Walker Co. family frustrated after custom Spina Bifida wheelchair destroyed by airline

NAUVOO, Ala. ( WIAT ) — A family in Walker County is upset after six-year-old Charlie Cleghorn’s custom-made wheelchair was destroyed on a flight back to Birmingham from Hawaii. Charlie has Spina Bifida and having a custom wheelchair is crucial for him to comfortably get around.

The Cleghorns said to fly with Charlie’s chair they had to break it down and put parts of it in a bag. They say the chair made it to Hawaii with no damage, but, when they got home, Charlie’s chair was returned to them in a condition that warrants replacement instead of repair.

“There was only one wheel left, one of the big wheels,” Charlie said.

The Cleghorn family said it could be two or three months before Charlie gets his new wheelchair. In the meantime, he’s in a loaner chair but it’s too big for him.

“It’s probably for a 10 or 11 year old and he’s six. It’s just not for him,” Charlie’s dad Terrance Cleghorn said. “It’s a good 6-7 pounds heavier which, again, to you and I is not a whole lot but when you’re young and you’re small and you’re pushing it constantly, it certainly wears you down quickly.”

The Cleghorns said they’ve been in communication with American Airlines about the broken wheelchair, but feel like they’re not being taken seriously.

“One of the questions that was asked was ‘did you bring it like this onto the aircraft?’ and of course we don’t often carry our son in a frame with one wheel, he doesn’t like to do circles,” Cleghorn said. “‘Could he walk to the car?’ and obviously he can’t, he has no weight bearing on his ankles or feeling from his knees down so he physically can’t.”

The Cleghorns said they feel like their claim was denied by American Airlines in an email last Friday.

The Cleghorns said they then got a phone call from the airline on Monday asking for more information about Charlie’s wheelchair.

“Originally, it seemed like it was going to be a streamlined process and I think the verbiage they used at one point was ‘tell us how much and we’ll write a check,’ which we were overjoyed of course, that was very quick,” Cleghorn said. “Then they came back and said no.”

American Airlines released a statement saying:

“We want every customer who flies with us to have a positive travel experience, and we know how important it is to support the independence of customers who utilize wheelchairs or other assistive devices. After completing their travels, our team immediately reached out to the customer to apologize and initiate the claim process. We have remained in regular contact with the customer and American has not denied any claims regarding this damaged device. We will continue working alongside our partners, the customer and their preferred technician to provide the customer with a full replacement.”

The Cleghorns said Charlie’s custom chair costs thousands of dollars and they just want their son to be able to play and have a comfortable life again soon.

“It’s a difference between him being able to be as, for lack of a better word, as normal and as comfortable as possible,” Cleghorn said. “We feel that the, especially in children, the disabled community is not heard as much as they need to be.”

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