What to do? Sick Child

[Pnky]

This is the first time I have ever posted anything so forgive all the mistakes. I have a DS4 with Asthma who was born with half an immune system. I and my DD6 also have asthma but not as bad. We have gone to Disney several times and have delt with the illnesses and paced our vacation around the medical issues. My kids love our time there and we became vacation club members two years ago. My sons own immune system has been slowly taking over as he grows and this will be the first trip where his levels are in the normal range. We were so excited and had our trip all planned for the end of April. Two weeks ago my oldest DD (she will be 9 tomorrow) Had what we thought was the flu. After being in pain and not getting better they did an x-ray and found that her bowels are impacted. She has been on several medications and such to flush her out but nothing is working. There is a chance she will have to be put under to try to get rid of the impaction. The last resort is surgery. She is in a lot of pain. On top of this she has ADHD. She has missed two weeks of school. Here's the problem. Provided she is well enough to travel she will still need to take it easy. I thought about not going on the trip but we loose our plane tickets and our season passes that we got last year ( knowing we would be back this year.) They expire the day we leave for home from Disney. The tickets are paid for and we have the passes and points for the hotel. DH works long hours and we need this trip for our family to reconnect. If we go my DD will be missing another 7 days of school. In the past I have not worried about this because I "home" school her while we are gone as well as thru the summer to help her stay were she should. It has paid off becuse she is dong well and has moved from being behind in her classroom (before her ADHD was managed-Another issue for another time) to producing above average work in most areas. I plan to do the same this summer. So, do I plan ahead and take the trip or does that make me a bad mother? if we go what advice would you give for a child who will not be able to do a whole lot.

 

[buzz for boys]

Hi,
Can I firstly say that i too have a child that misses a lot of school through illness and we were faced with the same dillemma ! He has had three weeks off gone back for two days and then we take him to Disney for three weeks for him to come back and have two weeks at school and then have an op which will mean he is off for another three weeks.
We agonisied over rescheduling but we have decided to go as we feel that the time as a family is more important than what the children miss at school. After all its going to be a miserable child that knows they are going to school when the should be at disney !!! Will they really put the effort in that they should do ??
I also feel that sometimes the experience of a disney holiday will teach different things that a child will keep with them for life - these things cannot be taught in a class room !
This is just my opinion but I really believe that with a little time and effort the child can catch up at school what they have misssed but you cant make up to a child the dissapointament such as cancelling a holiday !
Hope that helps .

 

[SueM in MN]

First, (at least the way I am looking at it) missing school for the illness and the planned vacation are 2 different things and you shouldn't feel like a bad mom for either one of them. She would have missed the time for illness whether or not you had planned a trip to WDW.
A 9 year old can get a lot of educational benefit out of a trip to WDW. Since you have until the end of April, she has a chance to make up what she already missed at school (even if she needs to have surgery) and plan some educational activities to do at WDW. That might make you, the teachers and her feel better about missing school time while at WDW.
I know there have been posts on the Family Board about educational activities for WDW or we can give you some ideas here.

For the "taking it easy" part. Since you are DVC members, you don't have to try to do it all. If she needs to take it easy and go slow, you can plan things like leaving MK mid-day to go to one of the monorail resorts or WL for a snack. Maybe she can sit in the lobby of one of those resorts with you and do some homework (Cool place to do homework) while your DH and other kids walk around the grounds. If she needs to rest/lie down for a while, you don't need to leave the park, you can take her to First Aid and ask to use one of their cots for a rest. They are very nice (the facilities and the CMs).
If you are able to get to the parks early, you can get a lot done without waiting before it gets busy. If she is too tired to stand in lines, you can request a Guest Assistance Card from Guest Services to allow a stroller to be used in lines (depending on how tall she is, a wheelchair may or may not work for her). Or, if you use fastpass, you can avoid most waiting.
Even if you don't spend much time in the resorts, being outside in April in Florida is much better than being outside in Chicago in April!

Hopefully, everything will work out for you and you will all have a good time.

 

[Pnky]

Thank for your help. It is great to know I am not alone. I never thought about her not getting much done at school knowing she should be in Disney. I also did not know about the cots at the first aid stations. If she is able we will go to Disney. Because of my son's illness we avoid crowds at the parks. We get there early and leave when it gets crowed. We also avoid long waits in line and have it down to an art. I never thought of being able to get a card to not wait in the line (forgot the name of it.) We have always just used fast pass or waited until the line was short. Do they really give these cards to children who do not look ill? Should I bring a doctors note or something? The stroller idea for her is also great. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[SueM in MN]

We get there early and leave when it gets crowed. We also avoid long waits in line and have it down to an art. I never thought of being able to get a card to not wait in the line (forgot the name of it.) We have always just used fast pass or waited until the line was short. Do they really give these cards to children who do not look ill? Should I bring a doctors note or something? The stroller idea for her is also great. Thanks so much for your help.

There isn't a card to avoid waiting in line. There is a card that can help with how you wait in line and giving accomidation for disabilities that are not readily visible. It is called a Guest Assistance Card (we call it a GAC to avoid typing so much). You can inquire about one at Guest Services at any of the parks by just explaining about your DD's needs/problems.
It's printed right on the card that it is not meant to shorten or eliminate waits in line. What it is meant to do is act as a tool to let CMs know what sorts of assistance people who have invisible disabilities need. In your case, that might be using a stroller in line if your DD isn't strong enough to stand in line. It can also include being able to wait in a cooler or quieter place.
The problems your DD will be having are in the category of "Endurance Problems." WDW's usual suggestion for those is to use a wheelchair (or stroller in the case of a child). You already know there is a lot of walking involved in a WDW trip and most of the walking is between attractions, not in line. So, it does make sense to use something to avoid the long walks between things.
Since you are already familiar with fastpass and other ways to shorten your wait in line, you probably don't need a GAC. My DD has multiple disabilities and really has a difficult time (from a lot of standpoints) waiting in line. We do get a GAC for her, but because we know other ways to handle things, we don't usually use her GAC more than once or twice a day, even when we have been there at Easter (very busy time).

 

[Pnky]

I think you may have misunderstood. I would never try to not "wait" for our turn. I just did not think they would let us wait away from the normal line because my children do not look sick. We paln our trip to avoid waiting in the line because long lines means a lot of people in a closed in area and an increassed risk of having my DS catch something he can not fight off. The wait was not the issue in the past just the amount of people. I never ment for it to sound like I was trying to get "to the front of the line." I had visions of me carrying DD9 thru long lines and I got tired just thinking of it. I was glad to hear that I may not have to do that and she could stay in a stroller while we waited if she was to tired to walk on her own. I think there are kids who should not have to wait and people should be more understanding when these children go to the front of the line. We have no idea what they have been thru. We are blessed that our children can wait. I would never take something we did not need just because it is there.

 

[seashoreCM]

Because some rides do not allow a wheelchair to get all the way up to the boarding platform, you may want to get the Guest Assistance Card anyway. The assistance needed might be simply being able to ride (in the stroller or wheelchair) all the way to the boardig platform. One possibility of what might happen is that you and your child are taken around the back instead of through the regular line and held there until another family member waiting in the regular line arrives at the boarding area.

YOu definitely do not have to carry your child any distance.

 

[SueM in MN]

Because some rides do not allow a wheelchair to get all the way up to the boarding platform, you may want to get the Guest Assistance Card anyway. The assistance needed might be simply being able to ride (in the stroller or wheelchair) all the way to the boardig platform.

There are no rides we have ever been on where a wheelchair can't get all the way to the boarding platform. In most cases, a wheelchair can be pulled up within inches of the ride car.
I think this poster may mean that the regular line doesn't allow wheelchairs to get all the way to the boarding platform. There are some rides like that, where wheelchair users board at the exit or board at a different location than people who are walking on.
If you are using a standard wheelchair (the kind with 2 large wheels in front that make it readily recognizable as a wheelchair), you don't need a GAC to use the wheelchair in line or take the wheelchair to the boarding area. If you are traveling with a stroller or a wheelchair that might be confused by a layperson as a stroller, then you need a GAC to bring it in line. Once you are in line, the CMs will direct you to the correct place for boarding.