Our Ten-Day Disney Trip (With Lizzy) In The RV - Days One and Two

We just got here.  Its 4:30pm and I am beat but excited.  This is day one.

A week before we were to leave, Damon took the camper in to get it serviced.  We have learned that whenever you plan and save for a trip, you must get the RV ready to go.  Everything must be checked.  We learned our lesson last year on vacation.  We blew three tires and decided that all 8 were in need of replacing.  We had spent 3k on tires before we even left the state!! 

So we had it serviced…but it took four days. We got it back TWO DAYS before we were to leave.  I pack the camper. Food, medicines, clothes, toys, you name it, we bring it.  It’s a second house so you need everything you would in your first house.  Pots and pans, a toaster, a griddle, knives, etc.  We have not duplicated everything yet.  Em and Jack help but I still do 80% of the work INSIDE the camper.  Damon is responsible for everything under the camper. Grill, stroller, chairs, etc.

We have someone special to us housesitting. I have been doing laundry and cleaning non stop for a week.  I don’t want her to have to clean the house while she is there taking care of everything. So, I continue to clean and do laundry until 3 am.  Kids have been asleep in the camper since 10 pm. Damon fell asleep around 10:30 and set his alarm for 4 am. So I lie down on the couch and then hear the alarm go off.  We get the last things in the camper and leave the house around 4:30 am.  We get going and realize that we have no power to the outlets. The generator is running but we have no power. This means that I can’t do any meals for Lizzy in the microwave while en route. Breakfast is oatmeal or grits, lunch is mac and cheese or a rice bucket, and dinner is sweet potatoes or regular potatoes with peas and carrots. Without power, the RV is worthless to me.  Plus, we have no air without power. So now, she can’t take a nap after lunch. I am already stressed at this point and it’s only 5 am.  Then I hear her. Lizzy is up!

I let her be for a bit while Damon and I talk about fixing this problem.  He said it worked fine when he went to bed and when he unplugged the RV from the house this morning, something happened. I give Lizzy applesauce for breakfast with her medicine and she eats it just fine. However, she tinkled our bed. Ugh. We put two diapers on her at bedtime!!! I changed her and move her so the wet spot can dry. She plays with toys for the next two hours.

We stopped two times at two different Camping Worlds and neither one helped us.  I tell Damon that we will have to call a mobile RV service to come to the campground when we arrive.  We need electricity. Period.

Its 11 am and we stop at McDonald’s and it is tense. Lizzy is fussing so I get her out and take her for a walk. It seems to settle her for a bit. I tell Damon that we will need to find a KFC or Bojangles for Lizzy. She likes the mac and cheese or the potatoes and gravy. We stop at Popeye’s.  It’s a southern style fast food restaurant. Cajun style.  So I got a large mashed potatoes with butter.  The gravy would be too spicy hot for her.  I bring her up to the couch near the front and feed her.  She is so tired by this time so she starts to fuss. Whining is the worst.  Especially when you’re tired and I mean me. I mean, I feel bad for her being so tired and all, but, c’mon, I slept an hour!  I have to rotate toys to keep her interested and content.  So around 12:15, I notice that Em and Jack are sitting up in the front with us. The only air is in in the front of the RV.  I ask Em to keep her eye on Lizzy for a little bit so I can go to the back and take a little nap. I settle Lizzy with other toys and go to the back. Put my head down and immediately smell urine. I wake up two hours later.

We are almost there when I come back up to the front.  Within 10 miles.  Lizzy is really tired by now.  I can’t lay her down because there is no air in the back and she will overheat and have a seizure.  We get to the campground and pray that we have electricity. 

We find our site and I get out, as I always do, to help Damon get the camper in just right.  Damon puts it in park and I wait. He pops his head out the door and gives me a thumbs up.

I feed Lizzy soon after we arrive and then we eat.  Damon takes the kids to play tennis and swim. Lizzy starts to moan around 6:15 so I feed her and put her to bed for the night. She falls asleep almost immediately.  I have some down time, so I… sit. After swimming, Damon and the kids went to the campfire and the electric boat show. 

Having a child like Lizzy is difficult for me at times. I have missed out on Disney World day one memories with my other children and that makes me just sad.

Sunday Day 2

We are doing Holly Wood Studios today, which is my favorite park. Well it was before we had kids. We get up and take the dogs for a walk. When we come back, Em and Jack are already outside ready to go. My heart slumps because I know we have at least 30 more minutes because of Lizzy. They are ready to go.  I go in the camper and Lizzy is awake. So I start her breakfast and go to the back to change her.  Her legs aren’t working…at all.  She cries out in pain and immediately can see how this morning is heading.  Damon carries her to the front and put her on the couch.  I feed her breakfast, pack her backpack, and head out to the bus stop.

Lizzy loves to ride on a bus. However, I have a feeling something is about to happen when I snapped this picture.

See Damon’s arm? It’s perfect. Lizzy bangs her head back and if nothing is there, she will hurt her head.  But her look on her face and quietness concerned me.  About 15 seconds after I took this, Lizzy had a terrible grand mal seizure. It lasted about a minute but the effects of it lasted the morning.  She cried and moaned most of the morning at the park.  The only time she didn’t was at Beauty and The Beast.

                 

After we left there, Lizzy got worse and we decided to leave the park.  She was crying if we even try to make her walk some.  We were all frustrated and I was in tears by this point.  I was mad at her, I was worried about her, I was upset for Damon and the kids that we had to leave, and I was just stressed out.  Sweating and crying.

Back at the camper, Damon couldn’t get her to stand to change her diaper and I started to cry again.  I wish you were normal Liz. Yes. Right now, I wish you were a normal 15 year old. I fed her some fruit with some pain medicine and she laid down for a nap.

Lizzy woke up at 4:30. She was very tired and the pain medicine obviously worked.  I change her and she is still having trouble.  So I look over as I pull her to standing. I pick her up and I realize that it is probably her hip. Over the past two months, whenever I would stand her up, her right hip would make this low and deep click sound. I am pretty sure this is the problem.  I put her into her stroller and we go for an hour walk. 

We get back and I transfer her to a chair and turn on some music for her.  She seems content for now.

I see some girls peeking over from the next campsite.  There are five of them. They are curious about the squealing/whining from Lizzy. They finally come up to me while I am sitting with Lizzy and ask to pet our dog, Syd.  I say sure and then the floodgates open with questions about Lizzy.  She is older than all of them and they are really just curious. I answer all their questions. The best question was asked by the youngest. She asked, “What is her name?”  All kinds of questions.

• ·      Can she see
• ·      Can she hear
• ·      Can she walk
• ·      Does she go to school
• ·      Why is she handicapped
• ·      What does she eat
• ·      Can she go to the bathroom

All great questions from these five girls that just wanted to learn more about Lizzy.

When it was time for Lizzy to eat, I told her to wave good-bye to the girls and they said “bye Lizzy.” 

My guess is that they won’t forget Lizzy.

Lizzy eats her meal with her medicine and I let her play with a few toys on the couch. Hopefully her pain meds will kick in soon.  She is hurting. It does and she is sleeping 20 minutes later. 

I am upset. I have missed a whole day of fun with Em and Jack. I have no memories with them for this day. We will try again tomorrow.