Help?? 32 Days from cruise. Mom just broke her leg. No trip insurance.

[Foodluvr]

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Thanks brillohead, do you or others have an idea of the width of doors on the balcony cabins on Quantum?  My mom isn’t sold on a scooter for some reason but is ok with a wheelchair.  Do wheelchairs fit through the cabin door?  Maybe Special Needs at Sea has specific ones for cruise ships?  Maybe I can convince her that a scooter would be better but it might be a wheelchair 

You can definitely get a scooter through the door. I ended up having to go on my last cruise with a knee walker. I wished I would have ordered the scooter. A wheelchair is going to be very difficult, especially if you have to push it. I had a tremendous amount of trouble with the knee walker because a lot of the roads in ports were not smooth and after the second stop I gave up getting off. And I'm young, relatively healthy and in good shape. It was more than I could do. I would have totally done the scooter over the knee walker or a wheelchair.

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Thanks brillohead, do you or others have an idea of the width of doors on the balcony cabins on Quantum?  My mom isn’t sold on a scooter for some reason but is ok with a wheelchair.  Do wheelchairs fit through the cabin door?  Maybe Special Needs at Sea has specific ones for cruise ships?  Maybe I can convince her that a scooter would be better but it might be a wheelchair 

 

I haven't been on Quantum, but I do know that a normal wheelchair will NOT fit through the doors of a Central Park Balcony room on an Oasis class ship, but a scooter will.  I wanted to show my room to my paraplegic friend, but he couldn't even get through the door because of his wheels.

The issue is the placement of the wheels.... on a wheelchair, they're off to the sides of the seat, and they add a LOT of width to the chair, but on a scooter, they are "under" the seat.  A transport chair would be more likely to fit, because it doesn't have the huge wheels with the extra "pushing" rims, but I can't say for sure that it would fit.

But if your mom is at ALL independent, she's going to be dissatisfied with a wheelchair or a transport chair.  She's going to need someone to push her 100% of the time in a transport chair, and probably at least 50% in a regular wheelchair... all the carpeted floors (the long hallways, dining rooms, theaters, lounges, casino, etc.) are VERY tiring to push a chair through.  

And a basic (non-custom) wheelchair with the large armrests on each side make it awkward to push, unless the person has very long arms to be able to reach around the armrests.  (Ever notice that paraplegics and amputees don't have sides on their wheelchairs? That's why... they're in the way.)  

My paraplegic friend, who has been pushing himself around in his chair for probably seven years now, will get tired and even avoid going places on a ship if he has to push himself too far of a distance.  He'd spend way more time in his room if I didn't go fetch him and push him to wherever we're going.  

The rental scooters are very easy to drive. Take her to Walmart or a local mall and let her practice on one of those. You can also take a couple of bungee cords and use those to strap in her crutches, so she always has those available when she's on the scooter.  She can also take the scooter off the ship, although accessibility varies greatly from one port to another. 

 

The electric wheelchairs are a bit more difficult to maneuver, because they use a joystick instead of handlebars or a steering wheel, but they have the benefit of having a smaller footprint, so they're easier to get into tight spaces.  You also don't need to transfer out of a wheelchair at dinner -- you can drive it right up to the table and sit in it during the meal. But they do have more of a learning curve when it comes to driving it because of the joystick control.

Speaking of dinner, make sure you go and check out your assigned table as soon as you get on board.  Whether she's in a wheelchair or a scooter, you're going to want a table that is right along a main walkway in the dining room, instead of one that is set back behind other tables that requires you to squeeze in between chairs filled with people.  

I hope that helps -- feel free to ask me anything!  

 

[BecciBoo]

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

a normal wheelchair will NOT fit through the doors of a Central Park Balcony room on an Oasis class ship, but a scooter will. 

The one I got does, that is exactly why I went with it over scooter...less footprint too and is only 24" wide opened or folded.  Takes up much less space in an elevator is airline approved.  You ride it up to the plane and they fold it and stow it, ready when you emerge from plane. Turns on a time, I mean a 360 circle (I've been practicing) No problems going over anything, I've tested it and it is faster than my Hubs can quick march...seriously.   And if you're totally non ambulatory partly covered by Medicare.  I didn't qualify because I can walk, just not the length of the ship with my AFIB and get extremely fatigued. It wasn't cheap 1799 but I figure it'll come in handy in the next 20 years!  Here's a pic:

 

Edited June 19, 2023 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

I did months of researching before I settled on this one.  You can get scooters for much less, sure, but they're much more unstable, usually a trike with 3 wheels but can even get up to more than I paid for the Wheelchair.  They are much longer than this baby and I try to be considerate of others who are pretty impatient about scooters, I've witnessed some looks for other immobile cruisers that made me cringe...so I wanted the most stable, smallest footprint, best turning radius, battery life etc.  I feel this one is it.  Now I won't have to stop every few yards to catch my breath and rest on board.  And when I really get immobile, I'll be an expert! LOL.  It takes some practice but you get the use of the joystick very quickly.  Maybe in your Mom's situation she just needs a rental, but for me, I know I'll need it all the time some day and will save enough to buy one over rental.  Good luck.

 

Brillo, I keep thinking about your buddy and how he could have had this one 7 years ago...poor guy.

Edited June 19, 2023 by BecciBoo

[katmu]

21 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Thanks brillohead, do you or others have an idea of the width of doors on the balcony cabins on Quantum?  My mom isn’t sold on a scooter for some reason but is ok with a wheelchair.  Do wheelchairs fit through the cabin door?  Maybe Special Needs at Sea has specific ones for cruise ships?  Maybe I can convince her that a scooter would be better but it might be a wheelchair 

If you are renting a regular manual wheelchair from special needs at sea, they fold up so they will definitely fit through the door.  A transport chair would fit through the door without being folded, but a manual wheelchair is likely going to be more comfortable for your mom if she has any kind of leg brace or cast on.

 

If she decides to go the scooter route, know that the rental scooters are a lot easier to turn than the ones at stores like Walmart or Target.  I would still get the smallest one that your mom is comfortable with.

 

 

[RoperDK]

21 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Thanks brillohead, do you or others have an idea of the width of doors on the balcony cabins on Quantum?  My mom isn’t sold on a scooter for some reason but is ok with a wheelchair.  Do wheelchairs fit through the cabin door?  Maybe Special Needs at Sea has specific ones for cruise ships?  Maybe I can convince her that a scooter would be better but it might be a wheelchair 

If your Mom feels better in a wheelchair, then you can rent a folding chair through Special Needs.  She would have to be able to get out of the wheelchair so it could be folded and pushed through tighter areas.  I did that once after a foot injury.  My husband pushed me around, but it did wear on him. The pushing handles were at an angle that would eventually hurt his back. Prior to my hip replacement, I had to rent a scooter a couple of times.  What a life changer! It took a while to build up my confidence, but I could enjoy the cruise without pain or bothering someone else.  Good luck.

[The Fun Researcher]

Thank you all!  She does not have any sort of brace or cast.  Pretty amazing.   However to help with the swelling she does need to keep it elevated a lot.  She’s also using those soft cloth covered ice packs pretty regularly.  Hopefully the swelling is a non issue soon.  
 

I think the key is going to be when they allow her to put weight on it.  If that’s the case before the cruise then maybe a wheelchair would work out for her because she can fold it to enter the doorway and then open it again once inside.

 

Fortunately, their balcony room on the Quantum is one that has the bed by the balcony so the couch is closest to the door. That will make it nice so that she does not have to try to get around the bed every time she comes in the room to get to the sitting area.

 

Will still work on her to get a scooter but we’ll see 🙂

[FionaMG]

Hope she continues to improve enough that you will soon be posting a pic of you both raising your glasses for a sail-away toast! 😊

[xtremegk]

@The Fun Researcher would love to hear an update! Did you all go? How's she doing? 

[The Fun Researcher]

19 hours ago, xtremegk said:

@The Fun Researcher would love to hear an update! Did you all go? How's she doing? 

 

Thanks for asking.  Unfortunately the week before the cruise the doctors told her that she was unable to go for two reasons... 1) Still a blood clot risk on the plane, and 2) Cannot stand on the leg for 3 months.  It was a real letdown because the doctor's originally indicated that she should be able to go. I guess the break is severe enough, and close enough to the hip that it needs more healing.  They were troopers about it.

 

They made out almost 100% whole though.  Cruise fare is being reimbursed thanks to their credit card (Chase Freedom Unlimited), and all other prepaid items were able to be cancelled with refund.  They have airline credit (instead of a refund) to be used by mid 2024, but that will get used.

 

So...  as far as the cruise itself, our family still had an amazing time with all of my siblings' families, 14 of us in all.  We had gorgeous weather (warm and sunny, jeans and T-shirts) for the main Alaskan portion (ISP, Sitka, Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, Juneau).  No rain the entire cruise.  We saw so many amazing things.  In Sitka we walked to the Raptor Center, the Totem park, and then back to the shuttle walking along the rocky coast.  Was a gorgeous day.  In Juneau, we saw Humpbacks up close "bubble net feeding" pretty much identical to the video below, Orca's, walked to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget falls. Sunny and warm.

 

Cruise ship, service and food was great.  Just an overall excellent experience.

 

My parents are super itching for a cruise now, especially after living vicariously through ours this past week.  We are eyeing up summer 2024.  Maybe sooner...  😉

 

Some random photos from our trip.

Sitka:

Endicott Arm:

Nugget Falls:

Mendenhall Glacier:

 

Our views:

 

 

[njkruzer]

Sorry about your parents not being able to go.  Glad the rest of you went and that you had a good trip. 

[reallyitsmema]

@The Fun Researcher  Thanks for posting an update.  I was wondering if you all had cancelled or what.  Gorgeous pictures.  I am sorry your Mom wasn't able to go, but I was very surprised that the Doctor had originally said she could.  I hope you all can do another cruise to Alaska next year or sometime soon, once your Mom is completely healed. 🙂 

[FionaMG]

What a pity your mum couldn't go but great to see you all still had a fabulous time. Fingers crossed she gets to go next time. 🤞

[grandgeezer]

On 6/19/2023 at 4:32 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

Thank you all!  She does not have any sort of brace or cast.  Pretty amazing.   However to help with the swelling she does need to keep it elevated a lot.  She’s also using those soft cloth covered ice packs pretty regularly.  Hopefully the swelling is a non issue soon.  
 

I think the key is going to be when they allow her to put weight on it.  If that’s the case before the cruise then maybe a wheelchair would work out for her because she can fold it to enter the doorway and then open it again once inside.

 

Fortunately, their balcony room on the Quantum is one that has the bed by the balcony so the couch is closest to the door. That will make it nice so that she does not have to try to get around the bed every time she comes in the room to get to the sitting area.

 

Will still work on her to get a scooter but we’ll see 🙂

It sounds like things worked out the best it could, financially. Couple of comments on the injury.

About a year and a half ago, I fractured my fibula, which is the bone to break if you had a choice.

It’s smaller than the femur and it only carries 15 - 20% of the body weight with the rest on the femur. Believe it, or not, it was done as an outpatient. Went to surgery at 12:30 and was home on my couch before 5:00. I had a cast on for a little over two weeks, then a walking boot on for four more weeks. I almost forgot, I had to wear compression socks until the boot came off, prevent blood clots. No P.T. needed. I do have a 4” plate four screws holding it in place as a reminder.

Having lived through that, I wouldn’t do any traveling during this time. Not being to put weight on the leg until the boot went on was really depressing, having to put the extra burden on my wife.

[vacationlover_mn]

So glad you could go!!!  And, thanks for the update 🙂

[xtremegk]

Sounds like it was the best of a bad situation. She's on the road to recovery, no financial dings as a result of the lost cruise, you all had a great time, and motivation to go again soon. Glad to hear and best wishes for her continued recovery!