Girl with crohn's poops her pants when Old Navy refuses to let her use the bathroom

[The1calledTKE]

How mean of the manager. I feel sorry for that poor girl.

CHICAGO -- A Chicago-area teenager's trip to a well-known clothing store turned into a humiliating nightmare recently when, despite her medical condition, she was denied access to a bathroom.

HealthWatch reporter Nesita Kwan talked with 14-year-old Ally Bain following the incident and learned that the teen's summer days are much like those of other teenagers.

She plays with friends, she's a budding young painter who spends time on her artwork and, like most teens, she likes to shop. But, Ally also has Crohn's disease, a sometimes severe and painful inflammation of the intestine that is often accompanied by uncontrollable diarrhea.

"When I have to go to the bathroom, I have to go at that time," the teen told NBC5.

Due to her illness, Ally has a card that explains the situation, just in case she finds herself somewhere with no public restroom. Kwan said that she's only used the card once, at the Old Navy store in Norridge.

Her mother, Lisa Bain, told Kwan that the two of them had one of the worst experiences in their lives at the store.

"I told my mom I had to go to the bathroom, and she said 'OK,'" Ally recalled of their day at Old Navy.

The Bains say they waited 5 - 10 minutes for the manager to arrive and give them permission, but even with the card, the answer was "no."

"So, my mom was saying that I really do need to go, and I started crying because it gets really hard to hold it," Ally said.

"He just kept saying, 'I'm making a managerial decision and we don't have a public washroom,'" Lisa Bain said.

The two went back and forth, and "then it happened," Kwan said. The teen lost control and soiled herself in her most embarrassing moment, right in the store.

"When I couldn't hold it anymore, it was very humiliating. I felt like people knew that it happened," Ally said.

Her mother said she can't recall ever being so frustrated and angry.

"He didn't pay any attention to the fact that she was crying," Lisa Bain said of the store manager. "There was no compassion."

Furious, Lisa Bain bought her daughter a change of clothes, left the store and immediately began calling Old Navy officials.

the link to the full story..
http://www.nbc5.com/health/3663327/detail.html

How awful.

We have 3 Old Navy stores here, and thankfully each store has a public bathroom right next to the fitting rooms.

I hope Old Navy officials take care of this manager and school him on customer service skills. It wouldn't hurt to educate him on Crohn's either.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

In the manager's defense, if an area is designated as "Employees Only," the company's insurance does not cover anything that may happen to a non-employee in that area. With the amount of litigation that takes place today in our country, the manager can't risk breaking a company policy.

[KSigkid]

That's awful...I can see being picky about who you let use your bathrooms, but that's ridiculous.

There should be exceptions for medical emergencies.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by DeltaBetaBaby
In the manager's defense, if an area is designated as "Employees Only," the company's insurance does not cover anything that may happen to a non-employee in that area. With the amount of litigation that takes place today in our country, the manager can't risk breaking a company policy.

I'll bet there will litigation of another kind due to this guys intransigence. When people have a physical condition, there should be exceptions.

On the other hand, it sounds like in the time they waited for and argued with the mananger, they could have easily gone to another store or found a public rest room.

[honeychile]

In this sue-happy society, this is a lose-lose situation.

What I don't understand is:
1) If this girl & her mother knew that they were going to be out for any length of time, why didn't she wear a type of Depends? If I knew that there was a possibility of incontinence, I'd certainly wear them! Yes, it's hard for a teenager to be different, but she knows that she has Crohn's - the stores don't know whether to believe her or not.

2) Why in the world would her mother buy her clothing at Old Navy (assuming that there are other stores nearby)?

[mu_agd]

yay kathy ryg! that's one of my closest pledge sisters mom!

[damasa]

Originally posted by DeltAlum


On the other hand, it sounds like in the time they waited for and argued with the mananger, they could have easily gone to another store or found a public rest room.

I don't know much about the disease but I have a friend who has it and she says that when it hits and she needs to go it is very very painful to move, even a few feet. I"m not saying looking for another place is out of the question but if it hurts as bad as I'm told, it's quite hard to move for fear of pain and/or a horrible accident.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by damasa
I don't know much about the disease but I have a friend who has it and she says that when it hits and she needs to go it is very very painful to move, even a few feet. I"m not saying looking for another place is out of the question but if it hurts as bad as I'm told, it's quite hard to move for fear of pain and/or a horrible accident.

I would have shit on the manager's shoes and let him deal with that managerial decision.

-Rudey

[_Lisa_]

Originally posted by damasa
I don't know much about the disease but I have a friend who has it and she says that when it hits and she needs to go it is very very painful to move, even a few feet. I"m not saying looking for another place is out of the question but if it hurts as bad as I'm told, it's quite hard to move for fear of pain and/or a horrible accident.

This is incredibly true. One of the lifeguards @ the YMCA I'm a member at has Crohn's disease and she has so many stories about painful and embarassing moments. Fortunately for her she has never had a problem on the job considering that the YMCA staffs several lifeguards @ a time.

[James]

I agree. I would have made sure it spattered him.

Originally posted by Rudey
I would have shit on the manager's shoes and let him deal with that managerial decision.

-Rudey

[honeychile]

Originally posted by Rudey
I would have shit on the manager's shoes and let him deal with that managerial decision.

-Rudey

An interesting option that I hadn't considered!

[damasa]

Originally posted by Rudey
I would have shit on the manager's shoes and let him deal with that managerial decision.

-Rudey

Excellent choice my friend!

10 points

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Poor little girl. I also know someone who had this condition. It was very painful, and when she had to go, she had to go.

[sageofages]

Originally posted by damasa
I don't know much about the disease but I have a friend who has it and she says that when it hits and she needs to go it is very very painful to move, even a few feet. I"m not saying looking for another place is out of the question but if it hurts as bad as I'm told, it's quite hard to move for fear of pain and/or a horrible accident.

My oldest daughter has Crohn's disease, which incidently is covered by the ADA, and when you gotta go, you gotta go. Moving around makes delay damned near impossible. And yes, it hurts like you wouldn't believe to delay.

A law suit is definitely in order, for violation of the ADA.