Dopey'sGirl
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2005
OOPS, I posted this on the General board and wanted to move it here but being new, I'm unsure how to do that so pls forgive, i'm just reposting it here. Hope that's ok!
Hi,
I'm new here and our family is going to WDW again in May '06 and could really use some advice. We've been several times, but this time will be different for us in that we are taking my MIL who has been dx with Alzheimers. She is still in a stage where she knows who she is, who we are 95% of the time, etc, and still manages to live on her own with some outside help, so she's not completely dependent, BUT she does have a lot of communication issues and only ppl who know her really well seem to understand what she is trying to say. She is only 64 and the diagnosis has been very hard on everyone, especially her of course, and she wanted to do something special with our family before things get really rough. She wants our 3 kids (DD 11, DS 10, DS 4) to remember her in a fun and positive light before things get too far gone.
We thought esp since with the Alzheimers she has been becoming more and more childlike both physically and mentally, that Disney would be so much fun for her b/c she loves ALL kinds of rides and sees life from a childlike point of view that she would really embrace the magic of WDW. I can see her enjoying the music and characters and rides as much, if not perhaps more than my 3 kids! I know she would be singing right along with the music, skipping down Main Street and be wanting to be first in line to hug Winnie the Pooh!
My question is....We are worried about what will happen if she gets lost somehow? We've always taught our kids to find a cast member if that happens and they will take them to the Lost Children area and we would be right there to get them. Fortunately for us that has never happened and of course we plan on keeping as close tabs on my MIL as we do our 4 year old, but things happen! We plan on putting a card in her fanny pack with our personal info, cell number, and "please take me to the lost children area if I am lost. I have Alzheimers and may find it difficult to communicate with you" etc. I know that thousands of ppl go each year with friends and family with special needs such as this, I am wondering if Disney offers anything to help in these types of situations. I'm not sure if a GAC would be appropriate in this situation, or if it would help at all. Any other advice or ideas would be so so appreciated! Thanks!
Jennifer
Hi,
I'm new here and our family is going to WDW again in May '06 and could really use some advice. We've been several times, but this time will be different for us in that we are taking my MIL who has been dx with Alzheimers. She is still in a stage where she knows who she is, who we are 95% of the time, etc, and still manages to live on her own with some outside help, so she's not completely dependent, BUT she does have a lot of communication issues and only ppl who know her really well seem to understand what she is trying to say. She is only 64 and the diagnosis has been very hard on everyone, especially her of course, and she wanted to do something special with our family before things get really rough. She wants our 3 kids (DD 11, DS 10, DS 4) to remember her in a fun and positive light before things get too far gone.
We thought esp since with the Alzheimers she has been becoming more and more childlike both physically and mentally, that Disney would be so much fun for her b/c she loves ALL kinds of rides and sees life from a childlike point of view that she would really embrace the magic of WDW. I can see her enjoying the music and characters and rides as much, if not perhaps more than my 3 kids! I know she would be singing right along with the music, skipping down Main Street and be wanting to be first in line to hug Winnie the Pooh!
My question is....We are worried about what will happen if she gets lost somehow? We've always taught our kids to find a cast member if that happens and they will take them to the Lost Children area and we would be right there to get them. Fortunately for us that has never happened and of course we plan on keeping as close tabs on my MIL as we do our 4 year old, but things happen! We plan on putting a card in her fanny pack with our personal info, cell number, and "please take me to the lost children area if I am lost. I have Alzheimers and may find it difficult to communicate with you" etc. I know that thousands of ppl go each year with friends and family with special needs such as this, I am wondering if Disney offers anything to help in these types of situations. I'm not sure if a GAC would be appropriate in this situation, or if it would help at all. Any other advice or ideas would be so so appreciated! Thanks!
Jennifer
. My mother is in the middle/late stages of Alzheimers, and I truly understand your desire to have some happy memories for your children. We took my parents to WDW in 2000, and as I look back, I truly treasure every single moment of that trip. My mother was in the very early stages of the disease on that trip, only we did not realize it at the time: we only knew that she was having increasing difficulty in remembering things. 
