BARRHEAD — A young Barrhead girl has been granted her wish for an outdoor swim spa.
On March 31, a small group of volunteers gathered at Jason and Kirstie's Schatz home to install the spa that they received through the Children's Wish Foundation.
The Children's Wish Foundation is Canada's largest wish-granting charity. Since its creation in 1985, they have granted more than 25,000 children coping with a life-threatening illness.
The Schatz's made the wish on behalf of their four-year-old daughter Aubrey, who suffers from Beals Syndrome — a rare genetic connective tissue disorder that causes bones, joints, muscles and tendons and other tissue to form improperly.
In Aubrey's case, her biggest issue is that she suffers from severe scoliosis, as well as joint and muscle issues. Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine has a sideways curve.
"She loves to swim and the hot water is really good for her joints and muscles," Kristie said.
The Schatz's reached out to the foundation last year. They found out Aubrey's wish had been granted in November.
The foundation has four categories of wishes: I wish to go, I wish to be, I wish to have and I wish to meet.
The foundation's website states the most popular wishes tend to be for travel, entertainment centres, computer systems, and meeting celebrities.
Wishes are granted on the recommendation of the foundation's medical advisory team based on the child's medical needs.
"We decided to ask for the swim spa because this will give her a lot of enjoyment and help alleviate her pain in her joints and muscles for years to come," Kristie said.
She added the spa came at a perfect time because a surgery that would help alleviate some of Aubrey's symptoms has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Now she has something to do light therapy in to help keep her pain levels down until she can have her surgery," Kristie said. "We are in very strict isolation because [COVID-19] can very dangerous for her."
Besides the foundation, she said it took a small team of local businesses and organizations to make Aubrey's wish to come true, including Barrhead Electric, Dual Construction, Blum Construction as well as Barrhead Regional Fire Services (BRFS).
Dual Construction prepared the gravel pad for the spa, Blum's Construction built the decking, and Barrhead Electric did all the necessary wiring while the fire department filled the spa with water.
All totalled, it took two hours to install, though, Kristie noted that preparation of the site started weeks in advance.
"We are very grateful to everyone that took part in making this happen, especially during this pandemic," Kristie said.
