Sick children and their siblings now have ''a happy space'' all their own to take the sting out of a visit to the Canberra Hospital, and even more so a protracted stay.
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The special jungle-themed ''Gondwanaland'' playground, constructed at a cost of more than $600,000, is the centrepiece of the hospital's recently completed $111 million Centenary Women's and Children's Hospital.
That hospital project, regarded as the largest and most complex infrastructure development in territory history, had been on the drawing board since the early years of the century. Plans for the playground were integrated into the design brief in 2005.
It was made possible by the George Gregan Foundation, the body set up by the former Brumbies, Wallabies and international rugby union great and his wife, Erica, after their son, Max, was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2004.
The layout is the work of Ric McConaghy, a playspace designer and children's advocate based in the Blue Mountains.
Both men say it is vital children visiting hospital, either with a sick family member or because they are unwell themselves, have a positive and happy space to visit and explore.
Mr Gregan said he and his wife had learnt this firsthand when they took Max to the Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney in 2004.
''Kids and people like to get out of hospital, to get some fresh air,'' he said. ''It sounds pretty basic and simple but a lot of hospitals don't have that environment - a playground facility everyone can access.
''When we were at Westmead [we noticed] they had quite a large chunk of land. When we asked them why they didn't have a playground it came down to cost. A playground had been on their wish list for about 10 or 15 years but they'd had other priorities with their funding inside the hospital. We said 'Well let's look at something that is outside the hospital.' That was the catalyst for the foundation.''
Almost a decade on, playgrounds have been opened at Westmead, Brisbane's Royal Children's Hospital, the Sydney Children's Hospital and now in Canberra.
All of the projects have been made possible by community support.
Mr Gregan, who declared he would always be a member of the Brumbies family, said the club, members and players had been on board for the Canberra project ''since the get-go''.
Although the colourful, malleable and highly interactive playground has been in operation for several weeks, it was not declared officially open until Thursday night at a function attended by Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, Mr Gregan and the Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley.
The facility can be safely accessed by children in wheelchairs, on crutches and using portable intravenous drips.
The Gregans have had a happy ending to their epilepsy journey. Max has outgrown his condition and went off medication earlier this year.
They will never forget the experience or the way it changed their lives however.
''For that period of time we didn't know what was happening. He was having a lot of seizures; it was a catalyst, life-changing in many ways [and] you have to adapt. But here we are talking about a playground that may not have occurred if we didn't have that experience.''