This year has been a year of breakthroughs for one Fergus family and the local Zehrs had a big part to play in their story.
Melody Dekorte and her family learned that her daughter Scarlett, 4, had Rett syndrome in September of 2015.
“Rett syndrome is basically like they’re locked in a body that doesn’t cooperate,” Melody said. “So they know, they’re fully aware of what’s happening, it’s not a cognitive impairment, it’s a physical disability.
“So she’s aware, even though she can’t get her message out.”
Scarlett is unable to communicate verbally and she doesn’t have the muscle control to hold herself up and walk the way a typical four-year-old would.
One of the challenges Melody experiences daily is trying to grocery shop with Scarlett.
“I’d put her in the cart and because of her lack of muscle control … her legs would be hanging and it’s just uncomfortable so by the end of the trip she’s whining.”
Melody said she wanted to get in and get out of the store as quickly as possible and was not able to concentrate on her actual shopping.
That’s when she found out about Caroline’s Cart. The American invention allows a child or adult to sit in a comfortable chair attached to the cart while the caregiver pushes the cart and shops.
After approaching another retailer in Fergus with no success, Melody went to meet Fergus Zehrs manager Jeremy Hewitt.
“He listened to me, I explained about the Caroline’s Carts, also realizing too, this cart isn’t just for my daughter, realizing it can help so many different people, adults with Alzheimer’s or who just struggle with the long walk in the grocery store,” Melody said.
“He listened to me, he was really polite, really nice and kind; he told me okay that’s great, he took down my information.”
Hewitt said it was Melody and her situation that caught his attention.
“I saw it in her face the frustration of shopping and … when you see the child struggling and the mother struggling just to get simple groceries … I feel personally that we need to do whatever we can to make people’s lives easier,” said Hewitt.
So he did his own research and realized Caroline’s Cart would be an asset to the store.
“I’ve lived in Fergus now for 15 years and Fergus is quite a giving community I find, you know between the food banks and everything,” he said.
“So I saw this as an opportunity to for me to give back to the community.
“It’s a growing need, the way I look at it, with the accessibility act and everything, so it just looked like a great opportunity.”
Two carts were delivered in September and Melody said it has made a world of difference for her and Scarlett.
“We walk in, you can see she’s so happy … we’re like this is so cool and … she’s comfortable,” Melody said.
“Don’t get me wrong, sometimes she still whines because maybe the lights bother her eyes sometimes … (but) now I can actually do my full shop and knowing that she’s safe, that’s she’s not uncomfortable.”
Melody said it was the kindness Hewitt showed her that meant the most.
“There’s a lot more nice people out there and people who really do want to help and you just have to ask in a nice way,” she said.
“I want your kindness and I just want help and when people can offer that … it means the world.”
This year Scarlett also received her first eye-gaze technology system and is now able to use her gaze to communicate with her family. She also began school and is in junior kindergarten at Salem Public School, where the school board has leased an eye-gaze technology system to allow her to communicate in school as well.
Fergus is not the only Zehrs location that will have Caroline’s Carts, which cost about $800.
Hewitt said Zehrs stores with the highest need will likely have one cart per store soon and then the rest of the stores will likely offer them early next year.
“It’s not a cheap investment, so we’ve got to take it step by step. They’re pretty pricey carts but most of the stores will be getting one,” he said.
“They have more than one purpose so I thought it was important for us to have two of them.”
