CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - It’s been nearly seven months since a playground incident resulted in a broken femur for a 12-year-old École François-Buote student.
Kayson has been on the mend since breaking his femur last March in what his mother, Rose-Lune Goulet, says was an act of bullying.
“Right now, he’s doing OK, he’s still limping, he has muscle cramps,” she said.
Kayson may have to undergo another surgery in March 2019 to take out the hardware used to fix his leg.
Since his injury, Kayson and Goulet have worked to spread the message of anti-bullying.
Kayson was the guest of honour at a Ride and Rally held on Saturday in Charlottetown. The ride portion of the event was cancelled due to rain and wind. However, a small gathering was held at the campaign headquarters of Philip Brown.
“It’s nice to see the support of the community,” said Goulet, “and to see everybody behind us against bullying.”
Related: Mother alleges bullying resulted in son’s broken femur; school board determines otherwise
The day of the injury was a long one for Goulet and her family, who had to wait 36 hours before parts could be brought in to fix Kayson’s leg due to a snow storm.
The parts were not readily available because it is not often a child breaks a femur.
Kayson underwent roughly four hours of surgery.
“It’s awful as a family to go through that,” said Goulet, “not just emotionally but also financially.”
When Kayson broke his femur, a police investigation was launched.
“It came out inconclusive because of the age of the counterparties,” said Goulet.
The French Language School Board’s superintendent Anne Bernard-Bourgeois spoke on the issue with The Guardian last year.
Bernard-Bourgeois said the broken femur was a result of an accident.
For Goulet, it was no accident.
She said Kayson had been bullied for two years prior to the incident.
“I was really active in saying there was bullying,” she said. “For the past three years I mentioned stuff about bullying at school and nothing was done, so I think at one point school has a responsibility also to acknowledge what happened.”
