Five-year-old Ayla Layden can only describe the incident as scary after she received an electric shock while attending a summer camp last week.
Ayla says while at the Vivo For Healthier Generations camp on Friday, she and other kids were making crocodile crafts using clothes pins when she found a stray one laying on the floor. She removed a metal coil from the pin and did what kids do — let curiosity get the best of her.
“I stuck it in a socket,” said Ayla. “And then I flew back and then the councillors came to me.”
According to Ayla, the councillors were nowhere to be seen when the incident happened. She said they were in another gym.
“They weren’t watching any (of the) kids,” said the five-year-old, “they’re supposed to be watching (the) kids.”
Ayla was taken to the children’s hospital in Calgary where she was treated for second and third-degree burns to her right hand.
Her mother Kiana said when she approached the summer camp to get answers as to how this happened, she was met with hostility.
“I’m just a desperate mother looking for answers and they can’t even provide me with just a statement on what happened,” Kiana said.
On Tuesday, Vivo’s CEO Cynthia Watson took to social media in a statement to acknowledge the situation.
Watson noted that a city safety codes officer was on site Tuesday “to review the incident.”
“Their review has indicated that, unfortunate as the incident was, it was handled appropriately and no further risks are posed to our guests,” the statement read.
However, that statement wasn’t enough for Kiana who is still wondering how this could have happened to her little girl.
“I just need answers and they’ve been so negligent and uncompliant,” Kiana said.
“I have no other choice obviously than to reach out to whoever I possibly can and report them in every sense I can.”