Sick at Disney

[nepean]

We just spent last night at the Florida Hospital in Celebration. DD got a flu bug and was dehydrated and RBC Insurance told us to take her to Celebration since it was the closest. The hospital was terrific and she was seen and treated in under 5 minutes. After two IVs with 3 meds and take home medication we arrived back at the hotel at 2:15 am. Thank God for RBC Insurance they handled everything and we never were asked about money etc.

The staff here at the Comfort Suites Maingate were very helpful. This morning they changed ALL the linens and disinfected the room. DD is feeling much better but on a liquid diet and then BRAT diet. Hopefully all will be well be sometime tommorrow and we can get to the parks.

Never leave home with out medical insurance. The bill last night was way over a thousand dollars.

Nepean

 

[Jo-Anne]

SUch a bummer, but happy to know DD is starting to feel better. On our last trip my DD got a stomach bug and for 2 days we were pretty much hotel-bound and she missed out on her Birthday Character dinner. Thank goodness we didn't have to make a trip to the hospital, but so glad to know that when you need it, medical insurance comes through! Enjoy the rest of your stay! Jo

 

[MaryannF]

Sorry to hear that your DD was so sick but nice to know that RBC insurance is so good. I never book a trip without it and some people have suggested to me that I am wasting my money. I have always felt that it was money well spent for peace of mind, now I know it is. I hope that DD will recover quickly so she can enjoy the rest of the trip.

 

[KerriMc]

Glad to hear she is feeling better

We never travel without insurance either - even if it is to go over the border for just a couple of days. You just never know when you are going to need it. Two years ago we also were at Florida Celebration Hospital with youngest dd, who was 7 months at the time. She was very dehydrated and had a fever of 103.5!! She was very lethargic and not breathing well. It turned out that she had RSV. They were so nice and we got in super fast. Probably due to her being an infant, but also because our insurance was ready to go when we got there! They did a vapour treatment and gave her some IV, as well as some meds. Was very impressed. Without insurance it would have been almost $1000. You just never know!!!

Kerri

 

[hockey mom]

Hope she is feeling better soon.

We had that happen to 5 out of our 7 last april. Everyone one of us had the flu. The kids bounced back pretty quick and I only had to miss our Epcot day.

 

[CharlesTD]

Travel medical insurance is something we never go anyplace without.

 

[Tiger926]

Our DD (almost 2 at time) was hospitalized for 1.5 days in March due to: severe dehydration, rotavirus, strep throat and gastroenteritis. We had been to Centra Care clinic which is what Disney arranges (shuttle came to pick us up) but this was an absolute nightmare so we decided to drive to Orlando Regional Hospital instead (it's close by on Sand Lake) and they ambulanced her to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. Absolutely incredible service - we highly recommend this hospital over Celebration or Centra Care clinic. Total cost for 1 clinic visit and hospital was almost $4000.00 USD - thank God for Green Shield! I can't believe that parents actually travel with children out of country without insurance - absolutely irresponsible, IMHO.

Hopefully your DD will be feeling better soon, but I would caution you from going into the parks as 1) Her body is still recuperating and so she could suffer a setback since the parks are very busy (just spoke to 2 relatives who are there right now) and full of sick people and 2) She could make other people sick. My daughter was given a total physical before we left and they determined based on incubation that she caught everthing at Disney, despite us being VERY vigilant about washing, not touching stuff, antibacterial gel, etc. as so many people go to the parks sick. We stayed away from parks and had our room totally disinfected as well. Not trying to lecture you, but as a parent who has lived through an incredibly scary experience, I would remind you that Disney will always be there and you can visit some other time as the most imporant thing is to get your DD well and in my opinion the only way to do this is away from the parks.

Good luck! Tiger

 

[nepean]

Thanks everyone for the good wishes. DD is feeling much better and has eaten some toast, jello and plain baked potatoe(only the inside) and is drinking ginger ale and Gatorade. She slept most of today but did go out for a short walk this afternoon. We won't be going to Disney until the weekend so that she can re-cuperate. We may try Sea World for a few hours but only if she is feeling up to it. She is 14 and is actually taking it easy. I on the other hand am praying no one else gets it. It is a long 26 hour drive home. Fortunately we are here until the 14th and the parks will get quiet by the end of the week.

Nepean

 

[bunnyfoo]

Glad to hear that your DD is doing better

I never go anywhere with travel insurance either. I was recently traveling with a group of friends to NYC. None of them except for my DBF and I had insurance. When I asked them if it was included on their work insurance, none of them knew. Go figure!

 

[TimNDansMom]

So glad that your DD is feeling much better, Nepean. Was your RBC insurance something you purchased or is this work related coverage.

When we travelled with the kids I always purchased insurance but lately I have travelled to Florida on the coverage through my Gold Mastercard. I think it was usually Blue Cross that I used to buy, with the kids and the couple of times I had to use it, was just at Dr's offices where I had to pay up front (I think the most was a couple hundred dollars) and then recoup first through OHIP and then the insurance reimbursed me the rest.

I've never had to use it for that purpose but wonder if anyone else has used their cc coverage? When DH and I travelled out to California last summer I purchased CAA coverage. Has anyone had to use this coverage? I was just wondering what is the easiest if a situation did arise.

 

[sammi]

Nepean I'm so sorry to hear that your DD has been sick as it's a total nightmare when you're far away from home and especially at WDW! But I'm so glad that she's on the mend and that you aren't coming home for a while yet.Thank God for out of province medical insurance!We never go anywhere out of Ontario without it.

Julie we always use CAA for our insurance and only once we had to make a claim when I came down with an eye infection at WDW. It ended up costing $150.00 US for the exam and perscription of which we put through on our CC and then sent the claim in when we got back. Very fast and reliable results and we never hesitate to get through the CAA. I've heard that you can't always rely on your gold card for insurance but I'm not any expert at using it.

We're thinking that maybe we might look around for a years worth of medical insurance as we have a number of trips planned now that DH has retired. It probably makes more sense to take it for the full year when anyone plans a few trips to the US.....I'll have to check. Right now DH and I are really down and out with one heck of a head cold........

Nepean hope your DD gets better quickley and enjoys the rest of her vacation!

 

[Tiger926]

TimNDansMom - We also have insurance on our gold VISA, but I can assure you since DH is a banker that the medical insurance that comes with credit cards is not like the insurance that you get with private plans whether they be Green Shield, RBC, CAA, etc. I have the best Out of Country insurance there is with Green Shield (teacher): I or my family can be airlifted out of any country without paying a dime - the cost for this alone is astronomical. My DH says that although most of the gold/platinum card insurances are ok, you really need to check and see just what is covered as they don't compare to private insurance. At times he also says that they are hard to deal with, so make sure you know exactly what services are and are not covered.

I would urge you to call your credit card company's insurance department and speak to a rep about specific services, but I would never take a chance with any out of country health services since the costs are very high (see my post above).

Tiger

 

[milkabum]

Wow,thanks for the tip.
That must have been a HUGE bummer.

 

[TimNDansMom]

Thanks Cindy and Tiger for your replies. I have, in fact, called my cc company's insurance department a few times, to check on some things and make sure that I have all the up-to-date telephone numbers. The fact that you have both pointed out some negatives, I think I will go back to purchasing separate insurance coverage for all our trips, just to be on the safe side.

Cindy, my neighbours who spend their winters down in Florida buy the annual insurance and I know that each year he does a thorough search to compare the rates. I think he has often used MediPac International, endorsed by the Canadian Snowbird Assocation.

 

[nepean]

DD is feeling much better today and asking about "real food" which is another word of junk food. Told her not for a while. She is now up to bannanas, toast, jello and a scrambled egg for supper. She is really tired and is taking her bed time bath at 4:30 and planning to lay in bed and watch TV. We went to Sea World for 3 1/2 hours of which we spent over 1 hour at the Dolphin show sitting and several other times we sat down for 10 minutes. It was really quiet. We bought the CAA tickets for Sea world at Par price with a second day free. It turns out that the second day is as a many visits as you want in the 7 days . We will go back and see the rest of the park later.

Regarding the RBC insurance we checked them out on line and purchased by telephone. Since we were leaving soon and CHristmas mail is impossible they faxed us our cards and plan. We have the 15 day mutiple trip annual plan. We added an extra four days for this trip and the total bill was $132. CDN. We have used CAA insurance but they were more expensive this year since DH turned 55. RBC is 60 and it is easier to do. We had a claim about 7 years ago with CAA and had to pay and get re-imbursed at home.

Nepean

 

[sammi]

Thanks for the tip Julie....I'll check out that insurance company. I really don't know any others besides CAA to check for out of province medical.

CAA has quoted me $68.00 per person for 1 year with vacations lasting up to 15 days each time. Also noticed on President's Choice Financial website today that they now also do insurance for vacationers, so I called them but we need non-subrogating insurance and theirs is subrogating, so that was no good for us, but may help some other DIS'ers heading on vacation.

 

[Canadave]

We just bought the travel medical insurance from CAA...family of 4 (oldest is 45 years old) for 1 year with a 15 day maximum per visit...$124.....I thought that was very good.

Never had to deal with CAA for a claim, though...I don't think you can decide who the best company is until you see how they service a claim...hence the 'Catch 22'

 

[Tiger926]

Another tip I forgot to give you yesterday is to check out private insurance companies in your area. Many of them will also sell travel medical insurance and you don't have to be a current customer. Good for you for checking the out of country limits as well. Some, like my Green Shield have no limits whatsoever - there is no limit to how many days I can travel throughout one trip, nor during the year which means I can claim as much as I need to.

Good luck to all in choosing your insurance, Tiger