hematite153
<font color=blue>DVC-Trivia Contest, Apr-2006: Hon
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2005
As I mentioned in my introductory post, I have fibromyalgia. There are posts all over these boards from people trying to figure out how to deal with fibro and a Disney trip. Many end up deciding that an ECV will make things possible. The catch is that fibro is a disorder which manifests differently for every sufferer. If I tried to sit on an ECV, my thumb (the one that needs to keep doing the same thing all day) would scream at me within an hour. (Well, it actually only took 10 minutes before I was in pain when I tried it last year, but, I think I could have put up with the pain for about an hour.) If I wanted to use a wheelchair, I'd probably end up in pain from inactivity -- plus, I'd need to come up with someone to push me.
My fibro generally likes exercise. Of course, because fibro can't be kind the whole way, my fibro hurts while exercising and immediately after it hurts even worse. But, the next day, or two days later, I feel better if I've exercised heavily than I would if I hadn't. It's a bit of a challenge to push through and in the last couple of years I've been struggling with it more and more. But, when we first came to Disney I'd just (in the previous year) finished running a half-marathon and I was able to remind myself that my body hurts now, but, will feel better later.
Last January, we decided that we needed to go to Disney during my break week in March and we made some last minute plans that rivaled this set. Then, at the beginning of March (last year), I had a Curling mishap and tore lots of things in my knee. I was on crutches until just before our trip and then borrowed a cane from a friend. (I maybe should have kept using the crutches longer, but, I'd gotten lazy and kept putting them down -- the cane seemed like a good compromise because I could actually convince myself to use it most of the time.)
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My DW has a genetic disorder that keeps the layers of her skin from sticking together properly. It's something she's dealt with all her life and as invisible disabilities go, it's not too bad. But, she gets blisters from any sort of friction on her skin and once they start, they just keep growing. If a "normal" person tells you that their foot hurts and they think they might be getting a blister, you can walk slowly and then stop to look at it 15 min later and you'll probably see a small blister. With my DW, if you spent these next 15 min walking, the blister would now be bigger than a quarter and still growing (even without any more walking at that point). So, when she says that she needs to stop, we need to stop -- right there!
It took me awhile to get used to this issue, but, I think I'm finally there. In our regular lives she's able to manage things well and though she gets the occasional blister it's not too bad. (Likely 3-5/month and only one of those seems bad.) But, at WDW, there's all that cement (to deal with the crowds) and all those things that she wants to see that you have to walk to.
When we planned our first WDW trip together (the one after our honeymoon, where we were only coming to FL for WDW), she was asked, "how are you going to do that" and she replied, "I'll just have to walk slowly and wear my magic boots (a pair of hiking boots that she gets fewer blisters in than other footwear)."
Well, we arrived at our resort around 1pm and she'd figured things out such that she said, "let's go to DHS (then MGM) for the afternoon and evening because they have an EMH." She'd planned the trip and I said, "sure". We got to the park by 2:00. Her planning was good, with some running around (for me) to get FPs she was walking slowly and generally only purposefully, but, by 4 or 5 she was saying that her feet were sore. By 8:00 when the EMH started, she sat on a bench rather than coming with me to get a wristband -- fortunately, the CM took pity on me and gave me one for her (this was back in the day when they actually scanned the card before handing out the wristband). By the time we left the park at 11:00, I was noticing a two-year-old walking along in typical distracted two-year-old fashion who seemed to be speeding past my DW and I realized that we had a problem.
So, I detoured at the exit to ask the Stroller & Wheelchair people about w/c rentals. She told me that I could get a length of stay card at my resort that would be cheaper than just renting daily. My DW still kept saying, "I'll be okay," but, I argued that it was worth getting the card, "in case". So, I went in to the front desk when we got back to POP and the CM said, "I can just lend you a w/c if you'd prefer". I said that was fantastic and headed back to the car with a w/c. By the next morning, my DW had trouble getting dressed because of the need to use her feet (believe me, they looked bad!) and was willing to give the w/c a try. By the end of the vacation, she agreed that we couldn't have done it without the w/c and she'd gotten somewhat used to my pushing her.
Over the years, her using a w/c and my pushing have become a standard of our WDW trips.
See the next mobility installment to learn about how we dealt with my busted knee last March, our assorted w/c experiences and what we're doing this trip.
My fibro generally likes exercise. Of course, because fibro can't be kind the whole way, my fibro hurts while exercising and immediately after it hurts even worse. But, the next day, or two days later, I feel better if I've exercised heavily than I would if I hadn't. It's a bit of a challenge to push through and in the last couple of years I've been struggling with it more and more. But, when we first came to Disney I'd just (in the previous year) finished running a half-marathon and I was able to remind myself that my body hurts now, but, will feel better later.
Last January, we decided that we needed to go to Disney during my break week in March and we made some last minute plans that rivaled this set. Then, at the beginning of March (last year), I had a Curling mishap and tore lots of things in my knee. I was on crutches until just before our trip and then borrowed a cane from a friend. (I maybe should have kept using the crutches longer, but, I'd gotten lazy and kept putting them down -- the cane seemed like a good compromise because I could actually convince myself to use it most of the time.)
-----
My DW has a genetic disorder that keeps the layers of her skin from sticking together properly. It's something she's dealt with all her life and as invisible disabilities go, it's not too bad. But, she gets blisters from any sort of friction on her skin and once they start, they just keep growing. If a "normal" person tells you that their foot hurts and they think they might be getting a blister, you can walk slowly and then stop to look at it 15 min later and you'll probably see a small blister. With my DW, if you spent these next 15 min walking, the blister would now be bigger than a quarter and still growing (even without any more walking at that point). So, when she says that she needs to stop, we need to stop -- right there!
It took me awhile to get used to this issue, but, I think I'm finally there. In our regular lives she's able to manage things well and though she gets the occasional blister it's not too bad. (Likely 3-5/month and only one of those seems bad.) But, at WDW, there's all that cement (to deal with the crowds) and all those things that she wants to see that you have to walk to.
When we planned our first WDW trip together (the one after our honeymoon, where we were only coming to FL for WDW), she was asked, "how are you going to do that" and she replied, "I'll just have to walk slowly and wear my magic boots (a pair of hiking boots that she gets fewer blisters in than other footwear)."
Well, we arrived at our resort around 1pm and she'd figured things out such that she said, "let's go to DHS (then MGM) for the afternoon and evening because they have an EMH." She'd planned the trip and I said, "sure". We got to the park by 2:00. Her planning was good, with some running around (for me) to get FPs she was walking slowly and generally only purposefully, but, by 4 or 5 she was saying that her feet were sore. By 8:00 when the EMH started, she sat on a bench rather than coming with me to get a wristband -- fortunately, the CM took pity on me and gave me one for her (this was back in the day when they actually scanned the card before handing out the wristband). By the time we left the park at 11:00, I was noticing a two-year-old walking along in typical distracted two-year-old fashion who seemed to be speeding past my DW and I realized that we had a problem.
So, I detoured at the exit to ask the Stroller & Wheelchair people about w/c rentals. She told me that I could get a length of stay card at my resort that would be cheaper than just renting daily. My DW still kept saying, "I'll be okay," but, I argued that it was worth getting the card, "in case". So, I went in to the front desk when we got back to POP and the CM said, "I can just lend you a w/c if you'd prefer". I said that was fantastic and headed back to the car with a w/c. By the next morning, my DW had trouble getting dressed because of the need to use her feet (believe me, they looked bad!) and was willing to give the w/c a try. By the end of the vacation, she agreed that we couldn't have done it without the w/c and she'd gotten somewhat used to my pushing her.
Over the years, her using a w/c and my pushing have become a standard of our WDW trips.
See the next mobility installment to learn about how we dealt with my busted knee last March, our assorted w/c experiences and what we're doing this trip.
(yes, we worked it out precisely).
I certainly didn't get done 12 hours before the trip.
