An emergency while at WDW

[lucyanna girl]

Hello everyone, I sometimes lurk here but don't usually post. However, on our most recent trip to WDW my daughter and I had an experience that I would like to share with you.
It was a mother/daughter trip, April 2 - 11. My daughter is 14. She did not feel well the entire trip. On Sunday night she suddenly sat up in bed and told me her chest and shoulder hurt really bad and she needed help. I should have called 911 but for some reason all I could think to do was take her to the hospital myself. We became lost on our way to Orlando Memorial Sand Lake Hospital. Fortunately, we finally got there and she was rushed into emergency surgery. Her blood level was 6.1 when we arrived at the hospital when it should have been 12 at the minimum. The doctor felt she had a perforated ulcer. He did not find an obvious cause for the blood loss and we are now home and following up with doctors here. Her blood level was close to being too low to support her.
My point to all this is to urge anyone who has an emergency while at WDW or anywhere else not to hesitate to call for help. I also will never again go on a trip without clear directions and a map printed out telling me how to get from my hotel to the nearest hospital. My daughter is the most precious thing in my life and my mistakes could have cost her life.

 

[TestTrack]

Glad to hear she's ok. I hope she gets to go back to experience it sometime soon.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I am glad to hear everything is fine. I also second your statement about calling. Both WDW CMs and, of course, the 911 staff in Orlando are trained to react calmly and quickly to emergencies. Even if it is just for directions if you want to go yourself, the telephone is by far the fastest way to what you need.

 

[Rach216]

WOW, sorry to hear that happened with your daughter. I hope she has a quick recovery and can go back sometime and experience it all when she is better. Glad to hear she made it through it all. That can be really scary.

 

[The Mom]

I am glad to hear everything is fine. I also second your statement about calling. Both WDW CMs and, of course, the 911 staff in Orlando are trained to react calmly and quickly to emergencies. Even if it is just for directions if you want to go yourself, the telephone is by far the fastest way to what you need.

I second this! The hotel staff is well trained to deal with emergencies, and as mentioned, even if it were just to get a map to the nearest hospital, it is always best to call the desk. Even if you didn't want to call 911, the CM would probably have the # of the nearest hospital's "info" line. (Around here, it's called "Ask A Nurse" where you speak to a triage nurse who gives you some guidance as to your course of action.)

 

[RetiredFRN]

I agree, allways call 911 and the front desk in an emergency. IF you are not medically trained, you just don't know! Also, even if you don't need emergency care and you or your family members are just ill with a cold, ear ache etc, don't hesitate to call the front desk. When my daughter was younger she had a fever and I called the front desk to ask directions to a walk in cllinic. They said they had a mobile DR. that could come to my room. About a half an hour later there was a knock on the door and a physician and his assistant were there. He did a very efficient exam, diagnosed an ear infection and wrote a prescription. Depending on your insurance you either have to pay a co-pay or a visit fee. The physician stated that they are not employees of disney but are contracted from an area hospital. All he does all day is go to hotels on disney for sick visits.

 

[worldshwcasefan]

So sorry that happened to your daughter I hope she is feeling better. Also there is Hospital in Celebration,Florida near Disney property

 

[jrobinson424]

Hope all is well with you and your daughter. You always have to know where everything is when you are away from home. Never know what might happen. Will keep you guys in my prayers.

 

[robynchic]

I second this! The hotel staff is well trained to deal with emergencies, and as mentioned, even if it were just to get a map to the nearest hospital, it is always best to call the desk. Even if you didn't want to call 911, the CM would probably have the # of the nearest hospital's "info" line. (Around here, it's called "Ask A Nurse" where you speak to a triage nurse who gives you some guidance as to your course of action.)

Actually, all CMs (not just hotel) are trained to deal with situations like this. Over last summer, I helped a family where the mother broke her foot- and I wasn't even working!

 

[bgraham34]

I am glad to hear that all is well.

 

[mikeymouse]

I'm a 911 dispatcher and there are people who really need to call and are afraid to and then theres the people who call all the time that don't really need it. Glad to hear she's doing well. When in doubt, just call 911. Some say "I hate to bother you, but... ". That's what we're here for. Sometimes you don't get that second chance. Plus, like myself, you may get in the mode of thinking ... only the middle-aged and elderly have life-threatening health problems. If I wouldn't have finally gone to the hospital with my problem, I may have had cancer right now. Early detection saves lives. I will keep your daughter in my prayers.

 

[TimonRulz]

I'm glad she is ok. That is the main thing. Take care.

 

[justducky78]

What a scary ordeal for you! I truly hope she's back home and doing better. Looks like you caught it right in time.

If anything ever happens to me or my family in the future...I won't hesitate to call 911. It's always a little harder to navigate when you're not as familiar with the area.

Again -- I'm glad everything turned out ok.

 

[Nicole]

My 4 y.o. DD ended up with a 104.8 fever at WDW once. I took her to the First Aid center at the Magic Kingdom (I could feel that she was feverish but didn't have a thermometer with me) where they took her temperature. As high as it was they offered to call Florida Urgent Care to come pick us up there at the park! But since I had my own car there they just gave her a dose of Motrin (free!) and the flyer with directions to the clinic. We got great care there and they accepted our insurance so the office visit was free! All I had to do was pay for the prescription (turns out she had strep throat.)

I was so impressed with the WDW first aid people, I would never hesitate to recommend going to them for help.

 

[lucyanna girl]

Thank you to all who sent their well wishes. Sarah is recovering well from her surgery and her blood level is holding up. When she is stronger we plan to look further into how she had lost so much blood. The surgeon felt she may have had a bleeding ulcer that had healed over due to the fact she was on antibiotics. I will feel better if another doctor verifies this.
My hope in posting our experience is to point out the importance of being prepared if an emergency strikes you or your family while away from home at WDW or anywhere else. I never would have expected a healthy 14 year old to have such a close call but it did happen.

 

[wdwishes2005]

Glad to hear it. Someone I know broke her arm ( it was her fault ), and they were very helpful.

 

[Tom]

Glad to hear she's ok. I hope she gets to go back to experience it sometime soon.

A bit off subject (ok, completely off) - but I just thought I'd say hey to a fellow boiler. I'd recognize that AAMB uniform anywhere. Never was in PU's band, but my bro is right now (doesn't march). He just went on the NYC trip.

Ok, back on subject...glad she's ok, or at least seems to be. Never hestitate to call 911. It's free, and as long as your call is even halfway legit, there's not fault.

 

[RAY M N.J.]

my prayers are with your family