Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Ya, but at 31 and as a father myself, one would hope that their mom would be cool!
Originally Posted By Coachbagfanatic1 LOL, I hope so too. There are a lot of things that I would like to do and try but my weak stomach and equilibrium stops me from doing a lot. So I live vicariously through others.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <I lost my aunt to cardio myopathy (in the movie Beaches) at the age of 36 - only 4 years to go for me.< same disease just took my universities head football coach today at age 52 -- picture of health otherwise....
Originally Posted By TDLFAN davewasbaloo, you silly brit-wannabe. All those individual posts to add on to this topic and you MISSED the "dalmnatians" post. ARGH!
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb Dalmatians would have been poor show in this thread, don't you think?
Originally Posted By kennect I can't believe what I have read above and I haven't even read half of the posts.... There is "no convience" in blaming a death on heart disease...Get off that...It does exist and results like this can happen...Apparently the ride itself doesn't kill people...Get off the smart attitude when such is said...There are just folks around here with an attitude that just makes me really want to puke...I am dealing with heart disease...I know I am and therefore I won't be dealing with any of these rides that don't agree with my problem...But cause of death listed as such isn't a convience on anyone's part... Secondly and most fun...I do interior design work as I have said many times before...I had a client years ago that was contracted by the Six Flag parks to handle problem relating to injuries and deaths of visitors of the parks...His greatest comment me to was when a death did happen in the park the most important thing was to cover the body immediately with some type of cloth...That way the local media couldn't get a photo opp. of the actual person....It all sounded so strange but he said it in such a matter of fact way...It just came across as another days business and you do the best you can to cover the pr damage of such an event...It was all about the park not the person who got dealt the serious blow....
Originally Posted By kennect And yet I have to find a great deal of fun in Dave's posts above...He points out something that I never paid attention to even though I have wept through "Beaches" too many times... I am dealing with Cardio Miopathy along with a few other minor details...Now does this mean when it kills me I have to have the "Winds" bit sung or played at my funeral? I don't think so...I get a very simple cremation without any kind of memorial service, etc....While all of this is very very serious and peopole should be more attentive to the subject than they are I have to say this...I was told a couple of years ago I was a ticking time bomb and ready to fall over dead at any moment...Well, it hasn't happened yet and I don't see it happening anytime soon even though,as I said above in an earlier post, that I just found out I apparently have had a second heart attack....But I don't have to worry about roller coasters doing me in...I have always hated them...I will die standing on my own two feet....The main issue though is the idea that heart disease is showing up these days in age groups that are much younger than what have ever been seen before...It is a major issue for all human's not just older adults...I just can't wait for the day when the outrageous thrill rides aren't the hot item and those fun old dark rides come back into fashion...
Originally Posted By oc_dean My question is .. what specifically about the ride would cause heart failure? Something with the G forces at the catapult launch at the beginning? The natural adrenaline rush from the excitement? What?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "...I just can't wait for the day when the outrageous thrill rides aren't the hot item and those fun old dark rides come back into fashion..." I am totally with you here Kennect, I would much prefer to ride attractions with my babies, parents and in laws (well, maybe not the in-laws ;-) And as for the ticking timebomb, I was told 23 years agomy mom would not see me grow up. Well she lived on to have 3 more kids and see her grandchildren. So hang on in there buddy. I'm thinking of having either the Muppet Show theme tune or There's a great big beautiful tomorrow at my service when my number's up!
Originally Posted By Coachbagfanatic1 kennect - I understand completely what you are saying. You have made the choice for yourself not to ride the rides due to your heart disease. I would do the same thing. But the only thing is if a person is not aware that they have any type of heart disease, defect, etc. than how are they to know not to go on specific rides or any rides for that matter. You don't and this seems to me that this is the case with this 12 year old boy. They were not aware of his condition. I don't feel anyone is playing the blame game here. I just think we are all expressing our opinions. Maybe I missed something here. >>The father of a 12-year-old boy who died after riding a roller coaster at the Disney-MGM theme park told authorities his son was in good health and did not suffer from any medical conditions.<<
Originally Posted By BlazesOfFire I am concerned by the fact that there was no AED around. I see them in the lobbies of Disney hotels and think that is great, but there should be one available all over the place, just in case.
Originally Posted By momof4boys >>>>My question is .. what specifically about the ride would cause heart failure? Something with the G forces at the catapult launch at the beginning? The natural adrenaline rush from the excitement? <<<<< My 7 year old son has cardiomyopathy. There are different types of cardiomyopathy and some of them are more prone to problems from thrill rides. I belong to an online support group for parents of children with cardiomyopathy and you can imagine this has been a hot topic. The risk comes from several areas- the G force, the sudden increase in heart rate and the sudden increase in blood pressure. Many of these children are assymptomatic and their families have no idea there is a problem until it is too late. Now my soap box- death from children's cardiomyopathy is higher than that of childhood cancer. It is more prevalant than pediatric aids. However there is little funding for treatment and a cure because it is not very well known. Sorry, I just had to add that. It is something that is on my mind every day.
Originally Posted By Labuda "I am concerned by the fact that there was no AED around. I see them in the lobbies of Disney hotels and think that is great, but there should be one available all over the place, just in case." Heck, I've even seen them at bus stops at the resorts, so WHY was one not available at this "thrill" ride?
Originally Posted By imadisneygal I agree about the AED being available at the thrill rides, because it makes sense to have them there. That said, it is not a guarantee that it would have even been appropriate treatment for this child. It is used for defibrillation so unless there was fibrillation occurring it wouldn't have even sent a charge to the boy's heart. Again, I agree with having them there and available, I just have no idea if it would have helped this young man. If he wasn't having fibrillation then it wouldn't have done anything.
Originally Posted By Labuda "That said, it is not a guarantee that it would have even been appropriate treatment for this child. " Excellent point, gal. No guarantee whatsoever it would have been appropriate for the little boy who died, but I'm just amazed, in general, that this device isn't on-hand at RRC.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros It seems to me that there would be a much higher risk of heart attack on a roller coaster than walking through the lobby of a hotel or waiting for the bus. Now, it is entierly possible that I am missing something, but if Disney has AED's at bus stops and in lobbies, they should definately have them at each of their thrill rides. I would think that it would have been the other way around, with none at the hotels, but all over the parks, but what do I know?
Originally Posted By gardenrooms "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone When I first heard this quotation, I thought how well it describes that part of what it means to be a parent. I cannot imagine the depth of these parents' grief and I hope I never will be able to, and my heart breaks for the little brother who has lost his big brother. I only hope that little Michael's time in WDW was among his happiest days in his far too brief life, in that wonderful place with his father blessedly back with his family. Though I am sure his family will forever regret going to WDW - I don't even know how to complete this thought. I feel so badly for everyone touched by this tragedy.
Originally Posted By BlazesOfFire Just in case, if one was applied, it would detect to see if a shock was needed or not. CPR would be done until someone brought the AED. Since the CPR was not working, I would think that the AED would be appropriate. And while it may not work, its something to try. Do i think Disney is liable now though? No...it was a heart defect sadly enough.
Originally Posted By jkayjs I thought I saw an AED at the exit area by the cash register @RRC but I guess I didn't. I even thought I remembered making a comment to my daughter about it in May when we were there. I must have planted that memory at the wrong location. Perhaps it is because I expected to see one there.Bottom line I bet there will be soon. Whether or not an AED would have worked for this boy not only depends on the presence of a shockable rhythm but also on his size and the equipment. Smaller children require different energy levels from adults. Unfortunately there are many variables and no one will ever know for sure. Because bad things happen everyday, everywhere this topic will reappear. Did the ride malfunction? Probably not. Did it contribute to this youngsters death? Maybe. Could he have collapsed while sitting on a bench or using the restroom? Sure. The human body is an amazing thing. It can be as tough as nails and as delicate as tissue paper. It is these very polor opposites that make life so precious and fleeting at the same time. I hope in time this family finds some inner peace.
