Tecumseh girl's Make-A-Wish camper deemed too unsafe by mother; RV supplier disagrees

Liz Agostinis says she never expected her daughter's dream of being gifted a camping trailer that she could use for travelling would turn into a nightmare.

In late April, the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted 11-year-old Amirah's wish of being able to travel. The mother and daughter were gifted a camping trailer that had been purchased from Tilbury Auto Sales and RV.

The camper would allow Amirah to do some local travelling — since her compromised immune system prevented her from travelling far from the hospital.

Starting on the weekend of May 7, Agostinis said, the family spent more than $3,000 to park their RV at Leisure Lake for the summer. But very quickly, she added, the RV had major issues that made it too unsafe for her daughter.

Now, she's calling for the supplier to refund Make-A-Wish all the money they paid for the camper so the organization can put it toward a new RV for Amirah.

Prior to May 7, when she was first presented with the trailer, Agostinis said she could smell a strong odour of cat urine inside the trailer. She also said both beds in the trailer were "full of cat hair.”The interior of the RV is shown in Tecumseh, Ont., on Jun. 8, 2022. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

"I smelt urine in there. My daughter has an allergy to cat urine," said Agostinis, adding nobody else at the Tilbury RV store claimed they could smell it so she decided to try and clean it herself.

"I bleached everything but the smell would not go away, no matter what I did. I reached out and told them, again, about the cat urine. Nothing. No response."

During the first weekend that the Agostinis family spent in the RV at Leisure Lake, Agostinis said she noticed an open hole in the canvas that would allow water to enter.

The following weekend, Agostinis said she smelt more cat urine, noticed the kitchen taps were leaking and felt the shower floor bubbling up when Amirah attempted to take a shower.

But on the long May 24 weekend, that's when Agostinis said things took a turn for the worse.

"That was the weekend we had a big rainfall. When Amira woke up on the Sunday, her whole bed was soaked. The foam was soaked ... There was actually a little bit of black mold starting on the bottom of the mattress from the water coming through every weekend."

Agostinis said she eventually got a third-party inspector to look at the RV, who determined there were a number of issues with the hybrid trailer, including faulty seals that would allow water to enter, structural issues and a damaged canvas.Liz Agostinis says these photos show some of the issues with the RV, including wet walls and flooring, a torn canvas and improperly-secured seals that allow water to enter. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

For the past two and a half weeks, the trailer has been back outside Tilbury Auto Sales and RV for repair work.

"Once the repairs were done, she said she no longer wanted it," said director of operations Jason Deckard.Jason Deckard said he's waiting on Make-A-Wish to make a decision on how they want to proceed. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

Deckard said, since the trailer first came back on his lot, he and his team "did not find any evidence of any stain or any urine-saturated materials."

Still, he added, they replaced anything that could have come in contact with the floor, including mattresses and some wood panelling.

But when Deckard informed Agostinis that the work was finished and the RV was ready to be redelivered on Friday, Agostinis expressed she did not want the camper back and took to social media to share her displeasure.

"She reached out to Make-A-Wish and informed that she didn't want it back, even though I informed her it was done. So she let me do all the repairs and I was very upfront with her that I was going to be taking care of everything," he said.

"She sent me her photos. The photos were not even of any actual damage. I offered her to come out and show me, or to do an actual video call, so we could pinpoint things."

Since Make-A-Wish is the client who purchased the trailer, Deckard said it's ultimately in the organization's hands to determine what happens next. Agostinis tells CTV News she'd like to see Make-A-Wish receive the money they paid for their RV back so a new camper can be purchased.

According to Make-A-Wish Canada senior communications manager Stuart Chase, conversations are ongoing between all parties involved to ensure a smooth resolution.

"We're working with Amirah's parents and her, and we're working with the RV dealership, to make sure that any necessary repairs get done and that Amirah will be happy with what she wished for," said Chase.

"Summer camping season is right around the corner. So we want to make sure that Amirah's trailer is up to snuff so that she can go out and enjoy her family worry-free."

Time is a factor, however, since the Agostinis family has already paid more than $3,000 for a space at Leisure Lake for the summer — and until a new RV is secured, that spot remains empty.

But for Agostinis, she said taking back the camper from Tilbury Auto Sales and RV isn't the resolution she's looking for.

"Every time I was told that I wanted it fixed properly ... [I was told that] they don't see the damage. You don't have to see the damage. You can smell the damage," she said.

"For an organization like Make-A-Wish that shelled out $20,000 for a unit for a child who has been through two years of pure hell, it's not right."