Letter: 12-year-old tests beach wheelchairs, gives thumbs up

The following letter to the editor was sent by Alyssa Hébert, age 12, who says she recently enjoyed the use of Pancake Bay Provincial Park's new beach wheelchairs:

This past weekend, my family and I went camping at Pancake Bay Provincial Park. At the park they provided two special chairs for people with physical disabilities.

One was called a Mobichair. It was a wheelchair with floats and it has big wheels. This allowed it to go into the water and to be pushed on the beach. The other one was a regular wheelchair with bigger wheels that made it easier to push on the sand.

I tried both of them out. My dad pushed me along the beach. We tried the floating wheelchair but the water was freezing!! The other wheelchair was easier for my dad to push on the sand.

I really enjoyed being able to join my family for walks along the beach instead of being stuck in one place. These wheelchairs are the BEST!

I love camping with my family and these wheelchairs would make it so much more fun when we go. I wish that all the Parks had these wheelchairs for campers to use because it enables accessibility to all.