Those using the word disabled must not have met Drumheller’s five-year old Keagan Farmer.
The Greentree Elementary kindergarten student is a going concern with his walker, required equipment for the youngster, due to the effects on his muscles from Tri-Spastic Cerebral Palsy, which he was diagnosed with at birth. The “tri” means Keagan has three limbs severely affected-in his case, both legs and an arm.
We were lucky enough to meet Keagan at a park in Newcastle, which is a few steps away from his grandma's house, and where the Town of Drumheller recently installed a special bucket seat swing for use by kids with mobility concerns. The swing comes complete with its own front harness seat belt for added security.
“I love that swing,” Keagan said. “I had two times.”
Newcastle resident and proud grandma Linda Farmer said she and daughter Stacey came across a similar swing at a park in Calgary’s Dalhousie area, where they travel with Keagan regularly for his physical therapy sessions.
Farmer said they took a photo of the swing with a mobile phone, and contacted the Town’s Allan Kendrick, Director of Infrastructure Services, asking if there was any way the Town could help out.
The Town had the swing ordered, shipped and installed just over a month later.
Linda and Stacey are extremely happy at the swing’s installation, and purely delighted at the quick turn around from posing their request to the time it took Public Works staff to install the swing at the little park.
“With Keagan’s mobility issues,” explains Linda, “everything we try to do or order takes six months. That’s why we were so totally impressed,” she said of the Town’s response.
“I think we’d like to say, on behalf of the Town, it’s a positive feeling when you can make a positive difference in the quality of someone’s life,” said Infrastructure Operations Manager Kevin Blanchett.
