'It gives my daughter a chance to be normal': QEH opens paediatric therapy playground

Spending a lot of time in hospital can bedifficult, particularly when you're a child.

Anna Collins' daughter Simone, who has a chromosome syndrome,knows all too well about that.

Herimmune system is compromised, so she's had to spenda lot of time in the hospital lately.

"Just this May, we were admitted three times, a total of 14 days staying at the QEH. The days are long," said Collins.

'A little bit of freedom'

Island children like Collins, who have to be in and out of hospital frequently, don't have to spend all of their time waiting for their next test or appointment. They can spend some of that time outside.

An outdoor therapeutic space was officially unveiled today.

The playground which has been open since last August has a slide and swings and everything is fullyaccessible.

Collins says the area gives her daughter a chance to relax while spending time in the hospital.

"It's nice to have a space that we can go outside and letSimonehave a little bit of freedom and really her chest infections cleared up much quicker just by having the opportunity to go outside and have a little bit of playtime," Collins shared.

'Make something fun'

The playground, whichcost $100,000 to build, was made possible by a $50,000 accessibility grant from the federal government, as well as a matching charitable gift of $50,000 from TD Bank during the QEH Foundation telethon last month.

The matching gift was a requirement of the grant.

Collins said the space has been a welcome diversion for her daughter. It has a variety of plays areas that she can play with even if she's not feeling well enough to climb.

"It gives my daughter a chance to be normal, and to have some normal things impact on her day."

"Some of thetests she has to havearen't pleasant. Things like blood work she absolutely hates, even blood pressure she's not a fan of, so we do use for motivation, 'Hey, let's go outside and go on the slide as soon as you're done your blood work we'll make something fun for you.'"

'A space where they can just play like normal kids'

The hospital's nurse manager of pediatrics said the new outdoor therapeutic play space was designed to be safe for all children regardless of ability and cognitive development.

"It's just giving them a break", said Julie Smith. "They're not in the hospital, they're not being poked and prodded. It just gives them a space where they can come out and just play like normal kids."

'It's rewarding'

"We wanted to make it an enjoyable space, we wanted them to be able to come out, have fun and just get away from the hospital setting," she added.

"It's rewarding. That's why we do what we do," said Smith. "When you get to see their smiles on their face that's why we developed the space and that's all we need from it."

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