What to do about my stubborn mother's foot at parks?

[anagantios]

My mother and I and my SD Sienna are off to WDW on Friday! We are both very excited! (Sienna could care less)

However, my mother has been dealing with horrible pain in her foot for over a year. This pain is made much worse by walking around on hard surfaces. She has been worried about being able to walk around the parks with her foot.

I asked her about renting a wheelchair or ECV, but she absolutely refuses! She is one stubborn lady. I'm pretty sure even a crutch would be too much for her. Does anyone have any other suggestions for maybe a mobility device or kind of shoe that could help her around the parks? She is planning on doing a lot of resting and holding the dog while I ride things, but I think there will still be enough walking to make her foot hurt. Obviously this is short notice so I'm sure that limits options. I'm thinking maybe something like a giant foam boot? I just don't know how to help her for the trip!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Where in her foot is the pain? Is it in her heel? The bottom of her foot or somewhere else?

 

[Tink575]

My mother and I and my SD Sienna are off to WDW on Friday! We are both very excited! (Sienna could care less)

However, my mother has been dealing with horrible pain in her foot for over a year. This pain is made much worse by walking around on hard surfaces. She has been worried about being able to walk around the parks with her foot.

I asked her about renting a wheelchair or ECV, but she absolutely refuses! She is one stubborn lady. I'm pretty sure even a crutch would be too much for her. Does anyone have any other suggestions for maybe a mobility device or kind of shoe that could help her around the parks? She is planning on doing a lot of resting and holding the dog while I ride things, but I think there will still be enough walking to make her foot hurt. Obviously this is short notice so I'm sure that limits options. I'm thinking maybe something like a giant foam boot? I just don't know how to help her for the trip!

If you are near an orthopedic shoe store you could try there. The one in my area carries pre-made orthotics, better yet if you can get a prescription for them from her Dr. I would try to get her an appointment ASAP.

 

[anagantios]

I'm not quite sure. She often massages her toes and has to stretch them out so I think it's somewhere near the front, as opposed to the heel. It's some kind of nerve pain.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Heel pain would likely be plantar fasciitis, which I have and could offer some tips which help me. I did find this webmd.com on pain in the front of the foot:

Ball of Foot Pain

Metatarsalgia is pain and inflammation in the ball of the foot. Strenuous activity or ill-fitting shoes are the usual causes. Treatment for metatarsalgia includes:

Pain relievers
Change to more comfortable footwear
Inserts for the shoes to relieve pressure on the ball of the foot

Since you are leaving on Friday, there isn't time for custom made orthotics. I'd recommend googling for a store in your area that sells shoe inserts or a specialty running store. Having her fitted for appropriate inserts or a really good pair of athletic shoes should help. She should take ibuprofen to help with the pain. My podiatrist recommended 3 tablets of ibuprofen (600mg) 3 times a day. Stretching her feet before heading out to the parks should help as well. She should apply ice to her feet at the end of each day.

 

[JillyBean1899]

My mother and I and my SD Sienna are off to WDW on Friday! We are both very excited! (Sienna could care less)

Ohh, yay, another SD in the park this weekend!!

 

[bidnow5]

In my case renting an ECV wasn't for me I was in pain and ruining my family's vacation. The first time I rented an ECV it took about an hour to figure I would never do Disney again without one. I ended up making my family's vacation better they didn't have to wait for me to sit every few minutes at the end of the day I could rest instead of staying up half the night in pain

 

[Bete]

You still have time to see a doctor. You really need to find out what is really wrong. You can't really come up with solutions until you know exactly what is wrong with her foot. This could even be gout. There is medicine for gout. If your mom has been diagnosed then you need to find out what is really wrong from her. If mom hasn't seen a doctor you could really be taking a chance that your mom could fall and break a bone.

Your options could be a special shoe, shoe inserts, a wheelchair, scooter, cane or rollator which is a walker with a bench chair attached.

Who is the dog for? Is it you or your mom? I ask because if it's you than a manual wheelchair may not be an option.

You didn't mention your ages and your mom may need a break in the day. I think I would limit the rides and concentrate on the shows more on this trip. It may not be a good idea to leave her alone too much.

Is there anyone else going on this trip that could help?

 

[PatMcDuck]

I have the plantar facitis thing too.

I would agree with prior posts, see a podiatrist. This gave me a diagnosis, and the cause of the problem in my case (very high arch and instep). "A High-Arched foot does not overpronate at all, so its not an effective shock absorber. This is the least common foot type. Lack of pronation is generally called supination or under-pronation. The High-Arched Foot is best suited for Neutral Cushioning shoes that do not have stability devices or a medial post. This type of shoe has a softer midsole and more flexibility that will not inhibit natural pronation."

There is information like this for various foot types. This allows you to find running shoes with the correct structure for your exact foot problem. Some brands like New Balance and Asics make shoes for specific types of feet. Do MOST people need to do this for sneakers? No. But
once you have the foot pain, you do your homework. For me, ironically, the OTHER type of footwear recommended was CROCS. Haha. I now wear them 50% of the time, and the correct running shoes the other 50%. I try and stretch my feet as well. Tests showed arthritis in my feet as well, but the Dr had to rule out stress fractures first.

Best would be orthodics, but I have to wait until my insurance lets me get another pair, the last ones were not helpful. Advil, wearing the correct sneakers and Crocs (I know, weird) has reduced the pain 85%. And I work on my feet, 4-6 hour shifts. However, when I first went to the podiatrist, the pain was pretty bad, and I got injections to reduce the inflammation and wore a boot for a few days.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I agree that first priority is to get her to see a doctor, if she hasn't already. If she has, it's worth contacting the doctor for recommendations. There might be something temporary the doctor can do to reduce the pain. (If she isn't already seeing a podiatrist, it's definitely worth her asking for the referral although it's unlikely she'd get in this week.)

I'd also suggest bringing information with you about the offsite wheelchair/ECV rental companies even though she's resistant now. The least I've heard of someone walking in a single day in the parks is 4 miles. Most people walk at least 6. She honestly doesn't sound like she could make it that far currently. That's before the cumulative effect of doing so multiple days in a row is factored in. At that point, it might turn into the difference between renting a wheelchair or ECV and not even going to the parks. You're going at a time that's expected to be fairly crowded so she may not be able to find spots on benches to sit while you ride. You could rent a wheelchair or ECV in the parks, but you'd need to be able to push her in a wheelchair and they can run out of rental ECVs by noon. An ECV from offsite is much cheaper (depending on the length of your trip, it could be $100+ less expensive to rent offsite) and easier to maneuver than to rent at the parks. Renting a wheelchair offsite is generally cheaper than renting at the parks (although not as huge a difference as an ECV), but then she'd have it around the resort at the end of the day. You would still need to be able to push her in a wheelchair rented offsite, or she could push it when she wants to walk and sit in it when she needs to get off her foot. Even during busy times, most of the offsite rental companies can deliver an ECV in under 24 hours if needed.

Most people do quite underestimate how much they walk at WDW. If she doesn't have a reference point for how much walking at WDW actually gets done, pick a spot a mile away from her house and ask her if she could walk that far. Then ask if she could do a full trip there and back. Then ask her if she could do so at least 2-3 times in one day. Finally, ask if she could do so multiple days in a row. It may make the point. If her resistance is more about appearance, point out that chances are you'll never see anyone again and that plenty of folks use ECVs and wheelchairs at WDW who don't in their everyday life. People really don't bat an eye at wheelchair and ECV users at WDW. If neither of those things cover her concerns, it might be worth asking her why she doesn't want to use a wheelchair or ECV. There may be ways to deal with them (i.e. she can always use the mobility aid between lands and then park to go through queues if she wants to be able to do some walking).

You can't force her into it, but it makes me sad the number of people who don't enjoy trips to WDW, spend much of their trips in pain or don't even go just because they're resistant to using a wheelchair or ECV. There's nothing wrong with using one if needed and only the person using the ECV/wheelchair can accurately make the judgment about their need. One of the reasons I don't like the term "confined to a wheelchair" is that starting to use a wheelchair gave me back my freedom. (It was not a decision everyone supported because i could still walk some and was 20. I've never regretted it and even the people who initially objected came around when they saw how much it allowed me to do for the first time.)

 

[anagantios]

Oh she has definitely been seeing a doctor. I asked her and she told me the condition was called a neuroma. She has been getting different kinds of shots which seemed to temporarily help her, but the pain would always come back. She went last Wednesday to get another shot to help her for our trip, but the doctor told her that the shots wouldn't help her anymore, and that her only option now was surgery. Obviously she's not going to have surgery in the next week!

Right now she uses many different orthopedic shoe inserts and switches between different kinds of shoes to help with the pain. She told me she was planning on bringing two pairs of shoes into the park and switching between the two. She didn't like my big foam boot idea because she was afraid it would make her trip! She did mention a crutch, so maybe there's hope she'd settle for a wheelchair if things were really bugging her. But I have a feeling her pride would still get in the way.

 

[JillyBean1899]

What about a rollator? That way she'd be able to walk most of the day, but still sit when needed, and wouldn't need someone to push her around.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I have a relative who had a Morton's Neuroma and ultimately had surgery. I don't think she could have even considered something as large as WDW without a wheelchair. She was having enough trouble just taking care of her kids and getting the time to let her foot rest.

Depending on how strong your mother's other leg is, she could potentially use what's known as a knee walker. I don't know if she could manage one through the entire parks without too much practice, but it would take the weight off her foot. If you call around to local medical pharmacies (the ones that carry equipment)/medical equipment supply places you might be able to find one to buy or rent. If it is to buy, you'd want to bring her with you so she can see if it will actually work for her. It is what my relative used for getting around the house/grocery store/other stores pre-surgery. (They're hard to explain, but she'd bend her leg at the knee, stick that on the walker, and then walk with her other leg while pushing the bar on the walker to move it along.) It provides more support than a crutch and would completely take the weight off the foot. Again, I don't know if it would work for something the size of WDW, but it could be worth trying.

 

[Michigan]

Pick your first park to be the one that has the furthest walk from your car or bus. If you are staying on site I would pick MK or EPCOT and if you are staying off site I would pick MK. Point is all the walking involved to get in the park will make her realize that she is going to need a scooter.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Neuroma's stink. My mom already had one operated on and now has another one that needs fixed. Shoes, orthotic inserts, cortisone shots do nothing for it. The last time she went to Disney she lived on pain pills, hobbled at a slow pace, and still had to do short park days. By the end of the trip she was miserable and we were frustrated that she wouldn't use an ECV.

 

[ttintagel]

Seconding the rollator idea - my mother loves hers. Also seconding the recommendation of keeping contact information with you for wheelchair rental companies in case she changes her mind - they can deliver very quickly when traffic conditions allow.

 

[I Love Pluto]

No offense intended - but - if your Mom is highly stubborn, let her feet hurt!

She'll be begging for an ECV or rollator after a few short hours! Then you can use that rental company list!

Caution - if she insists on a wheelchair, realize that someone has to push her around all day. It becomes very tiring! I would advise a rollator or an ECV.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I think I'm a bit confused. If a person has foot pain, how does a rollator help? The person still has to walk everywhere and in most queues you're moving at least a little bit most of the time so it's not like she'll get much chance to sit in line. I definitely see how it can help for waiting for parades and shows and how it can help for people with balance issues, but I don't see in general how somebody who can't walk long distances can benefit from a rollator. An ECV I can definitely see being beneficial.

OP, point out to your mom that not getting an ECV is actually very selfish. Her pride will cause the rest of the family to have to witness her constant pain which impacts everybody's vacation because you all love her and it hurts all of you to see her suffer. Add to the guilt by explaining how much she'll slow all of you down by not getting the ECV. It doesn't hurt to point out that ECVs have baskets so she'll be helping everybody out by providing a place to put water bottles, ponchos, and all the other stuff you'd normally have to carry.

 

[ttintagel]

I think I'm a bit confused. If a person has foot pain, how does a rollator help?

Although it's not perfect, it takes the weight off the bad foot without the stress or instability of a cane or crutches, and it gives an instant place to sit if pain flares up suddenly without warning. Yes, a wheelchair probably would prevent it from flaring up in the first place, but the rollator can be a workable compromise for people who won't use a wheelchair.

 

[Andianna]

In my case renting an ECV wasn't for me I was in pain and ruining my family's vacation. The first time I rented an ECV it took about an hour to figure I would never do Disney again without one. I ended up making my family's vacation better they didn't have to wait for me to sit every few minutes at the end of the day I could rest instead of staying up half the night in pain

Totally understand this statement