04/13/2024
Hey everyone!
This post comes with a disheartening experience we had at Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation Mount Trashmore Park.
Let’s preface some things in a very open way: special needs parenting is different. Having a child in adaptive equipment is different. Being the child in adaptive equipment is different. Due to these differences, people tend to stare often times with pointing or whispers. It’s very off putting as the people getting stared at.
Let’s be clear; we’re happy and grateful for our circumstances, there’s no question about that.
We pondered and delayed taking Cooper to mount trashmore because of these experiences along with some other factors. Well, we finally decided to go so Coop could experience swinging.
After arriving at the park, the handicap parking was covered in rocks and debris making wheelchair/adaptive stroller traversing bumpy and uncomfortable. We loaded Cooper up on the wheelchair swing while looking everywhere for instructions for operation and people all around us staring.
We then think we have it ready, the swing slightly pushes one direction and when swinging back, the swing gets to the bottom and HARD STOPS! Hard stops directly at the bottom. This caused his wheels to go forward sharply even with properly locked wheels. Luckily we were hesitant on the big bars that come down without clear instructions.
We then continue to look around because maybe we’re missing something, people still staring. A few minutes goes by, I’ve looked up, down, side to side. I give up, I call the office. A guy answers the phone, I ask how to operate the wheelchair swing. He replies, “oh that thing? It’s always broken.” I ask, it’s always broken? He replies, “Yeah, it’s a prototype and the people who made it won’t do anything for it and it’s never working.” He proceeds with, “they’re thinking about removing it.” I ask, why is it not cordoned off with a sign saying out of order with social media postings clearly letting disabled families know this before having to go through all this? He replied, “I don’t know.” I hung up.
As we were unloading Cooper, a woman walked up and asked if we could figure it out? I told her the interaction from the phone call moments before. She said she just went through the process of loading her 7 year old son up in it but she couldn’t figure it out either.
We tried to make up the negative feeling of let down by going up the hill for a few sunset pictures with Cooper to see from the top and quickly was reminded that there isn’t a paved ramp to the top, but stairs and pure bumpy grassy terrain.
Long story short, big let down by this experience. It’s as simple as blocking it off and making the public aware that could’ve prevented this.
This page will be updates on Cooper King. He has Leigh Syndrome MT-ATP6 m.8993T>G at 98% heteroplasmy
