Yesterday, while walking my dog across a small creek, a rock that I stepped on slipped and I fully rolled my ankle. It was very painful.
I have a plaster cast on my leg from toe to knee. After 10 days, they will be taking it off to do more X-rays and this will give a clearer picture of what has happened.
Today, I have NOT needed pain relief. The biggest inconvenience is the mobility side of things as I am unable to put any weight on my foot at allā¦ plus the plaster is so heavyā¦ it is all somewhat uncomfortable. But, Im hoping the lack of pain is a good sign that no major damage has been done. Crutches are taking a while to get use to, so Iāve hired a knee scooter - great invention!
I am worrying about all my plans and how they will be impacted. Worrying about having to slow down considerably. I donāt want to be rushing madly when we are there, as I now have a increased risk of injury as I will still be somewhat recovering. I will make sure I get myself a very good ankle support bandage thing, so that I can give it good support.
It is good that this happened now, and not in a few weeks. That, I am thankful for.
So, I guess I donāt have a question as such. This is just a vent from me to you, as you have all been so helpful with my planning. Plus I know you would understand how I feel with it all. Thanks for listening.
70 days! Even if you need 6-8 weeks in a cast you should be fine! There are also other options. If you need it- rent a scooter. Of course it is way too soon to know if that will be needed but you have options!
Oh no! We can form a club for people who injured ankles while Disney planning. Mine was broken, needed surgery but no cast, so different than your injury. If I get to Disney and the walking is too much, I plan to rent a wheelchair or ecv.
Those knee scooters are life saving! And I found that going up and down stairs on my butt was easier if less dignified then hopping up and down on one leg. If you can flex the calf muscle all, do it as often as you can, to hold off the muscle cramps from disuse.
It sounds like youāre taking good care of yourself. This will be frustrating but I dont think it will stop you.
I did the same thing (but with āassistanceā) playing football (oh, the folly of youth). I was in a cast for 4 weeks; on crutches the first week, a āwalking castā the rest of the time. In a perverse way, being the āfootball hero injured at a home game due to a foul tackleā was not such a bad thing around schoolā¦ Once the cast came off and I got past the first day or two of stiffness, I was walking without any problems. With a simple OTC ankle brace for support, I was playing volleyball in a week. No football, but I injured it on the second to the last game of the season, so there was no rush to get back into it.
I am still in my situation with my foot. It is 18 days since my accident and I am still unable to put any weight on my foot. I have had a MRI done and will get results on Friday.
It is now 54 days until my trip, and I am still a bit worried about how I am suppose to manageā¦even if I have a walking cast boot on, these are difficult to walk with for miles and miles.
So, I reluctantly googled the scooter option,.just for a bit of researchā¦I am happy that I at least have an optionā¦ but concerned about the reactions from others in the parks being negativeā¦as that is what I have been reading about.
I am not interested in any āspecialā treatment while in the parks, I am just wanting to ensure I am able to āgo the distanceā and manage to do the things we have been planning so long for.
Is being on a scooter, parking outside a ride, and walking to the ride line-up going to cause any issues?
It is only now that I am in this situation myself, that I realise how difficult the days may be if I have to walk a lot. (WDW is obviously going to include a huge amount of walking)ā¦ I am more than happy to do so if capable. I know it wonāt necessarily ālook likeā I have a disability if I am parking outside and walking up to a rideā¦ Any scooter riders out there with some advice?
My mother had some unexpected mobility issues right before a mandatory work conference at WDW. She was feeling the same way. I ended up joining her to help her get around, and Iām so glad I did. Here are a few tips from our experience.
Disney makes it very easy for scooters to get around the parks. You wonāt have any trouble getting from point A to point B in a scooter. There are ramps and wide lanes everywhere.
Doing actual attractions is trickier. Some have a special lane or a parking area. You can drive the scooter straight on for some, or park and transfer down into a seat or boat for some. The process at each isnāt always well marked, so it helps to have a mobile helper to scope it out for you. A helper and the CMs will want to know if you can move from the scooter to the ride vehicle, so honestly consider your limits ahead of time. They accommodate people in wheelchairs, so if you canāt do something, say so.
We ended up parking her scooter and walking the queues in many cases. This was the exhausting part, and my mom felt a lot of (self-induced) pressure to push herself to hurry. CMs are very helpful and most people were nice, so this was more stressful than it needed to be because she worried a lot. I strongly suggest you mentally prepare yourself to let go of any worries about slowing down the line or being a bother. Itās ok to do what you need to do, and figuring out a way to stay in the scooter as long as possible will be safer and less exhausting for you.
The most worrying thing for me was the battery life of the scooter. Plug it in all night, and then think about your plan for the day. It wonāt last ALL day, no matter what they say, so plan for a rest break for recharging every afternoon. We were at Beach Club because I thought the easy access to Epcot and HS would be easier for her, but I didnāt realize how much the longer āwalksā would drain the battery. Those battery lights seem to go from fully charged to OH NO in an instant.
As for transportation, be prepared to wait. We were surprised to find that boats have a limit on the number of scooters allowed. I think itās 2 scooters per boat. We had to wait at the HS dock a long time, and werenāt able to board until a 3rd boat came through because there were 4 scooters ahead of us. We didnāt use buses that trip, but I suspect the waits might be similar. It just takes longer to to any sort of transportation.
Itās well worth having a scooter though! Everything takes longer, but at least my mom wasnāt physically exhausted or missing out. Adjust your expectations and try to be patient, and you can still have a wonderful time.
Thanks very much for such a informative reply SallyEppcot.
As far as planning goesā¦ I guess I am lucky that all of my touring plans so far include a break in the day for several hours. There are only 2 days out of the 9 that we are at WDW that were āall dayā plans.
As far as mobility goes, I am āableā to walk around my house in a āmoon-bootā or āair-walkerāā¦ (not sure what you call them over in the States), but not for any length of time. Doctor has told me to go back to crutches for now, until I get my results from the MRI on Friday. I know that it is likely that I will still be recovering, and possibly still in the support boot in 6 weeks time when we travelā¦ and even though I will be able to walk somewhat by then, I am almost positive I am not going to be able to handle WDW on an unstable and weak ankle, or in one of these boots which create problems walking in general. Therefore, if I hire a scooter, I will be parking the scooter at the ride, getting out, and walking into the ānormalā line etc. Getting into and out of rides will not pose a problem at allā¦the issue is all about the distance that I would need to walk during an average day at WDW. I donāt want bad looks, or comments, as I shouldnāt be harming anyone either wayā¦ (if I donāt run over anyone)!! its not a fake injuryā¦ but I guess people are complaining about the amount of scooters for reasons that ācannot be seenā.
Iāll take your advice and try not to worry about what other people think
This scooter option is not how Iād choose to be having our holiday, but will probably enable us to get the best out of our time (we will still have an awesome time)ā¦ I think it is a better option than a wheelchair.
A scooter is WAY better than a wheelchair! There are more subtle slopes than you might expect.
I really think youāll be fine then. We didnāt encounter any grumpy people out in the open areas of the parks. As a matter of fact, there was kind of a secret-club vibe among the other scooter people we encountered. Weād smile at each other and chat about how surprisingly easy it was to get places. It was only stressful when we did attractions, and it sounds like youāll be in better shape for those than my mom was.
Get a scooter. Do NOT be ashamed to need one. Do NOT just park it with the strollers. All rides have some lane for people with scooters. You can park it and get on to the ride at the same place. If youāre feeling guilty, exaggerate your limp, but honestly, you need it, so use it. Other people who might give you looks should just mind their own business. They donāt know your problem and you donāt have to explain it to them.
Who cares about the looksā¦ itās your vacation that youāre spending a lot of money on, you might as well be comfortable. Just fyi, if you change your mind and get a wheelchair, watch out for those pesky railings in the ground on Main Street. I canāt tell you how many people weāve helped get their wheelchair unstuck from those.
Do they rent wheelchairs inside the parks? I was reading some of the scooter info above and I would be concerned about the battery dying or having to deal with getting them on/off other forms of transportation. If you are able to do a fair amount of walking, you could opt for a wheelchair and have someone help push you around? And when you decide to walk, you can use the wheelchair to carry a child or bags?
Either way, donāt feel guilty! You have every right to enjoy your trip as much as the next person!
Iāve done a scooter twice before (I have MS, and unpredictability is the only predictable thing about itā¦ on this occasion I was mid-relapse and had trouble walking because my left leg was āasleepā the entire time, which makes it difficult to feel whether my foot is up or down even though it usually works mostly fineā¦ thatās an āunseenā reason, but anyone who doesnāt like it is welcome to carry me on their back all dayā¦ the other time it was for an elderly friend), and it was a trip-saver. The battery never died midday, though we usually had a midday break and Iād plug it in for an hour or so then but there were a couple of times when I didnāt. You just have to remember to turn it off and take the key out every time you get up.
The one thing that was tricky was making space for it in the room. In a villa obviously thereās space, but in a regular room at GF we ended up removing the chair in the corner, and I had to parallel park it!
It could be a matter of scooter model tooā¦ I rented from Walker Mobility, because they advertise that they have backups available on property, but never needed it. Both times we walked all of the queues and had about 45-60 minutes of charging most days and kept the speed fairly slow, but my friend is a bigger guy and it still lasted pretty well.
Watching this thread and it is really great to see all the advice and encouragement. Thank you liners, and thanks OP! My ankle is not 100% yet and Iām considering renting a wheelchair or scooter too, to help with the large amount of walking. Iām sure there are people who have prejudices about disabilities they canāt see, but Iād rather not hurt my ankle again or hurt the good leg by having to over- compensate for it. They can only hurt their own trip by being grumpy!
Thank you all for the encouragement and information. I donāt think hubby knows āactuallyā how much walking one does when they are doing WDW Therefore, he is thinking Iāll be fine by then and weāll all just run along just fine. While his optimistic view is appreciated, I do like to have a plan thought out. It also makes me feel so much better knowing we are coming to a place where the surrounds and facilities are well thought out for disabilities in general. In hindsight, it is actually lucky Iām coming to WDW and nowhere else. Iāve had to really accept that no matter how much tweaking, planning, over planning, and re-planning you doā¦ nothing can really prepare you for the unexpected hey Ankle injury wasnāt exactly in my touring plan Iām 45 and havenāt had a broken bone in my life, so I guess Iām luckyā¦ but I cannot believe this could happen right now. !! Either way, I am so so lucky to be coming to WDWā¦ dream holiday - even if it turns out a little different than plannedā¦ we will have so much fun.
OHHH! One more thing, if you do get a wheelchair of any sort: when you leave it outside always cover the seat (like, over the arms) with something (towel, non-clear poncho, etc) to keep it from getting blazing hot in the sun, and a poncho is best because itāll also keep it dry in case of a sudden burst of liquid sunshine.
Iām curious what the outcome was here. I broke my ankle in 2013. Had a non-union and had surgery in 2014. I did Disneyland for 3 days with no problem in January. However, I had a cyst in the ankle joint early this summer and wore a boot for 6 weeks to try to avoid more surgery. Iāll be at WDW in November, and Iām in PT transitioning out of the boot. Iāve begun my walking regime, but I am nervous.
