Two Questions

[dulluth]

My sister's family and ours will be traveling to WDW in December. My mom is a dialysis patient, and my dad has recently undergone heart therapy. We are wondering, #1- has anyone ever dealt with a dialysis person at WDW, and, #2- my dad has some slight Parkinson's issues along with the fatigue of heart issues ... are there restrictions on who can rent ECV's at the parks? It would make it so much easier for him to see the World if he could use one! My mom already has one that we will. likely, bring along. That inspires another question ... is it easier to rent once we get there, or bring our own along?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi, and welcome to disABILTIES!

Have you mother discuss the trip with the Social Worker at the dialysis center she is currently using. Normally they will work with a corresponding center near where you are staying and will work to set up her appointments and handle all the paperwork. The only thing you will have to do is be sure she can get there and back to your hotel. Note that taxis in the Orlando area are very expensive, $2.00 for the 1st 1/4 mile and then 25¢ per 1/8 mile.

For your father I would suggest going to the "disABILTIES!" FAQ. If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it waill take you to the Index. The second item down is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information, including where people rent ECVs. My thought is it is better to rent from off-site as the ECVs are better and available all the time.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just seconding what Cheshire Figment wrote.
You don't need a doctor's letter or anything to rent an ECV.
The only thing that might be a concern is the person's comfort level with driving an ECV (he can practice with your mom's if he's not already comfortable with it) and whether his Parkinson's has caused any tremors, slowless of movement, etc that would impact on his being able to drive an ECV (I'm assuming it would not, since you wrote he has mild Parkinsons).

 

[dulluth]

Cheshire~ Do you know about how far a dialysis center would be from WDW so we could approximate costs ... I understand if you can't answer as it may vary depending on a "corresponding" center. Do you know if they have a "med a van" type service in the area that we could make arrangementswith rather than taxis? Thanks for any advice?

 

[SueM in MN]

Cheshire~ Do you know about how far a dialysis center would be from WDW so we could approximate costs ... I understand if you can't answer as it may vary depending on a "corresponding" center.

The closest is in Celebration Hospital, about a 10-15 minute trip away, depending on what resort you are staying at. (Celebration is a small town on actual Disney property). There are other places that do dialysis, including hospitals and dedicated dialyis centers. For example, Davita (a large national dialysis chain) has several centers within 10 miles of the Disney resorts:
Celebration Dialysis
1154 Celebration Blvd
Celebration FL 34747-4605
Phone: 1-800-424-6589
4 miles

Orlando Dialysis
14050 Town Loop Blvd Ste 104
Orlando FL 32837-6190
Phone: 1-800-424-6589
8 miles

Kissimmee
802 N John Young Pkwy
Kissimmee FL 34741
Phone: 1-800-424-6589
10 miles

Orlando Southwest
6925 Lake Ellenor Dr
Orlando FL 32809
Phone: 1-800-424-6589
11 miles

Davenport
Ridgeview Plaza 45597 US Highway 27
Davenport FL 33897-4519
Phone: 1-800-424-6589
12 miles

You might be limited by her payer (insurance or otherwise) and by whether or not they have space available for the days she needs dialysis. The social worker at her current site will help with arranging all that (plus the orders that are needed from her doctor).

Do you know if they have a "med a van" type service in the area that we could make arrangementswith rather than taxis? Thanks for any advice?

Often the Medivan services are more expensive than taxis, so they may not be your best option. I know people in the past have arranged with a taxi service to send a specific driver to pick them up so they know the driver and don't have to be explaining over and over where they are going.

The individual dialysis center would probably have the most resources regarding what transportation she could use.
Here are some link to past threads from this board about dialysis:
June 2005
earlier in March 2006

 

[dulluth]

Thanks Sue M, and all who responded to my question. This will be DM's first time traveling and using a different dialysis center, and we all have questions!!! She's only been on about a year, and things are going quite well for her, but there is always trepidation when you stray off the "norm"! I guess the best thing I found out was that we are not too early to start planning for her arrangements, and that we really CAN make this possible for her. This is a trip DM and DF never expected would happen, and they are feeling a little guilty about the special arrangements that need to be made. It sounds like if we do this ahead of time, we should experience Hakuna Matata! Still, if anyone with a dialysis experience can share, please do. I will keep my eye on this forum, and will, no doubt, have many more questions!

 

[bopper]

Also, search this forum for "dialysis" because there were just a few discussions on this very topic.