Crutches and Broken Foot - how was your cruise?

[jonathansburden]

what about getting around and getting seated in the dining room and show room (whatever the room is called where they have the shows, games and contests)? Would there be a space to place the folded wheelchair in the dining room? I feel like these rooms already have every inch of space allocated and the wheelchair might get in the way.

We were on the Valor for our trip and the only area that was unevan and very difficult were the doors that lead out to the lido deck, there was a lip about 2" to get up and no push button to help with the door. You should def. check that spot out to see if she can manage it on her own.

 

There were no problems with the dining room at all. Our waiter actually liked helping and always pushed me around, but he was an exceptional crew member. We had a lot of problems with the show room, mostly because I wasn't comftorable leaving the chair at the back of the theater (kids took it on me at the pool once, so I didn't want to leave it) There are spots for HC passangers where the chair will fit, but people on my ship always sat there so I couldn't sit with my husband. We usually just skipped the show.

 

Good luck! I hope your daughter gets well soon! :D

[LuckyBird]

As an experienced handicapped cruiser I would like to give you some advice on cruising with a wheelchair. If you do end up renting a wheelchair for your cruise make sure to get a regular WC with the larger wheels on the back. Do not get a transport chair, these are smaller and lighter, but only have four small wheels. They are very difficult to push on carpets and rough terrain like you might find in ports. They also leave the person in them stranded where ever they are pushed because there is no way to move them on your own without either getting out and pushing, or using your feet to scoot around. You will also want to make sure that the chair is one that can be folded so it will fit in to the cabin. If you are in a regular cabin, a wheelchair will not fit in the door without folding. You are not allowed to leave the chair in a hallway if it will not fit in the room. When you first get on board go to the dining room and check your table assignment, make sure it is accessible to your daughter, if not they should change it for you. I travel with a scooter and I just drive to the table, then the waiter parks the scooter to an out of the way place, and returns it at the end of the meal. I wish your daughter a speedy recovery, and I hope you all have a wonderful time.

[LornaT]

First - I would suggest getting a wheelchair for her use, be it on board or ashore, just to make it easier for her to get around the ship and the ports.

 

Second - This product was a lifesaver for me, http://www.xerosox.co it is a protective boot with a vacuum seal pump valve and a non-skid sole, I used it for taking showers and even used it in my Pool and at the Beach after my foot surgery ...................... never got the bandaging wet. I've loaned it to many coworkers after I was done with it and they all hugged me after the first time they were able to shower. Should be able to find this in at least one of your local Medical Supply stores. Hope all goes well and she gets to enjoy the cruise.

[Leeser416]

Just curious how the doctor's appointment went with the ortho yesterday.

[cruisinbuddy]

My son had no problem on the Disney Magic with his cast and crutches. OK he had a walking cast, so he still did the limbo contest and in the hockey thing he did, he was the only one to score on the goalie. It'll be a pain in the butt but she should still have a good time. I bet the waitors in the diningroom will take real good care of her.

[Effie]

Just curious how the doctor's appointment went with the ortho yesterday.

 

Hey - thanks for checking back and thanks to everyone who's offered advice and your stories!

 

The ortho seems to think this is a fracture higher up on the bone and is not a true Jones fracture. He says she can start putting a little weight on it in 2 or 3 days from now :) and get rid of the crutches for small walks in 2 weeks. She will still need them "as needed" so we will take them with us on the cruise but by 4 weeks he has said that she will be total weight bearing all the time unless at her Aug. 8th appointment she shows that she is not healing, then it would be a whole other ballgame.

 

So we are still in sort of a holding pattern until Aug. 8th.

 

I took the advice here and went ahead and called special services and had her set up for help on embarkation and debarkation. I'm not certain yet if we'll take a wheelchair but I'll call around and get quotes so I'll be ready in case we need it.

 

The doc also said that she could take off the aircast she'll be wearing at the time of the cruise to slide into the pool and then put it right back on but no snorkeling.

 

So we'll see how things go. It doesn't seem as bad as it could have been - unless we go back to the doc and the healing isn't as quickly as he'd planned. He did say we would not be able to do walking to go on excursions (knew that already). She's just hoping to be able to carry her own tray in the buffet and go swimming.

 

She'd still like to read any other stories or advice you all can offer!

[poptart]

Thanks for reporting back!! Glad the news is good and prayers for quick healing!

[ParrotRob]

First - I would suggest getting a wheelchair for her use, be it on board or ashore, just to make it easier for her to get around the ship and the ports.

 

Second - This product was a lifesaver for me, http://www.xerosox.co it is a protective boot with a vacuum seal pump valve and a non-skid sole, I used it for taking showers and even used it in my Pool and at the Beach after my foot surgery ...................... never got the bandaging wet. I've loaned it to many coworkers after I was done with it and they all hugged me after the first time they were able to shower. Should be able to find this in at least one of your local Medical Supply stores. Hope all goes well and she gets to enjoy the cruise.

 

Although it sounds like the OP doesn't need one, I can also highly recommend the Xerosox for anyone else in a similar situation. It's not called that anymore, and the URL for it is now http://www.ithacasports.com/wacaco1.html. I am using one right now over the fiberglass cast on my leg and I'm able to shower and use my hot tub without getting a drop of water inside it.

[Leeser416]

Sounds great...prayers for a speedy recovery. Hang in there...it's not fun...but it will heal!!!

[Effie]

Hey All!

 

I called our PVP today to verify that I'd done all I needed to do to get help at embarkation. He said that they do have my daughter down as needing assistance and he kept saying "there will be a wait though" just like the special services people kept saying yesterday. Maybe they think that [ul]we think[/ul] we can use this as an excuse to jump to the front of the line. We care nothing about that... just want help manuevering her through the crowds to get ONTO the ship. Don't want her being bumped over and hurting herself again.

 

They said the night before debarkation we need to check in with the purser's desk to ask again for help getting her off of the ship.

 

My worry is getting her to the point where we can grab a taxi once at the pier in Cozumel. Guess I need to go ahead and check into getting our own wheelchair but then would we need actual help from Carnival at embarkation?? Or would we be doing it all on our own if we brought our own wheelchair.

 

This could get complicated and fast! :) (Especially since I don't really know what I'm doing).

[Cuizer2]

We are booked on a cruise mid August. My teenage daughter broke her foot yesterday. She sees an ortho on Monday. No matter what the outcome she will be in a cast of some sort and on crutches when we go on the cruise. She doesn't want to cancel (and therefore, neither do I). :)

 

I've searched the boards for threads about crutches onboard and seen folks asking these same questions but they never come back to say how their cruise went with crutches.

 

I know that the decks can get slippery so she really needs to be careful there. Sometimes there are ramps & steps to manuever, changing from tile to carpet flooring, elevators, etc.

 

My question is what are your experiences with crutches on board? How were you treated by the crew and other (mobile) passengers?

 

I just got a cast off my foot and ankle last week because of a broken bone and sprained ankle so I know the mobile folks can be very rude to the "handicapped" so I'll be watching for any monsters onboard. :)

 

I know we'll have to help her with her tray at the buffet and things of that nature. Anything I'm not thinking of?

 

Boarding - we will ask for "special needs" treatment to be taken to the front of the line so she doesn't get trampled. She's far to nice to say anything should she really need to. She's already upset enough about having to miss snorkeling and swimming under the stars.

 

She already knows that being on a cruise with a broken foot is better than sitting at home with a broken foot - what did you enjoy most on your cruise with crutches and a broken (insert lower extremity part here). Right now she's looking forward to soft serve icecream. :) She'll get some reading done, too.

 

Ask for a fiberglass cast so that she can still go swimming.

[Effie]

We are on a weekend trip at the beach. She was able to wear her aircast to the edge of the pool, took it off and got in. In the pool she could walk on one foot and she had a great time just being upright without the aid of crutches.

 

I wrote to the place we'd planned our cruise snorkeling excursion through to let them know she could no longer go but I haven't heard back from them. We've not sent our deposit yet but wanted to get a new owed amount and asked if she could just sit on the boat. Hope to hear back from them soon.

[Effie]

Just spoke w/ the folks we are doing our excursion with and they say they will work with her so that she can get into and out of the water straight from the back of their boat. It's so nice to know they will be helpful when we most need it.

[Effie]

I took my daughter to the ortho Wednesday and he has cleared her to not wear the cast and wear her tennis shoes at all times. He says her break has healed nicely and much more quickly than he ever imagined. She can go snorkeling and swimming without the fins. This turned out so much better than we ever thought it would. She doesn't need the aircast, crutches or a wheelchair after all!

 

Leaving tomorrow to get on the ship Monday! Thanks for everyone's helpful advice!

[Pegs222]

I took my daughter to the ortho Wednesday and he has cleared her to not wear the cast and wear her tennis shoes at all times. He says her break has healed nicely and much more quickly than he ever imagined. She can go snorkeling and swimming without the fins. This turned out so much better than we ever thought it would. She doesn't need the aircast, crutches or a wheelchair after all!

 

Leaving tomorrow to get on the ship Monday! Thanks for everyone's helpful advice!

 

 

So happy that your daughter is going to be OK and that she will be "good to go" for the cruise.

 

If I were you I would keep that girl in the house and not let her out of your sight until you leave:)

 

Have a great cruise, safe trip and fun all around.

[jonathansburden]

That's great news!! Have fun on your cruise! :)