A playground fit for a princess: Sask. mom fundraising to improve accessibility

Most princess stories begin the same way: A girl is trapped in a tower, locked behind a door or facing a challenge that seems impossible.

By the end, she finds her freedom. Sometimes it comes through magic, but often it comes through courage and the people by her side who refuse to stop believing in her.

This is one of those stories.

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The first day of Kindergarten marked a new beginning for Makenna Hiebert — one filled with determination, courage and the same excitement as every other five-year-old. (Submitted)

Makenna Hiebert is a bright, energetic five year old. She has piercing blue eyes, golden hair and a laugh that could fill any room.

She loves princesses — especially Rapunzel, the one who found her own way out of the tower.

Two years ago, Makenna sustained an anoxic brain injury.

“She lost oxygen, and that caused damage to her brain,” said her mom, Brittany Hiebert.

“She was revived by paramedics on site, and she spent seven months in the hospital doing rehabilitation. She still does a lot of rehabilitation, about three to five appointments a week, on top of going to school. She is definitely a warrior.”

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Now in Kindergarten, Makenna uses a wheelchair. Her days are filled with adventures with friends, though those adventures aren’t always easy to reach.

“She has to work very hard to sort of compensate for the disabilities caused by her accident,” Hiebert said. “But she is the most persevering girl. Colouring when her hands don’t work as well, or speaking and learning her friends’ names because her speech was greatly impacted.”

During her hospital stay, Makenna was visited by princesses Elsa and Ariel — a bright moment amid months of rehabilitation. (Submitted)

At her school, St. Anne in Saskatoon’s north end, Makenna faces another kind of obstacle: a playground surrounded by sand.

It might seem small to most children, but for Makenna it looms like a dragon guarding the palace gates.

From Makenna’s wheelchair, the playground’s sand surface at St. Anne School makes it difficult to join other children at play. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

“Sand is a big red flag,” Hiebert explained. “She cannot access (the playground). As a parent, I can lift her and maybe carry her up, but an EA or a teacher can’t do that because of their own safety.”

That’s why Hiebert is leading a fundraising effort for a new, wheelchair-accessible playground at St. Anne School.

The project — with a price tag estimated at $273,000 for just the first phase — includes rubber surfacing and play structures that kids of all abilities can enjoy together.

“That would look like a series of ramps that would get to the structure, so she could access the whole structure in her wheelchair without being lifted,” Hiebert said.

“We also want it to be fun for able-bodied kids as well, so there will be components like monkey bars, but then also some lower ones that a kid in a wheelchair could do.”

Makenna and her siblings enjoy visiting other accessible playgrounds in the city — a glimpse of the inclusive play her family hopes to bring to her school. (Submitted)

The project has already received grants from Sandbox Mutual Insurance, Synergy Credit Union and the Saskatchewan Playground Equipment Grant. There’s still a long way to go, but Hiebert is working tirelessly to get there.

“As a passionate mom, I’m asking everyone I know to buy raffle tickets, order poinsettias, come to our bingo night,” she said. “I spend a lot of time applying for grants and emailing companies for sponsorship.”

Beyond ramps and surfacing, what Hiebert really hopes to build is independence.

“She’ll be able to wheel her wheelchair by herself to be able to go to components (and) tell us what she wants to do,” Hiebert said, a soft smile on her face as she imagined the possibilities.

“And perhaps I could even sit down on a bench and watch her play. That would be amazing.”

The Hiebert family has spent the past two years navigating rehabilitation and community advocacy.

For Makenna, that playground will be its own kind of magic. She’ll be able to swing, slide and even roll up to a little “drive-through window” where she and her friends can play pretend and sell donuts or coffee.

“There are no accessible playgrounds north of 33rd Street in Saskatoon,” Hiebert said.

“We are advocating and pushing for this playground specifically at Makenna’s school, but we recognize that there’s none in the north end that serve this quadrant of the city. Our mission is really that we want children of all abilities to be able to participate and play together. That’s really the heart of what we’re doing.”

Enjoying the fall sunshine, Makenna’s days are filled with therapy, school and time outdoors. (Submitted)

And maybe, when the playground is finally built and Makenna wheels up to the top of the slide, she won’t be a princess in a tower anymore. She’ll be a little girl who found her freedom, surrounded by laughter, sunlight and friends.

Now five years old, Makenna continues to make strides in her recovery. (Submitted)