Sorry I have been off the WISH board for so long. Life has hit me square in the head, and I havent had a chance to catch my breath for weeks now. I am still struggling with my back issues, but I thought I would do a mini-trip report from our trip with my DSIL and DBIL in October because I know you have all been waiting for details!
The Disney Scooter Adventure (trip title kindly provided by my sister!!)
We left Atlanta around midnight on Saturday night and got to SSR at about 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Had breakfast at Artist Palette (the counter service place at SSR), then since our room was ready, went ahead and called for my scooter to be delivered. The gentleman who delivered it argued with me that I didnt need a heavy-duty scooter there was no way I weighed over 300 pounds! I laughed and said I wished that were true, but I do weigh over 300 pounds. He shook his head in disbelief, but left my scooter anyway! It was difficult to maneuver with this thing, but it did allow me to do what little bit of park time I did do, so I was grateful for it. The hardest part was getting the stupid thing on the buses my DH ended up having to do it for me because you had to back it into a particular spot on the bus, and I just couldnt get the hang of it.
I took a long, leisurely swim in the pool late Sunday morning, and even though it was painful at times to move around, I still enjoyed the water. Took a nap Sunday afternoon and then headed to MK Sunday evening. Did okay for the first couple of hours, but started really hurting about 9:00 p.m. Stayed to see the parade and fireworks, which is always my favorite part, and Im glad I did because I got a great spot with my scooter (I was able to save the spot for a long time because I just sat there waiting). So it worked out okay, but the bus ride back to the room was long and difficult because every time we hit a bump in the road or came to a sudden stop, I felt it.
Monday we slept late and then met our very own Dan Murphy (a long-time DISer for those of you who dont know him) for lunch at Turf Club (the sit-down restaurant at SSR). Enjoyed seeing Dan again immensely and chatting with him about all things Disney. Monday night we went to Pleasure Island to the Comedy Club and they were really funny! Our DD enjoyed that greatly, and I had as much fun watching her reactions as I did listening to the comedy troupe.
Tuesday my DSIL and DBIL arrived and we went to Epcot WS. We had lunch in Morocco and got to see the belly dancer, so that was fun. I saw the movie in China, the Chinese acrobats (who were outstanding) and enjoyed shopping in Japan a bit before I started to flag. My pain level was ramping up again, so I went back to the room to rest while they continued to tour the park. We had dinner at Turf Club that night (we really like the restaurants at SSR, in case you hadnt figured that out), and the food was great as usual.
Wednesday I was in so much pain that I didnt go to the park at all stayed in the room the whole day while everyone else went back to Epcot to do Future World. We went to California Grill for dinner that night and saw the fireworks from the observation deck, so that was cool and dinner was delicious!
Thursday we went to MGM Studios. I waited for everyone else to ride RnRC and ToT and discovered that I dont do well while waiting for other people to ride attractions that I cant ride! Just hated it even though the CMs talked to me as much as they could while I waited in the gift shops, I really felt left out. Still glad I went with them, but hated not riding! Then we did Great Movie Ride (which we all enjoyed, especially when we got to go down to the front of the line with the scooter) and the Back Stage tour. The Back Stage tour was somewhat jerky, and I was in pain by the time we got off, so we went to Studio Flatbread Co. and had lunch. Then we took in the Stunt Show and by the time that was over, I was done for the day. The plan was to go back for Fantasmic that night, but I just couldnt do it. My DH and DD stayed with me that evening. DSIL and DBIL never came back to the room that day they stayed in the park all day and saw the show that night. They have way more energy than I ever will, even when I dont have back problems, and they didnt stop the whole trip. My folks and I dont do well unless we have some down time, so we just let them tour at their pace good thing, especially since I was down for the count for most of the rest of the week.
Friday everyone else went to MK. I was in tremendous pain, so I stayed in bed all day. We were scheduled to go to the luau at the Polynesian that night, and I was pretty disappointed with this. We have been before and really enjoyed it, but this time the seats were not good (even though we got Category 1 seats we were at the back of the first level, so unless I did a contortionist routine, all I saw during the show was a pole and the back of a mans head who was sitting in front of me). The seats are very low, and I was in excruciating pain from sitting in mine and then having to get up at the end of the show (that I didnt see very much of because of aforesaid pole and mans head). Im glad I have seen this before and know what a great show it is, or I would have been very upset about paying that much money for such a poor experience. Fortunately, DSIL and DBIL were on the other side of the table, so they could see fine and they enjoyed it. The food was good, but I wont be in a hurry to go back to this one.
Saturday it was raining, and since I couldnt get the scooter wet (it wasnt waterproof and would have been ruined if I had taken it out in the rain), I stayed in the room for most of the day again. I was hurting so much by this point that it was just as well I dont think I could have made it more than an hour or two in AK, anyway. The weather cleared up that afternoon, so my DH and DD went with me to Downtown Disney so I could get out a bit and shop at the World of
Disney store. We went to Ghirardellis and shared an ice cream treat afterwards, which was a really niceDisney family moment. We went back to the room and prepared for our last dinner of the trip at Flying Fish, our favorite restaurant. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, I was hurting so much I felt like I was going to throw up. There was no way I could make it through dinner, so I got a cab and went back to the room while everyone else stayed and ate. By this point, I just wanted to go home. Never before in my life have I wanted a Disney trip to end, but I was ready for this one to be over.
Sunday we got up, packed and drove home. That was torture for me, especially when my DH hit 10 potholes in a row (not his fault, nowhere for him to go, apparently they were working on the roads there) and I burst into tears from the pain. He felt SO bad, especially since he had been frustrated with my inability to do much for the last half of this trip and it was evident that he was wishing we had just stayed home. We finally got home Sunday evening, and I ended up in the neurologists office on Tuesday because my chiropractor said my pain levels were so high he could not help me until I got some medication to alleviate some of the pain. After taking an anti-inflammatory and a muscle relaxant for a few days, the pain did die down some and I have been better able to deal with it since then.
So to sum it all up, Im glad we went (my DSIL and DBIL had a good time and that was my main concern), but it was a difficult trip for me and I hope I never have to deal with that much pain in the happiest place on earth again!
I will post more later about the specifics of whats going on with my back now and the outlook for getting back to my eating plan and exercise - I have a 5K in May to train for, you know!! Thanks to all of you for keeping me in your thoughts. Heres hoping I can get to some of your journals soon. Take care!
I am so sorry that you had to deal with all this awful pain in WDW.. But glad you had somewhat of a good time.. 
Ok, so not really, but a girl can dream right??? 
- there is no way I have the time or money for that, so I am glad to be receiving the care that I need and happy to see any improvement at all (even if it is slow as molasses going uphill in the wintertime).
. I give you so much credit for making the most out of the situation. I love your attitude and despite the challenges you always seem to keep your chin up I really want to see this pain end for you so you can begin your 5K training! I know you can do it and your determination is evident. We just need to get you healthy first! 
Don't stay away too long..we missed you around here!!!
Now, I am not naive enough to think that means he will be with me every day, but maybe he will go with me more days than not. It would be great for him - he could use the exercise!
So we'll see how it works out, but I already told him that I WILL train for this race, whether he goes with me or not. Now I just have to keep that motivation high when I actually have to get out and do it!!
Maybe I'll live through it! I just would really like to see if cutting out dairy makes me feel better. If it does, then that would be a HUGE breakthrough for me in terms of my health and wellbeing. I'll keep you posted once I actually put it into practice!
I'm so sorry to hear about how bad the pain was though. 
