When Tyler Gludovatz, Store Manager of the recently opened Buy-Low Foods in Langdon, heard of the Lockie family, he jumped into action to make the families shopping experience a little bit easier.
Nineteen month old Braxton Lockie suffers from a disability due to a complex brain malformation, which has caused him to have dandy walker malformation, lissencephaly, agenisis of the propus collosum, vision impairment, feeding and breathing issues, and epilepsy. This has caused him to be significantly delayed developmentally and especially causes him to struggle with motor coordination and therefore cannot sit unassisted.
“A couple wonderful employees at Buy Low knew of Braxton’s struggles and had seen me trying to shop. Before the Caroline’s Cart, since Braxton can’t sit in a typical shopping cart, I took Braxton in his supportive stroller and was only able to buy as much as I could carry in a basket. These employees helped to advocate for the need for a specialized shopping cart to help us. I was very surprised when they told me that the Caroline’s Cart was ordered. I know many families have to advocate and fight to get these carts, and many stores won’t get them because of the cost. When we asked about the Caroline’s Cart we only knew of one other store in Alberta that had purchased the special needs cart. Since then I have heard that a couple other stores have the cart on order. We are very excited that knowledge about the Cart is spreading and retailers are coming on board”, explained Braxton’s mom – Tara Lockie.
Caroline’s Cart is a shopping cart created for special needs children. It provides parents and caregivers a better option for transporting their child through a store while grocery shopping, without having the impossible task of having to maneuver a wheelchair and a traditional grocery cart at the same time. It is named after Caroline, the special needs daughter of Drew Ann and David Long.
Drew Ann Long saw the need for Caroline’s Cart after realizing her daughter would outgrow a typical shopping cart. Knowing what was needed, she founded Parent Solution Group, LLC, designed the cart, applied for a patent, and enlisted the services of legal and business professionals to help her bring the cart to market. Her mission was to make Caroline’s Cart available to retailers everywhere, providing a quality product for special needs children that further enables their participation in mainstream society with their family through the common activity of grocery shopping. There was only one place that shared her dream and had the technical know-how to make a cart worthy of her daughter’s name. That company was Technibilt. Technibilt is headquartered in Newton, NC, where their main production and distribution facility is located. They have additional distribution centers in North Las Vegas, NV, and Montreal, Canada. Drew Ann’s hope is that one day all retailers will provide an equal opportunity shopping experience for parents and caregivers of special needs children by furnishing them the option of a Caroline’s Cart. All families deserve to have this option, so they can enjoy the freedom of shopping with their special needs child. You can learn more about Caroline’s carts by visiting their website is http://www.carolinescart.com/
Gludovatz said that once he heard of situation with the Lockie family and then met the family, he knew that something had to be done to make their shopping experience less stressful. “I just felt that it was a really great thing that we could get a cart in here that would help them out with their grocery shopping experience. We did a little research and we found out about this possible company and we then did some research on them and then the company said go ahead with it and we went and ordered it up for them”.
The cart cost about $900 and had to be built and shipped from the United States. Well worth the cost in the eyes of the Buy-Low Foods store manager.
The cart has a special bucket seat that is able to support children who cannot move or support their body in a typical fashion. It has a 5 point harness so it is both comfortable, and safe if Braxton had a seizure in it. The cart has extra wheels and brakes, so it won’t tip with the weight of a growing child.
The grateful mom continued, “We are very grateful to Buy Low for providing this cart. This allows me to do something as normal as grocery shopping, which previously was very difficult and stressful. Sometimes having a child with disabilities makes me feel invisible, it can be easier to stay home and avoid public places when they are not accessible and people give your child odd looks when they can’t do typical activities. It’s a blessing to have a local grocery store where the staff saw and addressed our needs. We are excited to be able to go grocery shopping in a store that supports their community in this way. We can’t thank Buy Low Foods enough”.
