Scoliosis Brace----may need wheelchair

[cmlori1997]

Looking for some advice....our 12 year old DD was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and has had a brace for about a month. We leave on November 26 for Disney. Wondering how we go about renting a wheelchair for the week. Would rather not rent daily at the parks as I'm sure it is cheaper to do it by the week. Need help with where to rent from and prices if possible. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[SueM in MN]

Sorry to hear about her brace, but you will still have a good time.

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread, you will find a lot of helpful information. (That thread is stuck near the top of this board, if you want to look at it again).
Post #2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has information about renting wheelchairs, including links and phone numbers for off-site places that rent wheelchairs.
If your daughter is a small 12 yr old, she will probably be more comfortable in a narrower wheelchair than most of the companies rent.
Apple rents 16 inch wide wheelchairs, which are quite a bit narrower than the 18-20 inch wide ones that most of the other companies rent.
(For a bit of perspective, my youngest DD is 5 feet tall, weighs about 83 pounds and is very slim. Her personal wheelchair has a 14 inch wide seat).

The disABILITIES FAQs thread also has some other information that will be helpful for you, including a list of attractions that have health warnings.
Post 1 of that thread is an index to which post has which information.

Also, keep in mind that if your daughter needs to lie down for a while or needs to adjust or remove her brace, you can use First Aid in any park. They have private rooms or cubicles with cots and are open in each park as long as the park is.

 

[cmlori1997]

Thank you so much for your help. I will definitely check it all out.

 

[Jajone]

Hey Lori! I was coming to ask for you, but see you found your way. If the company is a medical equipment supplier, they should fit her for one by height and weight. you might want to check local suppliers too. Not sure if you can bring your own through security or not??

 

[SueM in MN]

Hey Lori! I was coming to ask for you, but see you found your way. If the company is a medical equipment supplier, they should fit her for one by height and weight. you might want to check local suppliers too. Not sure if you can bring your own through security or not??

Oh, yes, you can bring a wheelchair thru security. My DD has traveled with her own wheelchair since she was 3.
She can’t walk, so she sits in her wheelchair and is wanded and patted down.

Someone who can walk thru the scanner can do that and the wheelchair is inspected separately. If they have the ‘regular’ scanners, any metal on the brace would set it off, so she would need to be wanded and or patted down anyway.
Link to TSA website about braces, prosthetic devices, etc.

Wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility devices are carried free of charge by the airlines. You can keep it with until boarding and then do a gate check. There is more information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

 

[tinkrebell]

Having had severe scoliosis myself - I would suggest one thing, that's completely off topic but may mean more to her than any other treatment - get her a massage. Seriously, a deep tissue massage may really help. I was actually prescribed them as part of my physical therapy treatment (braces shift your organs while they push on your spine, and end up forcing your muscles into very uncomfortable positions as well), and they worked wonders to relieve some of the muscle tension. I had a nighttime-only brace, which forces your spine a bit more drastically than full-time ones to make up for the time you spend out of it, but any sort of massage definitely helped!

Good luck with the trip - from one S curve to another, I hope your daughter has a blast!!!