When my daughter, Vivien, went a year without having seizures, my wife and I searched for extracurricular activities. Vivien tried several sports but enjoyed swimming the most.
We just wanted her to have some normalcy. There were limited places near our home that offered swimming. The one that looked good was Canyon Aquatics on the College of the Canyons City College campus in Santa Clarita.
The swim club assured us that it was not a competitive swim club. We explained that our daughter had epilepsy, and we were not looking to train her for the Olympics. We explained that one of us would be there at all times to watch her because of her Epilepsy. We didn’t want her to have a seizure and drown. We just wanted Vivien to have fun and get some exercise.
We paid for the swim club, and on the first day, the swim coach had Vivien swimming competition laps. She couldn’t keep up with the other kids and struggled in the water. The coach refused to help her and turned his back as she struggled to the side of the pool in tears.
We took her out of the water and asked to speak to the swim coach after class.
We sat down with coach Jeremy Anderson and explained again that our daughter had epilepsy and didn’t need to be a competitive swimmer. Jeremy Anderson didn’t care.
“She has a disability,” I pleaded. “There has to be something you can do to accommodate us?”
“I don’t handle disabilities,” replied Jeremy Anderson. “I handle winners.”
My wife and I were insulted. We stood up to leave, but Jeremey Anderson blocked the door. He wanted to fight me, but I knew better. If I got involved in an altercation, it would do nothing to help our situation. I would lose my job, my health insurance, and possibly go to jail. The only option I had was to swallow my pride and pray that karma would take care of the rest. Jeremy Anderson was just a selfish narcissist who had everyone else fooled.
The Canyon Aquatics Swim Board said they weren’t responsible for Jeremy Anderson. College of the Canyons said they weren’t responsible for the pool event though it was in the middle of their campus. The Epilepsy Foundation of Los Angeles said they couldn’t help. I contacted local news and radio stations but they didn’t care either. The Sheriff’s Department and Inspector Generals office said there was no crime. Several attorneys said there was no money to be made if I sued because no one had been injured.
Life went on, and we tried to forget about Jeremy Anderson. We built a pool in our backyard so Vivien could have a safe place to swim. Two years went by, and then a news headline caught my eye. Jeremy Anderson had been arrested in Costa Rica by the United States Marshalls.
The Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Department had been investigating him for almost a dozen counts of child molestation. He fled the country before investigators could arrest him. Two years later, they found him hiding out in Costa Rica. Jeremy Anderson then hung himself in his Costa Rican jail cell. It was a bizarre ending.
There are currently 60,000 children in the state of California living with Epilepsy and no laws protecting them. Schools can continue to discriminate against anyone with a disability. We need to change this.
© 2020 Mike Knox All Rights Reserved
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