Cruising with a broken foot

We are due to sail on Carnival Spirit for a 12 night cruise in 11 days. The problem is, my son (13 yrs) broke his foot yesterday. He is currently hobbling around in a moon boot with crutches. We see an orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday to find out if it will need a full cast or any other treatment.

Does anyone have any tips on how to make the cruise easier for him?

Im a bit concerned that although he is using crutches at the moment its only for short distances around the house. When he tries to walk from one end of the ship to the other I imagine it will get quite painful for him (both the foot and under his arms from the crutches). He's normally a very active and sociable kid so I'd hate to see him stuck in the cabin for most of the cruise. I thought about getting him a wheelchair to make getting around easier but will it fit through the cabin door? We're in standard balcony rooms.

I did a cruise around New Zealand with a broken ankle a few years ago on Sea Princess. We took our own wheelchair and the ships crew looked after me so well. I was not so great on the crutches but could hobble around a bit. I was good enough to get on the tenders also, but when the ship was rocking I wasn't too keen on the crutches! He will be slowed down a bit, but will still enjoy the cruise, I certainly did enjoy mine.

Steve.

My daughter has CP and is unable to walk.

We take a folding wheelchair and also a Pride Go Go Electric Chair.

They both fit in the door. You might be able to hire them.

He's 13, is he OK ON CRUTCHES, most 13 yo are, some haven't developed the arm strength yet.

Otherwise hire a power wheelchair.

Can he have a fibreglass cast so he can still get it wet?

Last year I broke my foot two weeks before we cruised on the Diamond and was in a moon boot. I didn't use crutches and was fine, I think because it was a couple of weeks after I broke it the mending had started and the moon boot was sufficient.

This year my husband broke his ankle in 2 places 2 weeks before our cruise on the Golden and had a cast on. He found it hard to use crutches so we found a knee scooter and he used that the 7 weeks he was in a cast. We hired it from our local chemist for $37.50 per week and it was worth every cent! He would probably enjoy using it too!

https://www.goodbyecrutches.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/u/turning-knee-walker_g.jpg

You can also buy them direct on ebay. I only found this out after we had rented one for 7 weeks and should have bought one instead, it was cheaper.

We are due to sail on Carnival Spirit for a 12 night cruise in 11 days. The problem is, my son (13 yrs) broke his foot yesterday. He is currently hobbling around in a moon boot with crutches. We see an orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday to find out if it will need a full cast or any other treatment.

 

Does anyone have any tips on how to make the cruise easier for him?

 

Im a bit concerned that although he is using crutches at the moment its only for short distances around the house. When he tries to walk from one end of the ship to the other I imagine it will get quite painful for him (both the foot and under his arms from the crutches). He's normally a very active and sociable kid so I'd hate to see him stuck in the cabin for most of the cruise. I thought about getting him a wheelchair to make getting around easier but will it fit through the cabin door? We're in standard balcony rooms.

Ice packs after a lot of walking and gently massage it at the end of the day. See a physio and get some ideas of stretches and exercises he can do.

Ask the room steward or room service to deliver a large ice bucket with ice. Stand it on one of the small room service trays and your son can soak his foot. It'll help with any swelling after a day on his feet. I did this at least three times a day and it allowed me to go ashore and walk around almost as much as I wanted. I reckon he'll get a bit faster on the crutches but a wheel chair is a great idea. The ship's all have wheel chairs. I'd call the cruise line and see if you can just get one on board when necessary. And of course, it all depends on the type of break he has. It's all very well for us 'oldies' to tell what we did, but it's important the break mends perfectly at his age.

Ask the room steward or room service to deliver a large ice bucket with ice. Stand it on one of the small room service trays and your son can soak his foot. It'll help with any swelling after a day on his feet. I did this at least three times a day and it allowed me to go ashore and walk around almost as much as I wanted. I reckon he'll get a bit faster on the crutches but a wheel chair is a great idea. The ship's all have wheel chairs. I'd call the cruise line and see if you can just get one on board when necessary. And of course, it all depends on the type of break he has. It's all very well for us 'oldies' to tell what we did, but it's important the break mends perfectly at his age.

the cruise lines dont lend out wheel chairs so you would have to bring your own

I have broken bits in both ankles twice and you should be following the best medical course of action to have the ankle heal the quickest.

Failing that if you do cruise, use a life jacket to lift the bed covers off his foot when sleeping.

I love the idea of the knee walker. It would make things a lot easier for him and he wouldn't feel as confined as he would in a wheelchair. Ive found somewhere local I can hire one from but now I need to figure out how to get it to the cruise terminal. We've booked a car for our transfers but they dont have a trailer so they only have room for 3 suitcases (there's 6 of us).

I've seen a few knee walkers/scooters on cruises recently. Seem to work quite well.

the cruise lines dont lend out wheel chairs so you would have to bring your own

They used to hire them out , but if you left it , someone else would nab it ... thinking they were there for anyone's use .

Mind you , for what they charged , you could have purchased a brand new one and taken that along.:eek:

It's a fractured 304.8mm actually.

I am sure that an active 13 yo would not let crutches hold him back.

If you do go with the knee scooter you can buy them and when finished sell them again for about what you paid. much better than hiring.

I love the idea of the knee walker. It would make things a lot easier for him and he wouldn't feel as confined as he would in a wheelchair. Ive found somewhere local I can hire one from but now I need to figure out how to get it to the cruise terminal. We've booked a car for our transfers but they dont have a trailer so they only have room for 3 suitcases (there's 6 of us).

The handle folds down so it's not that big.

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Just be a wee bit careful with knee walkers...some can be very unstable and I know a few people who have had nasty falls on them. Guessing you've seen the ortho by now - but depending on how severe your son's fracture is & how much weight he's allowed to take through the foot - if he is sticking with crutches you might be better getting a physio to fit some forearm crutches for him. With far too many years experience of the things (disability rather than injury) - particularly if he's able to partially weight-bear, forearm are far and away better than underarm. They do need a bit of strength - but give more freedom to use your hands, and take away from the tendency to take weight right up in the armpits (so many people do this with underarm crutches...but is completely incorrect and one reason why so many people find them so very uncomfortable to use).

If you have the time, I'd suggest taking a scooter or wheelchair of some sort though. I'd imagine you're likely to encounter wet decks at some point - and crutches are terrible for slipping on wet surfaces.

Hope you can still have a wonderful time!

Thank you for all the advice.

We saw the specialist this week and its all good news. The fracture is in a good spot to heal well and quickly without too much intervention. He wont be needing a wheelchair or scooter on board as the Dr already wants him to start gradually putting weight on it so that he can wean off the crutches fairly quickly. We go back on Tuesday (the day before we sail) for more x-rays and if the bone is fusing well he may be able to remove the boot. Worst case scenario seems to be that he will be able to take the boot off periodically so that at least he can still swim.