LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — One Jeffersonville mother is working to make the city more accessible for children with disabilities by helping install an accessible swing at a park.
Shelia Dennison lost her three-year-old son Ezra July 2024. He had a disability that made it hard for him to sit up without any support.
Kyle Vissing Park in Jeffersonville was one of Ezra's favorite parks. There was nowhere for him to swing though, and even though he was nonverbal, Dennison could tell he loved to swing.
This accessible swing is now at Kyle Vissing Park, in memory of Shelia Dennison's son, Ezra. (WDRB image)
"Between his facial expressions and me being his mom, I always knew what he felt, and swings were one thing that he loved," Dennison said.
After Ezra passed, Dennison realized there are a lot of other kids with disabilities in Jeffersonville. She then made it her mission to make sure children in the area have more accessible playgrounds.
"Ezra worked so hard his three years here, and I always felt that children weren't meant to work as hard as he did, so work hard, play harder was really my thing, so as hard as he worked, he deserved to play," Dennison said.
Around a year ago, she reached out to the Jeffersonville Parks Department about the accessible swing. Tuesday, the accessible swing, along with a double swing for parents to swing with their kid, were installed at the park.
Dennison said seeing children play on it has been a joy.
"If me having to have a great loss pushes me more to make sure that something that is very important happens, then it gives me the opportunity to talk about my son and make a difference to all the other kids in the community," Dennison said.
Dennison also started a nonprofit called Ezra's Leading Light. Their goal is to spread the importance of inclusion and give back to families and children in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Norton Children's Hospital.
The park is also going to add a plaque with Ezra's name and picture to honor him.
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