Local girl with special needs asked to leave public pool due to flotation device
Posted Jul 3, 2019 08:00:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Chris Wheaton is the father of five-year-old Selina who was born with Cri-Du-Chat Syndrome.
This rare genetic disorder occurs when a piece of chromosome five is missing and can affect a person's sensory abilities.
Wheaton was on The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS. He spoke about the incident involving Selina's flotation device at Kiwanis Pool over the weekend.
“Some people were sent over to ask us to get it out – this is what the boss said has to happen. We measured the dingey, it was under three feet. While we were in the midst of measuring her little raft, the manager was coming over. When he saw that we had measured, I was explaining to the maintenance man that it was under three feet, he made a bee line back, made the announcement after the fact that all flotation devices had to be removed.”
According to Wheaton, his family was asked to leave following four hours at the park with no issues regarding their flotation device.
“So we were confused on why now, and why at this point? Now, I've been going to Kiwanis Park all of my life, and I've seen it get packed, crammed busy, and I understand how busy it can get but it was no where near capacity. To the point of, my wife was sitting in a foot of water, not in the sight of a lifeguard, you know, towards the other swimmers, in one spot with my daughter, with nobody anywhere near here. So we were confused as to what the issue was.”
Denise Keelan, Manager of Aquatics at the City of Kitchener, told The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS that the city is deeply sorry for the family's experience.
“The pool on the afternoon of Sunday had over 300 people. The lifeguards made the choice to remove the flotation devices so that they would have better visibility of all of the swimmers.”
“Unfortunately, the staff who interacted with the Wheaton family could have made the communication a bit more understanding, and we are working on some messaging and some training with those staff to make sure this does not happen again.”
Wheaton has been in contact with both Keelan and Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. He says both conversations were sincere and apologetic.
