A Macon man says his daughter’s first water park experience turned into a nightmare after she was hospitalized for severe eye irritation.
Sandy Beach Water Park remained closed Sunday due to voluntary testing with the health department after receiving numerous complaints from customers.
The water park is a popular place to escape the Georgia heat, but 7-year-old Laiden Rainey’s trip to the park turned into a nightmare.
On Friday, her eyes were swollen shut after leaving the park and her father Landrous said he knew something wasn’t right.
“[They] looked like scratched up glasses,” said Rainey. “When they did tests on them [her eyes], they looked like scratched up glasses.”
He took Laiden to Coliseum Medical Center in Macon, which suggested they seek help from a specialist at Emory Hospital in Atlanta.
“It broke me down. I cried with her and she cried on my chest,” said Rainey.
According to a statement from Jeff Ellis Management Group, the company that runs the park – other guests reported concerns.
They closed the park Saturday as a safety precaution and asked the Bibb County Health Department to test the water.
Health district spokesman Michael Hokanson says initial test results do not show mismanagement of any chemicals in the water, but Landrous says the doctors told him otherwise.
“They said it was chemical burns,” said Rainey.
Now his daughter is scared to get back in the pool.
Rainey says doctors recommended Laiden not go outside for 72 hours, but when she does leave the house again, her father says they won’t be returning to Sandy Beach.
Hokanson says the initial test results conclude there were no chemical issues with the water, but heavy rains may have impacted the results.
He speculates sunscreen mixing with the water may have caused discomfort for some of the guests who made complaints.