems very likely you could get a doctor's note advising your son not to cruise, which would allow insurance to cover a cancellation. I just can't imagine taking my son on a cruise with a broken bone- not fun at all- so much that he'd be sad to miss. The heat & water will also likely make his cast more itchy & uncomfortable. Much better to cancel & rebook for another time.

There are casts that are mostly waterproof, by the way. My son broke his wrist last spring and had one. Was still a pain to dry out after being wet.

This is just me and I don't have kids, but I feel like, if I was the 12yo in question, the only thing worse than what's already happened would be not going at all, and knowing the whole family can't go because of you. (Not saying the family would blame him! Just that kids can take things that way.)

 

[cheribelle]

Cancelling is not an option. This is a Christmas Cruise and 70th Birthday cruise for my dad. My parents are going and my sister. I also have a 15 year old and 8 year old and it would devastate everyone to cancel.
He's very adaptable and he handles all situations with ease. I guess it's me that's more upset.
I will talk to doctor on Monday about the "easy" rides. But I guess I will hope a waterproof cover will help him at least go to the beach. He never liked the small pools on the ship so that won't be a factor.
Guess more concerned that the kids club will still let him in.

 

[Shanti]

This is just me and I don't have kids, but I feel like, if I was the 12yo in question, the only thing worse than what's already happened would be not going at all, and knowing the whole family can't go because of you. (Not saying the family would blame him! Just that kids can take things that way.)

I did indicate that I would cancel & rebook for another time (like spring break), so everyone still got to do the cruise, just at a slightly later date when everyone could fully enjoy it. There is a lot of loving solidarity in our family, and the rest of us couldn't really enjoy the trip, knowing that one of us couldn't fully take part, but would have been able to if we'd just waited a couple of months for him to fully recover.

I do see that the OP has responded that that option is not available for her family, though.

 

[squirk]

Hi all. Hoping someone can help me cause right now I am panicking and so upset! We are sailing 12/24 on the Fantasy.
Last night at one of those indoor trampoline parks, my 12 year old son fractured his shoulder. We need to see an Orthopedic Dr but they are not open till Monday. Hospital has him in a soft cast/sling and they are estimating 4-6 weeks for healing.

I realize he won't be able to go on his favorite Aqua Duck or Mickey slide, and he won't be able to do the thrill rides at the Magic Kingdom when we go prior to the cruise.

Will they still let him in the kids club?? How about the soccer sports simulator? He's a 12 year old boy so he is really into sports and acitive things.

I am so upset about the beaches! We planned time at Castaway Cay and Grand Cayman. Hoping to find one of those waterproof covers for his whole arm and he can at least get in the water.

How about the other rides at the Magic Kingdom? Like Pirates of the Caribbean? Will the ride operators still let him on?

Sorry but we have been planning this trip for so long that this is just so disappointing for him. If anyone has any advice, I would so appreciate it.

Thank you.

If your concern is about what Disney will and will not allow your son to do, you really need to reach out to Disney directly.

You don't want to rely on internet message boards for cases like this. 95% of the time, people here will give you good solid information, but a.) we're not Disney and may not always have the full scope of the applicable rules; and b.) we're not accountable to you if we are wrong.

I would hate for you to show up at the ship or a park and be given different information that what you heard here, because that would be an unpleasant surprise with a negative impact on your trip, and you can't say to Disney "But Squirk on the DIS message boards told me it would be OK for my son to ride!"

 

[FigmentSpark]

OP - many years ago, my BIL, a teenager, had something like this happen.... cast on during a vacation. He survived it and had a great time. The family still talks about that vacation and making lemonade out of lemons. Unless your son has moved into the 'very moody teenager' stage, my guess is he'll have a great time and you all will always remember it.

Make a list before seeing your doctor of all your questions. That way, you won't be walking out of the office wishing you'd asked about one more ride or movement.

All the best and I hope he has a quick recovery.

 

[cheribelle]

If your concern is about what Disney will and will not allow your son to do, you really need to reach out to Disney directly.

You don't want to rely on internet message boards for cases like this. 95% of the time, people here will give you good solid information, but a.) we're not Disney and may not always have the full scope of the applicable rules; and b.) we're not accountable to you if we are wrong.

I would hate for you to show up at the ship or a park and be given different information that what you heard here, because that would be an unpleasant surprise with a negative impact on your trip, and you can't say to Disney "But Squirk on the DIS message boards told me it would be OK for my son to ride!"

Yes I know the answers I get here are never concrete, nor do I expect someone on the phone to be entirely correct. I have seen Cast members tell guests one thing and then it's totally different at the parks, resort and cruise.

But I know being a "theme park" family, that some parks are so strict and never let anyone ride anything with any injuries (and understandably so).

Guess I'm trying to see who has sailed / been to Disney with a broken limb before and what were the limitations. Were the kids clubs prohibited? And were all rides a no? Or were some ok (like jungle cruise, small world etc). If all rides were a no, then that could change our day prior to the cruise.

I'm calling Disney now just to see what they say.

 

[bbel]

He can still go into then kids clubs. And if there's things that's he can't do in there because of it let it the CMs know, although he's old enough to know that for himself.
There's nearly always one child cruising with a broken something so it's nothing new for the kids club side of things.

Enjoy your cruise as much as you can.

 

[squirk]

Yes I know the answers I get here are never concrete, nor do I expect someone on the phone to be entirely correct. I have seen Cast members tell guests one thing and then it's totally different at the parks, resort and cruise.

But I know being a "theme park" family, that some parks are so strict and never let anyone ride anything with any injuries (and understandably so).

Guess I'm trying to see who has sailed / been to Disney with a broken limb before and what were the limitations. Were the kids clubs prohibited? And were all rides a no? Or were some ok (like jungle cruise, small world etc). If all rides were a no, then that could change our day prior to the cruise.

I'm calling Disney now just to see what they say.

Yes, that's what I was getting at. Go to an accountable source, so that if a CM at the park or kids club later gives you a conflicting answer - one you don't like - you can have (maybe?) an email from Guest Services to back you up.

That having been said, I don't see why your son could not go to Edge. The soccer simulator? Well, I guess DCL would be worried about him taking a kick, losing his balance, and falling on his bad arm, y'know?

 

[disneyholic family]

Hi all. Hoping someone can help me cause right now I am panicking and so upset! We are sailing 12/24 on the Fantasy.
Last night at one of those indoor trampoline parks, my 12 year old son fractured his shoulder. We need to see an Orthopedic Dr but they are not open till Monday. Hospital has him in a soft cast/sling and they are estimating 4-6 weeks for healing.

I realize he won't be able to go on his favorite Aqua Duck or Mickey slide, and he won't be able to do the thrill rides at the Magic Kingdom when we go prior to the cruise.

Will they still let him in the kids club?? How about the soccer sports simulator? He's a 12 year old boy so he is really into sports and acitive things.

I am so upset about the beaches! We planned time at Castaway Cay and Grand Cayman. Hoping to find one of those waterproof covers for his whole arm and he can at least get in the water.

How about the other rides at the Magic Kingdom? Like Pirates of the Caribbean? Will the ride operators still let him on?

Sorry but we have been planning this trip for so long that this is just so disappointing for him. If anyone has any advice, I would so appreciate it.

Thank you.

so sorry that your son is having to go through this...

as another poster has said, these are questions for the orthopedist...
and follow whatever he/she says..

when you say "fractured shoulder" - this can mean many things, so the treatment/prognosis/care will depend on what exactly happened to his shoulder (what part of his "shoulder" was injured, to what extent, etc etc)...

i realize this is very easy for me to say, but you need to try to stop speculating at what he'll be able to do/not do...
first see the orthopedist....you'll know more at that point..
whatever the outcome, 12 year old boys are very resilient...and usually are able to find fun even in the most constrained situations...

one thing that i think is very important - try not to let him hear any "if onlys"....if only he hadn't hurt his shoulder, he would be having so much fun"....that will ruin it for him....he'll be on a cruise...and with his family...it might not be ideal, but there's still a lot of fun to be had..
and on the bright side, it's not that hot in december, so at least he won't die of the heat in his sling...

 

[bumbershoot]

There are casts that are mostly waterproof, by the way. My son broke his wrist last spring and had one. Was still a pain to dry out after being wet

Not all orthopedists have those. The one we went to didn't. Op, call around to find one that does them if it's important. But it being a weekend that's not going to work. I'm impressed you got in to one for Monday! Took a week to get availability this summer for DS's broken arm.

He's very adaptable and he handles all situations with ease. I guess it's me that's more upset.

That's how my guy was with his arm. Apart from the first 36 hours of woe is me (he was at a dance intensive and wasn't allowed to do the closing number) he bounced back.

Cast cover will depend on what sort of cast he gets and how far up it goes. Rides will depend on that too. Ds had a cast from around his thumb up to an inch below his shoulder and went on all sorts of rides even at universal. He was only restricted from two rides there. I can't imagine there are more restrictions at Disney. But you could search for "cast" or "casts"'on the Disney site. That's how I found out about the restrictions at universal. For two or so rides he used the test seats to figure out how he would position himself to see if he could ride since his cast was so bulky.

Don't know about the simulator but I doubt he'll be restricted from the clubs onboard.

 

[dclpluto]

Cancelling is not an option. This is a Christmas Cruise and 70th Birthday cruise for my dad. My parents are going and my sister. I also have a 15 year old and 8 year old and it would devastate everyone to cancel.
He's very adaptable and he handles all situations with ease. I guess it's me that's more upset.
I will talk to doctor on Monday about the "easy" rides. But I guess I will hope a waterproof cover will help him at least go to the beach. He never liked the small pools on the ship so that won't be a factor.
Guess more concerned that the kids club will still let him in.

Sounds good. I can't believe what that one person wrote about cancelling the cruise. Well I guess I can with all the things I read here through the years. Hope your son has a good cruise. I'm sure he will

 

[bumbershoot]

Fwiw our orthopedist had very little info for us about themeparks. Had no guidance.

As for the "if only"s, ds was doing that all on his own and for him having us acknowledge his "if only" feelings was very helpful. Having those feelings without us saying "yes I agree" would have made him feel very lonely and weird, like he shouldn't be feeling those things. So...know your kid.

Oh and insist on physical therapy once it's time for that!!!! Our ortho was useless about it. "Kids don't need it". Bah. We self-referred and it was the best decision. She did amazing work with him.

Sounds like your kid is an athlete and it's even more important that he have pt. make it happen even if you have an orthopedist like ours. (He came so highly recommended too...he's a Shriners doc and everything)

 

[lorimay]

I'm so sorry about your son's accident, thank God it wasn't worse.

I have a broken foot right now and I am using a leg cast cover that I purchased on Amazon, its amazing covers nice and tight and I can even submerge it in the tub. I'm sure you will find one to fit him properly. I read about waterproof casts and how long they actually take to dry out, this was a way better option.

Good Luck and go and enjoy your special cruise!

 

[lanejudy]

As others have posted, much will depend on what his doctor limits or allows. Be sure to discuss specifics related to your vacation plans (WDW and cruise, excursions, etc.).

WDW is unlikely to block him from any rides; they have very lenient policies and expect guests to know their own limitations. That doesn't necessarily mean any given ride will be appropriate -- again, a question for the ortho doc.

I see bbel chimed in up above, and I believe she is a Youth Activities CM on DCL. Again, it sounds like DCL will directly restrict him from the clubs or pools, but get advice from the doctor about limitations.

A "broken shoulder" can be in different areas of the shoulder and treatment/recovery will vary based on the specific site. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if he is put into a sling to immobilize the shoulder. That would be essentially a sling with a waist strap holding the arm against the body so the shoulder doesn't move. He may or may not have an actual cast (shoulders aren't exactly easy locations to cast). So swimming or water activities could well be limited (not necessarily completely restricted) by an immobilized arm/shoulder. I'd be extra cautious of soccer (or other sports) at the sport simulator, as he won't want to jar that shoulder by sudden movement. Same would be for WDW rides, though he presumably can brace and hold with his good arm and legs.

Good luck and enjoy your holiday cruise!

 

[cheribelle]

Too many postings to reply individually. So I'll try to cover you all. First thank you soooo much for all the replies! Love how everyone on this site can offer such valuable info.

I am relieved to find out from you and Disney that there wouldn't be much restrictions on rides as long as the safety restraints can fit. I would not allow thrill rides anyway as I do not want him to re-injure any healing that occurred.
I was most concerned about the rides because if he couldnt ride anything, I'd consider skipping the magic kingdom.

We saw an orthopedic dr at the Hospital last night but still have many questions for our usual one on Monday.

We bought the waterproof cover today and that should help with the beach. Of course he won't go in deep but enough to enjoy the water. For now I'll cover his whole arm in a plastic bag and hang it out the shower.

And as long as he can go in the kids clubs and or Edge, he will be happy. I really didn't want that part to be ruined for him. We will manage skipping anything else!

Thanks again! I read every post and will take all that advice to make this the best vacation!!

 

[keishashadow]

Cancelling is not an option. This is a Christmas Cruise and 70th Birthday cruise for my dad. My parents are going and my sister. I also have a 15 year old and 8 year old and it would devastate everyone to cancel.
He's very adaptable and he handles all situations with ease. I guess it's me that's more upset.
I will talk to doctor on Monday about the "easy" rides. But I guess I will hope a waterproof cover will help him at least go to the beach. He never liked the small pools on the ship so that won't be a factor.
Guess more concerned that the kids club will still let him in.

Not visualizing the size of the cast but know from my boys breaking 'things' over the years waterproof covers are often more what I would term water resistant. Lost count of number of times the various devices leaked. IMO It all depends upon how carefully it is applied and the degree of movement once it in place. Dry pro vacuum type seemed to work the best for us.

Good luck.

 

[cheribelle]

Not visualizing the size of the cast but know from my boys breaking 'things' over the years waterproof covers are often more what I would term water resistant. Lost count of number of times the various devices leaked. IMO It all depends upon how carefully it is applied and the degree of movement once it in place. Dry pro vacuum type seemed to work the best for us.

Good luck.

The cast starts at his fingers and goes right to his shoulder. It should work to keep his cast dry when he is maybe waist deep in the beach. I guess he will limit just how wet he gets. Hard to resist going in the water at Grand Cayman. We love it there!