Girl with diabetes says she was banned from water slide because of insulin pump
The mom of a daughter with Type 1 diabetes called out a public park employee who allegedly kept the girl from riding a water slide because of the insulin pump she wears attached to her stomach.
“She was in tears and upset, as she has every right to be,” Beth McBride, of Kettering, Ohio, told Fox 45 about the incident involving her 12-year-old daughter, Alexis. “I mean she was discriminated against basically.”
Beth could not be reached for comment by Yahoo Beauty. But on Facebook, she noted on Aug. 13, “Well I am officially boycotting this place until they educate their lifeguards and managers! My kid cannot disconnect her omnipod insulin pump to go down water slides. She was told she could not use any of the water slides with her pump or Dexcom on. I tried to explain to the manager and he blew me off! Her pump is made to be in water. She can be on slides with it!!!”
On Monday, she added an update that she was meeting with the manager of the Kettering recreation department that evening.
The mom told the news station that not allowing her daughter on the water slide amounted to the town violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which, under Title III, “prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the activities of places of public accommodations (businesses that are generally open to the public and that fall into one of 12 categories listed in the ADA, such as restaurants, movie theaters, schools, day care facilities, recreation facilities, and doctors’ offices)…”
Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are considered disabilities under the ADA, according to the American Diabetes Association.
The town of Kettering did not reply to Yahoo Beauty’s request for comment, but did tell Fox 45 that officials were still gathering facts about the incident before issuing any public statement.
Alexis told the news station about what happened when she attempted to ride a water slide at the Adventure Reef Water Park, explaining, “It was that one slide and that one lifeguard, that when I walked up there she pointed at my insulin pump and said you cannot go on the slide with that on.”
Type 1 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association’s website, usually affects children and young adults and makes up only 5 percent of all people with diabetes. The site also explains that insulin pumps like Alexis’s, attached to catheters, can work in one of two ways: in a steady measured and continuous dose (the “basal” insulin), or as a surge (“bolus”) dose, at an individual’s direction, around mealtime. It’s not known what type of pump the 12-year-old wore, but it was the first time she had worn it exposed, with a two-piece swimsuit.
“It’s completely true bliss, the insulin is actually in a chamber here,” McBride told Fox 45. “It’s made to be worn in water parks, it’s made to be worn in the ocean, in showers and bathtubs; she’s allowed to wear it.” Removing it in order to ride the water slide, she added, could have led to her daughter’s death.
Fox 45’s Facebook post of this story has been shared more than 50 times, has more than 175 reactions, and inspired great debate in its comment section, with many expressing empathy and suggesting perhaps it’s just a matter of educating park employees. “Being type 1, this girl shouldn’t ever be ashamed or embarrassed of that insulin pump on your body! I embrace all the questions and looks I get daily. Secondly, this shouldn’t of happened,” noted one empathizer. Added another, “My heart goes out to Alexis. My husband has an insulin pump and sensor as well. Some people just don’t know what they are and the job that they do. Instead of automatically telling her that she cannot ride on the slide, the water park needs to be educated as to what role an insulin pump plays in a diabetic’s life.”
Other commenters, however, called the mother out for not simply disconnecting the pump momentarily. “As a mom of a Type 1 also, a child will NOT die with out the device. Yes it is made to withstand water but safety has to come first! What if it was ripped off and another person was struck by the device?” Many others also suggested that sliding with the pump could have been unsafe, with one noting, “Patient safety should always be first & foremost. What would have been more devastating is to have allowed her to go down the slide have the pump get snagged on the slide ripped from her body.”
Beth responded to many of those who called her out, though, noting in one case, “If it did happen to rip off it feels like an extremely stuck band aid. She would have came to me and we would have put on another one. I am always prepared with extra supplies.”
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