Scared to travel with baby

[Colts88]

We are booked for a cruise in March. My daughter will just have turned 1. After reading a post about the terrible medical staff on Carnival and lack of organization when responding to an emergency, I am scared to death of taking our 1 year old daughter. What if something happens? Can anyone provide postive aspects or experiences?

[cb at sea]

It's true that the ship's doctors are very "general"---they're great with a tummy ache, sprain, cut, etc....but should an emergency arise, whether it's with a baby or an adult, they simply aren't equipped to handle it. That's why you see so many airlifts!

 

If your 1 year old is healthy, then I wouldn't worry! A child is no more likely to have an "emergency" on a ship, than on land!! If there's an existing health issue that you're dealing with, I'd talk to my pediatrician and see what he/she thinks about the idea!

[rebeccalouise]

Here is my theory- I feel safer on a cruise ship than on land. My son, if there was an emergency, would get immediate care. If the condition is beyond the scope of the doctor- he will do everything in his power to ensure that the patient gets to the nearest hospital.

 

Nothing in life is a guarantee. For example, lets say you took your daughter out on a friend's boat and you were 30 minutes from land and there was an emergency- would you be any better off than on a cruise ship- where there is a doctor, nurses and probably lots of passengers who are doctors and nurses? No but you'd still probably take your daughter for a boat ride.

 

You can't stop living- you can't overthink everything. I have traveled many times as a single parent- just me and my son. One of the reasons I cruise is because if either one of us became ill- I know that I have a shipload of people who would help me.

[chasinraynbowz]

We are booked for a cruise in March. My daughter will just have turned 1. After reading a post about the terrible medical staff on Carnival and lack of organization when responding to an emergency, I am scared to death of taking our 1 year old daughter. What if something happens? Can anyone provide postive aspects or experiences?

 

If you read the same post I did about the death of the young man and the lack of organization on Carnivals part, remember one thing.... the Op got his info from someone else. According to him, he was not in the area (or had left the area) and is relying on gossip.

 

I would not worry about taking your daughter on a cruise. If she is healthy and happy, you will have a wonderful time.

[crusinmama06]

My daughter was 8 months old when she had a medical emergency onboard a cruise ship. She is now 4 and going on her 6th cruise next week. ;) Yes it IS scary. But I looked at it like this. If she had this on land, she wouldn't have received medical attention as quickly. My husband found her seizing, blue and basically not breathing...he grabbed her and ran to the medical center. He says that he knocked down some passengers on the way....lol. ;) But he got his baby girl to the doctors in under 2 minutes...which wouldn't have happened on land.

 

The doctors aren't specialty trained for babies. They are ER doctors. But in an ER on land, you have ER doctors too. They don't necessarily page a pediatrician right away.

 

If the doctors on the ship feel that they can't handle it....you will be airlifted. (If weather permits...weather stopped us from being airlifted)

 

Make sure you have travel insurance. It helps to bring a high limit credit card because if she does get sick onboard, you have to pay the bills BEFORE you get off the ship. Then get reimbursed by the insurance.

[rebeccalouise]

Michele- I know you have discussed the seizure before but I forget what kind of seizure she had.

 

My son had a febrile seizure (on land), which was very scarey. He turned blue- his eyes rolled back and he went into the fetal position. I know how horrible these are. My son just came out of it- before the paramedics arrived and I took him to the hospital to make sure it was just a febrile seizure (it was and he has never had another). It was brought on by a fever and some children respond to fever in this manner. It's awful to witness.

 

What exactly did the doctor do? Did your daughter just come out of the seizure?

[crusinmama06]

Michele- I know you have discussed the seizure before but I forget what kind of seizure she had.

 

My son had a febrile seizure (on land), which was very scarey. He turned blue- his eyes rolled back and he went into the fetal position. I know how horrible these are. My son just came out of it- before the paramedics arrived and I took him to the hospital to make sure it was just a febrile seizure (it was and he has never had another). It was brought on by a fever and some children respond to fever in this manner. It's awful to witness.

 

What exactly did the doctor do? Did your daughter just come out of the seizure?

 

Yep, it was her first febrile. :( But since it lasted 45 minutes (even with medical intervention) the neurologist classified it as a "Complex Febrile Seizure"

 

When she arrived in the ship's medical center the doctor hooked her up to a oxygen monitor and her Oxygen Saturation level was 79/80%. They intubated her and the nurse bagged her. It was a whirl for a few minutes while they were trying to get her oxygen levels back up. I had been in the ship's medical center getting cough medicine for my oldest daughter when my youngest was brought in. :eek:

 

They said that she would stop seizing in a few minutes....which she didn't. When she got to the 20 minutes mark the doctor got out the valium and the nurse had to determine what the dosage was for a baby that young. So they gave her the valium...she kept her eyes rolled back and half her body was turned to the side until the 45 minute mark. Then she just slept. :( Never actually woke up till the next day.

 

She had 4 more up until she was 22 months old. She was admitted into 2 different children's hospitals to make sure it wasn't officially epilepsy (my peds disagreed with the neurologist).

 

Each seizure was the first symptom she would get before we even knew she was sick. The seizures would last 45 minutes. So I had to carry vials of diazepam around with me (it was the agreement that I made with the neurologist to keep her off of phenobarbitol :()

 

Normal kids can have febriles and they last a minute or two. Hers went on and on. Then within a day or two, whatever virus she had that caused the febrile (her fever to rise) would always come out.

 

One time it was 5th disease. One time it was Roseola. Another it was just a normal cold with a high fever. Each caused her temp to spike within seconds (it would go from 98.6 to 104.9 in minutes)

 

After a year, seizure free, her neurologist declared her officially "grown out of them". She has had two clear EEGs and 2 clear MRIs. :)

[rebeccalouise]

What a horror. I have no idea how long my son's seizure lasted. My older son and I were just so horrified that neither of know if it was one minute or five minutes. It was the longest, scariest moments of my life. Really it took me a year not to panic everytime my son had a fever. Your ordeal is far worse and I really understand how you felt.

When it is happening and you have no idea what is going on- you think your child is dying. I thought my son was dying and I felt so helpless. It is a very strange thing and no parent is prepared for it.

I am glad your daughter has outgrown them and you don't have to worry about it anymore.

[mechcc]

Michele - that is such a scary story but am certainly glad your daughter has grown out of them. I can't imagine watching your child going through that for 45 minutes. Our youngest had one at 20 months but it only lasted for a minute or two and he and I were in the emergency room at the time. And that was bad enough for me. I can't imagine going through it for 45 minutes on multiple occasions. It was also a case of a completly healthy well child to one that had a fever of 104+ within an hour. He was also one that would have the high temps first and it would be a day or 2 later before the actual cause of the fever showed up.

 

Do want to thank you for all the information about cruising with children you share on CC.

[crusinmama06]

Rebecca & Maggie - thanks ladies. :)

 

We do still panic when she gets a cold. I start rotating doses of Motrin/Tylenol right away.

 

Back in October she had Scarlet Fever (her older sister came home with a strep throat infection courtesy of her friends at school :rolleyes:). She had really high temps and that awful sandpaper rash that told us it was Scarlet fever. But she didn't seize. :) So I am hoping that I will never have to see those again.

 

One of the episodes occured on the PA turnpike on our way to Hershey Park. :eek: The doctor suggested that maybe she is just allergic to vacations. :p