KC-area girl just wants to swing. Now the city is buying a special one so she can

When Cassady Thompson gave birth to a very healthy baby six years ago in North Kansas City, she had no idea that her daughter, Evelyn, would be diagnosed with a rare chromosome disease after her first birthday.

After Thompson realized Evelyn was missing some key developmental milestones such as sitting up and holding her own weight, she turned to doctors for answers.

After several tests, Evelyn was diagnosed with 1p36 Deletion Syndrome, a rare genetic disease in which a piece of the top part of chromosome 1 is missing, or deleted. Doctors delivered the news during the height of the 2020 pandemic with very few answers, said Thompson.

“I was like ‘What the hell?’” she said. “We had a meeting with a geneticist, and this was in 2020, so it was all on Zoom…so stressful.”

There were several unknowns about how Evelyn would live. Some people with 1p36 Deletion Syndrome have heart conditions, seizures, developmental delays and more.

“Evelyn has a great life. She’s happy, she’s fun. Everyone loves her,” said her mom.

Now, Evelyn is in kindergarten within the North Kansas City School District. Since it feels great outside, she loves going to Dagg Park by her house.

But recently, she’s been growing out of her favorite pastime there: the swings.

“She loves to swing, like it’s probably her favorite thing to do at the park,” said Thompson. Explaining to Evelyn that she’s too big for the baby swing now isn’t working, and she doesn’t have the core coordination for the other swings, her mom said.

Sometimes that results in Evelyn constantly clicking the swing icon on her communication device to let her mom know that she’s serious about her swing and she wants to get on it. Other times, it can cause a tantrum.

Other parks in North Kansas City have adaptive swings that Evelyn could use, but Dagg Park is their favorite park in the area. Thompson says it’s clean, safe, located by emergency responders and has a splash pad for hot Kansas City days.

Recently, it occurred to Thompson that she could just ask her city representatives to purchase an adaptive swing not just for Evelyn, but for other people in the area who may need extra support or just wanna lay all the way back to swing.

She sent a picture to the city, and within two weeks, they responded. At a recent North Kansas City Parks and Recreation meeting, the board proposed a local nonprofit attached to the city could purchase the adaptive swing for a little over $1,900, including shipping.

“Other people may notice it’s there and may need to use it even if they aren’t disabled,” said Thompson.

Victoria Ressler, the city’s Parks director, said with council approval the nonprofit Parks Foundation would use a grant to purchase the adaptive swing.

The nonprofit would have to get approval from North Kansas City to use a grant initially received to create a mural. If approved, the foundation would instead use the money for the adaptive swing at Dagg Park.

The City Council will vote on Aug. 5 if the foundation can use grant funds to purchase the swing. If it is approved, Evelyn and Dagg Park visitors could play on the new swing as early as September.