The Gellisen family is calling on Air Canada to make amends for the way they were treated when several of their family members were forced off a flight over tensions related to a teen’s wheelchair. Kadey Schultz’s son, Emery, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare disease that mostly affects boys. Due to this condition, he can only walk short distances and uses a wheelchair the rest of the time. When preparing for a trip, Schultz arranged for the wheelchair to be stowed in the cabin, which was confirmed by Air Canada in an email communication. However, when they met with an Air Canada employee to make the arrangements for Emery to board the airplane and have his chair stowed properly, the careful plan began to unravel. The flight attendant refused to make the closet available for Emery’s wheelchair as she had already stored things in it. Although Schultz had documents demonstrating Emery’s wheelchair had been approved, Air Canada staff did not accommodate their needs, and the family was forced to take a new flight the next day. Emery’s mother, who is an award-winning litigation lawyer and disability advocate, is concerned that Air Canada has a cultural problem regarding their commitment to equity for people with disabilities. She said that families already have to deal with so much more stress to ensure a trip goes smoothly when a family member has a disability, and for all of that work to be thrown out at the gate of the airplane is hugely upsetting. She wants to ensure that no one else has to deal with “the fear that we experienced dealing with Air Canada, the uncertainty that we experienced, but also the loss of the time wrapping up our amazing family holiday.”
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