Two weeks to go and DD sprained her ankle!

[bizeemom4]

She had x-rays - it's not broken. She absolutely can't put ANY weight on it. She's on crutches. Her pediatrician said she should be walking by our trip time. I doubt she'll be ok to walk all day at the parks. Can we rent a wheelchair for her at the parks? What do we do if she's still on crutches?

 

[sweetinmaine]

I'd rent her a wheelchair for the day. It's a lot of walking in those parks and some of it seems uneven, especially in Animal Kingdom. Being on crutches all day would be very tiring for her. Go, have fun, and make those Disney memories!

 

[mhingher]

You can rent a wheelchair. During my trip last June, I fell and tore a ligament in my foot. We rented a wheelchair for the rest of the trip and it worked out.

(Plus, CMs pulled us from the line and put us in the fast pass line all the time!!)

 

[SueM in MN]

Just time for a quick reply before I get ready for work.
There is a ]disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of the disABILITIES Board that should help you out a lot. It has information about the different ways to get wheelchairs and also about bus transportation.

Other things to think about.
How old is she, and how large?
If she's small, keep in mind that the large majority of wheelchairs for rent/loan at WDW are adult wheelchairs. They have a few pediatric chairs, but the chance of getting one is not very good.
If she is small, an adult wheelchair may be uncomfortable - armrests at midchest to should height, footrests too low to use, seat too wide and too deep. In that case, you may be better off renting for your entire stay from one of the off-site companies.

Are you traveling by air?
You can request a skycap wheelchair to meet you at the gate. Arrange that with your airline ahead of time.
You might also want to look into renting a wheelchair at your home location. The airline will transport it free of charge. You can keep it until you board and gate check it. It will then be delivered back to the gate.

 

[SueM in MN]

You can rent a wheelchair. During my trip last June, I fell and tore a ligament in my foot. We rented a wheelchair for the rest of the trip and it worked out.

(Plus, CMs pulled us from the line and put us in the fast pass line all the time!!)

I just wanted to point out that is the exception rather than the rule.
Many of the lines are Mainstream Access which means they are fully wheelchair accessible. AK and the Studio were built with Mainstream Access, which means wheelchair users go thru the regular lines with everyone else at those parks. MK and Epcot are older and were not built to be Mainstream. As rides/attractions were renovated or added, most were built with Mainstream Access.
There are a few (mostly in MK) that were not able to be changed to Mainstream. For those, the Fastpass line may be the only wheelchair accessible line; when you come to those attractions, the CMs will often give you a return time slip. They usually write the return time to be equal to the regular (standby) current time. When the standby time is short, they may allow you to enter directly into the Fastpass line (but if the wait in the standby line was only 15 minutes anyway, you won't really be getting on any faster).
So, don't count on entering thru the Fastpass line unless you have a Fastpass.

 

[Mersmom98]

From someone who sprained their ankle quite a few times growing up; she should be okay in two weeks as long as she takes it easy. Children bounce back from injuries in no time. I would just buy her a really good ankle brace to give it some support and make sure she wears good shoes at the parks to make sure she doesn't re-injure herself. If she's old enough, just let her be the judge of how much it is bothering her. Then you can get a wheelchair if necessary.

 

[ldibo]

Oh, I can soooooo sympathize!!!!! We are leaving in 2, count'em 2 days and Tuesday afternoon my daughter sprained her ankle and is now in an air cast for a week! Ahhhhhhh. I hope things work out for you! I'll think of you as I'm watching my daughter hobble around next week!

Lynn

 

[mommaU4]

I'm so sorry that happened! Good luck on your trip and let us know how she does. Have fun too!

 

[VSL]

I have a chronically sprained ankle (I get a bad sprain at least once a year!).

A sprain basically means that she's pulled/torn part of the ligament in her ankle (nothing to do with the bone).

Is there any bruising? If there isn't then it's just a minor sprain (the ones I had when I was little) and will probably be fine to walk on in two weeks. If there is bruising, then it'll be a bad sprain (I get these now! - the last time the entire area around my ankle was black and blue!), and she may need a wheelchair in WDW, but I doubt it.

I sprain my ankle so often that I have my own crutches now!

I haven't sprained it this year (TOUCH WOOD!), but I'm taking down my own, hand-made first aid kit to Florida, with numerous bandages and supports just in case.

Whatever you do, don't even consider letting her use her crutches in the parks - could cause an even greater accident in such a busy place!

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
..over the next few days and she should be fine

 

[bizeemom4]

Thanks for all of the responses! She's 14 so the adult wheelchairs should be ok, I suppose.

I misspoke. It's the ligament that goes from the ankle down to her toes. I can't remember exactly what the doc said it was. She has a brace on her ankle and we're doing advil, ice and elevation when she's at home. I can't do anything for her at school. She does have a pass to use the elevator so she doesn't have to go up/down stairs with crutches. Fingers crossed that she's going to be ok in 18 days.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

Your daughter should be fine in 2 weeks. I've sprained my ankles many times and in about a week I was good and ready again. Heck I've danced in recitals with sprained ankles and broken toes. (Hmm looking back maybe those weren't such good ideas) Lots of ice, relaxation and keeping it elevated should do the trick. Just don't put too much pressure on the good ankle. I did that before and it caused the good ankle to start hurting while the sprained one wasn't healed yet.

 

[SPAM]

she can use a wheelchair, and you will get front of the line. not that bad of a trade-off if you ask me.

 

[kilee]

Chances are really good that she'll be fine in 2 weeks and this won't even be an issue. However, it's always good to be prepared just in case.
As suggested I would check out the disAbilities board. It will give you a lot of helpful info just in case she does need a wheelchair.

 

[SueM in MN]

she can use a wheelchair, and you will get front of the line. not that bad of a trade-off if you ask me.

That's a common belief, but it doesn't work that way.
Most of the lines at WDW are Mainstream Lines, which means wheelchair users wait in the same line with everyone else.
The Studio and AK were built with Mainstream Lines. Newer or more recently renovated attractions mostly have Mainstream lines (like since 1998).

 

[ladysoleil]

I managed to sprain my ankle during our last trip to the MK, and I survived, although I did have to rent a wheelchair for one of our three park days. I was able to do the rest with a cane and was fine.

My advice is bring anything you may need, especially if you are staying on property, as it may be expensive/difficult to get supplies.

We were staying offsite, so we were able to go right over to a Walgreens to get ace bandages, etc, but it may be harder to find this stuff on property, so make sure you pack a survival kit for your daughter. I wore out my Ace bandage after walking on it for only two days, so you may want to bring extra dressings.

Hopefully she'll be fine by the time you are ready to head out.

 

[gymnasticscoach TX]

Hi there, I have a 9yr old that was in a cast, and had it removed 3 weeks before trip last december. Her ankle was weak from the injury, and on the first day at MK she tripped on the trolly track and sprained the ankle bad! We tried renting a wheel chair in every park,this got costly. This was not fun, because we had to carry her from bus to park entrance everyday! ( we had no crutches) After talking to a CM for advice, my hotel, POFQ gave me a wheelchair for free to use for the remainder of the trip. I could take it anywhere!! I really recommend this. I am a gymnastics teacher and have seen many sprains. Sure, you will heal fast, but her ankle will be weak and sore from overuse if you walk all day. I also reccommend buying instant ice packs. you break and shake them, wonderfull for when the ankle starts to hurt. I buy mine from Academy~ less than $1 a peice. Also, get a note from your DR. explaining your injury to justify needing a wheelchair. I had such a hard time convincing the CM that she had been in a cast for 8 wks! ( She had broke her heel 3 places) Hope this helps! Lynn
P.S. If you have a walking cast boot for her, bring it!