Putting a boot into our original Easter plans… COMPLETED 5/3 - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I remember following along on Facebook during your ankle surgery saga. You all were having some crazy winter at that time, kind of like a lot of us here in the States.
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Wow! What an amazing Easter weekend you are going to have!! Your revised plans sound wonderful!! I hope your ankle is completely repaired!!
Well, not quite, as you'll see in due course.... it's been a much longer process than I expected, especially given the consultant told me I'd be a "few days off work" and a "couple of weeks before I could drive". Yeah, right. It's three weeks today since my op and I'm still off work and unable to drive....
That's crazy about the ankle! I know that you've had a problem with it for many years in your various TRs. I remember that freakish accident you had in the kitchen. You talk about bad karma and the minute chances of that happening and what the tray hit. Pretty slim, but did!
I know, right? I think it's just the way these things are. I'm convinced once you have an injury, karma just ensures that you keep getting injured.
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I remember following along on Facebook during your ankle surgery saga. You all were having some crazy winter at that time, kind of like a lot of us here in the States.
Yes we were - and I know a lot of this will be familiar to you, having seen it on Facebook at the time, so my apologies for any repetition.
Pre-trip report – part four: I’ll be in this for two weeks!
You re-join me as we attempt to get to the hospital for the operation on my ankle in snow. We headed down the road to the private hospital, and because it’s private and doesn’t do emergency work, the road there hadn’t been gritted. It was a nightmare. There was a patient car park nearer to the hospital, but you had no hope of reaching that, given you had a wicked speed bump to go over. Mark told me to get out of the car, and he’d park up.
As I started to walk up to the hospital, I heard the car struggling to move anywhere in the snow, then I finally heard it move. Thank goodness!
I headed inside and checked in. There were a number of other people who’d either made it in for surgery today or were due to be leaving today. I was hopeful that the surgery would go ahead and, sure enough, not long after 7:30am, we were taken down to my room. We were told they were doing that with everyone and there was no guarantee of surgery. Ok…
As we sat there, we watched the snow come down. It looked very pretty, but I knew it would also be deadly, as it was mounting up.
However, when my consultant walked in, I was convinced we’d be going ahead. He wasn’t so sure. He said he needed to see how many theatre staff were in. Darn it. I think you can guess where this is going… a little later, he came back to say there weren’t enough people in, so the operation was cancelled. That meant we’d now have to make our way home in the conditions which were becoming increasingly treacherous outside.
We made it to the car without falling over, as it was snow and ice out, and we somehow made it home. I’ll just say I wouldn’t have attempted it and had nothing but admiration for Mark driving in this. We saw cars being pushed up to the hospital, then we had idiots undertaking us (illegal in the UK) on carriageways covered with snow. It was crazy out there. As we reversed back on to the drive, the car started to skid and I told Mark to just leave the car there. We headed inside and frankly hid out until the weekend, as we had so much snow. It was just nuts. To give you an idea…
The snow is still falling…
Later on, we had beautiful blue skies and sunshine, so I ventured outside…
Here’s how much snow we had – for those who can’t see it, it’s 6 inches, which is masses for us!
Our back garden looked like some beautiful white alien landscape…
A week later, it was back to the hospital, and thankfully no snow!
I was calmer when we were admitted to the hospital, partially because I had no snow to worry about and partially because I at least had an idea of what would happen, what my room would look like etc. We were taken down not long after 7:30am, and I was told I was second in line, which wasn’t good, as I had been nil by mouth since midnight and had only had a couple of sips of water.
However, I was taken down earlier than I expected and was out of surgery by 10:30am. I cannot begin to tell you how relieved I was to wake up in the recovery room, as the last time I had general anaesthetic was when I was 20 and I had all four impacted wisdom teeth removed (I have never known pain like it! ). I woke up in the operating theatre. I was told before this surgery I was the one in three million, which somehow didn’t make me feel better. You should’ve seen how many people were in there when they knocked me out. One woman walked in and said “how many people does it take to put one patient to sleep?” and I got the impression was told to shut up. Obviously they didn’t want a repeat of my previous experience… and neither did I!
This was the result of my surgery…
This was not what I expected. My consultant had told me I’d be off work “for a few days” and “unable to drive for a couple of weeks”. Yeah right. I’d be in this darned thing for two weeks alone!
I cannot begin to tell you what a frustrating fortnight it was. These became my best friends…
But just imagine what you can’t do while you’re on two crutches? I’ll give you a clue, it’s a heck of a lot. If it hadn’t been for Mark, I don’t know what I’d have done. He was an absolute angel looking after me. A rucksack helped to get cans and glasses around, but a hot drink was much more challenging. Eventually, about 10 days after my op, I finally found a refillable Aulani mug to get my tea from the kitchen into the front room in. Such a relief!
Then, two weeks after the operation, it was back to the hospital to see if I could come out of the plaster cast. I cannot begin to tell you how little I slept in the nights leading up to that appointment. Part of it was fear of having to put up with the cast even longer, but part of it was about what it would mean for this trip….
Oh my word, what an ordeal!!! That Mark is a definite keeper!!
Oh he is completely! Mind you, after 21 years together and 18 years married, I did already know that. I really couldn't have coped without him at all though.
That was such a crazy amount of snow for you guys!
It was. I think it was the worst that we've had since back in December 2011. Then, I worked from home for just over a week, as it was impossible for me to get to work, so it happens, but not that often.
Now that's some serious snow, even more so for you guys! For those who aren't used to driving in it, it is indeed dangerous. There's a lot of stupid people who think they can drive in any kind of weather....
I know the cast sucked (simply put!), but in the long run this whole ordeal should be 100% worth the trouble!! Fingers crossed, anyway.
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Now that's some serious snow, even more so for you guys! For those who aren't used to driving in it, it is indeed dangerous. There's a lot of stupid people who think they can drive in any kind of weather....
Yes, sadly there are... everywhere in the world I think!
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I know the cast sucked (simply put!), but in the long run this whole ordeal should be 100% worth the trouble!! Fingers crossed, anyway.
That is a lot of snow for an area that doesn’t normally get it. Good thing the surgery was postponed as you might have had trouble getting back to the car. Hope all is well for you to go on the Easter trip.
That is a lot of snow for an area that doesn’t normally get it. Good thing the surgery was postponed as you might have had trouble getting back to the car.
That was my fear. Even getting back to the car and being able to walk normally was tough in that snow!
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Hope all is well for you to go on the Easter trip.
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Your revised plans sound wonderful!! I hope your ankle is completely repaired!! 
I know that you've had a problem with it for many years in your various TRs. I remember that freakish accident you had in the kitchen. 
You talk about bad karma and the minute chances of that happening and what the tray hit. Pretty slim, but did! 
I think it's just the way these things are. I'm convinced once you have an injury, karma just ensures that you keep getting injured.
). I woke up in the operating theatre. I was told before this surgery I was the one in three million, which somehow didn’t make me feel better. You should’ve seen how many people were in there when they knocked me out. One woman walked in and said “how many people does it take to put one patient to sleep?” and I got the impression was told to shut up. Obviously they didn’t want a repeat of my previous experience… and neither did I! 
Mind you, after 21 years together and 18 years married, I did already know that. I really couldn't have coped without him at all though. 
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