Cruel attack ruins family’s penguin visit

A family visit to the Penguin Parade last week ended in tears thanks to a heartless message scrawled on their car windows.

Jessica Allen from Drouin was at the parade with her husband and two children Milla (4) and Lachlan (2). But this was no ordinary family outing.

Little Lachlan has a malformation of the brain and has already endured 14 surgeries in his short life, as well as spending his first six months in ICU. He needs to have an oxygen cylinder and a CPAP machine in order to breathe and the equipment has to be carried with him wherever he goes.

Getting to share the excitement of the Penguin Parade was a big deal for the family.

Jessica said the family has a disability parking permit and legally parked in a disabled parking bay when they visited the parade. But they returned to their car to find the words “You should be ashamed” scrawled across the car windows.

Jessica burst into tears when she saw it.

“Lachey is very sick and this is the first time we’ve left the house in six months, so it’s heartbreaking for this to happen. After I got over the emotion of the hurt, I realised it’s a lack of education. People aren’t aware disability comes in many forms.”

This is not the first time Jessica has been attacked for using disability parking, but she believes people shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

“They must have seen us get out of the car. I’m not sure what they saw, but I wish they had come up and asked us what was going on. People have no idea what we’re dealing with,” she said.

“I felt so hurt when we got back to the car and saw those words. It really, really hurt.”

She hopes sharing their experience will raise awareness and help people realise that not all disabilities are obvious, and disability comes in many different forms.

She also hopes it will stop another person encountering the kind of abuse her family received.

“Words can hurt. It’s not okay to do that.”

Penguin visit

Although the night ended badly, Jessica was full of praise for the rest of their Penguin Parade visit.

“We were so impressed with the facilities they had at the centre. To be honest, we were petrified how we were going to manage to get seating and get the pram through.

“We couldn’t afford to buy the tickets for good viewing, so we bought general admission.

“One of the rangers saw us arrive, a lady called Heather and she was so amazing to us. She put us in a good position and really went over and above for us, to make sure we were comfortable. She did everything she could to make it as great as possible for the kids.”

Sally O’Neil, Community Engagement Officer for the Phillip Island Nature Parks said: “We very happy we could put a smile on the faces of Lachey and family as they enjoyed their viewing experience, accessible facilities and our team’s attention and support on the night of their visit to the Penguin Parade.”

Sally said it was disappointing and concerning that the actions of a member of the public upset the family when they returned to the carpark.

“We have spoken to the family and invited them to plan a return visit so we can make this a very special experience for them when it is suitable to do so. We wish Lachey and family the best of luck and our thoughts are with them.”

Sally said the Penguin Parade visitor centre was designed to ensure that people of all abilities can enjoy the experience, adding “our team are always on hand to assist in this”.

“We are proud the centre is one of the few places in Bass Coast equipped with a Changing Places facility with fully accessible public toilets with additional features and equipment to meet the needs of all visitors.”

Return trip

Hopefully the family will be able to return and enjoy the island’s hospitality soon.

Jessica’s mother Suzanne lives at Sunset Strip and because of Lachlan’s illness, they aren’t able to catch up regularly.

“We hadn’t been to mum’s house in 12 months,” Jessica said, explaining it was hard for the family to travel, as they have “full-time nursing support for Lachlan at home”.

On top of that, Lachlan is now scheduled for another round of surgery and is facing a month in ICU. Jessica said his doctors have recommended the little boy has a tracheotomy, to provide him with the respiratory support he needs.

She said incidents like the one at the Penguin Parade add to the stress the family is already facing.

“It’s brought up so much more for us to think and worry about. This new operation means he will look a lot more scary, and different to people who don’t understand.

“People like that make me second guess what I’m doing.

“Do I stand strong and try and let him live a normal life as much as he can, and face the risk of people judging him?”