He said that Averie’s prostethic leg could “scratch the slides”.
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An Oklahoma family says they were discriminated against at a water park because of their daughter’s prosthetic leg.
Averie Mitchell, 8, wears a prosthetic after her leg was amputated due to a birth defect. But her prosthetic has never stopped her from having fun. As I mentioned, she is on a competitive gymnastic team and can do cartwheels on the balance beam.
“She was born with a condition called pseudarthrosis of the tibia”, Mitchell said.
Averie Mitchell hasn’t let her prosthetic leg stop her from flipping in gymnastics tournaments, darting down a flag football field or scaling a climbing wall. That’s why she and her family were so shocked at Frontier City’s Wild West Water Works.
‘We were getting ready to go down the slide and the attendant stepped in front of the slide and told Averie, “you can’t go down,”‘ Kim Mitchell, the young girl’s mother, told News Channel 4.
An 8-year-old little girl with a prosthetic leg was kicked off a slide at an Oklahoma water park and allegedly told that “those [the prosthetics] aren’t allowed on our equipment” by an attendant. “Right now I’m working on back walk overs”, says the 8-year-old. “She was crying, so I knew at that point that I needed to keep my calm, take care of her, then get the situation figured out”.
The startled and confused little girl burst into tears as she was unsure about what she’d done wrong.
“This just isn’t about Averie”, Kim said.
Averie’s father John Mitchell, says Frontier City discriminated.
But the 8-year-old’s family says she was forced to climb down from a slide at a water park over the weekend.
Shortly after, the park sent her a preliminary change to their ride policy, as Mitchell said they had promised.
Frontier City issued a statement saying “we never want to refuse our guests the opportunity to enjoy our attractions, but we must also always follow guidelines that have been set by our industry to insure the safety of all guests”.
The family said they were humiliated as they were escorted to the front of the park by security so they could speak to a manager.
“Like many water parks across the United States, regulations regarding loose articles and medical assistance devices are enforced to ensure the safety of each guest”, the park said.
When Averie went to get on a water slide, staff asked her to leave for a disturbing reason.
“Again, our first priority is guest safety and our mission is to provide the best experience possible for all of our guests”, the park said.
The park has since added this policy to their website, but the family is is still infuriated about the degrading treatment they received on their visit.
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Frontier City added it deeply regrets any disappointment caused to the family.
