PHOENIX — A little girl is the inspiration for a major construction project to build a first-of-its-kind play space.
In March, Lily Taylor will turn 9 years old. She looks forward to the day she can cut the ribbon on Lily’s Pad at Priest and Southern in Tempe and welcome in kids she can relate to.
“Like show the kids what to do and help them if they ask a question, I can answer them,” she said sitting in the middle of her soon-to-be play space.
ABC15 first spoke with Lily's Pad in 2021, early on in funding the project.
In 2017 at just 3 years old, Lily was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The condition kept her in isolation for a year and a half.
Her father Brad says their once-social butterfly who never had a problem meeting other kids on the playground was now timid and shy after a year and a half of isolation.
“We noticed a difference between her pretreatment and during treatment,” he said.
Desperate to create any sense of a normal childhood for his daughter, Brad said doctors gave the okay for Lily to go for a drive with her family.
When Lily noticed an empty, new park, she begged her father to go play, but at that time in her treatment, even that was too much risk for a girl battling cancer.
Brad says Lily was devastated his little girl couldn’t climb and run like other kids.
He started to inquire with doctors about creating a clean, indoor play space. Doctors told him there isn’t anything in the area to accommodate that – so he and his family have spent the past few years creating one.
Underneath the sign ‘Lily’s Pad,’ it reads, "A hyper-clean space for immunocompromised kids."
“Our goal was to actually create an indoor park for our children who are no longer able to go to parks,” he said.
Once it’s done, possibly by this June, immunocompromised kids and their families can play for up to 90 minutes at a time, with a doctor’s note and an appointment.
Military-grade cleaning agents are used on surfaces throughout the facility several times a day. Brad says the air is filtered like a hospital. Swabs from surfaces and readings from the air are sent to Baylor University Professor Dr. Debra Harris, to measure the cleanliness of the facility and ensure illness isn’t spreading.
Health screenings are done for all who enter and each kid playing is given hospital socks to be on the equipment.
There’s a wing of the facility for counseling and on the other side, a place for parents to sit together and watch.
Being with parents of immunocompromised kids is important, said Brad, as it helped guide his family to tips and tricks on how to deal with an ongoing illness. It can be something as simple as putting medicine in yogurt to dilute the ‘yucky’ taste of intense medication.
Lily’s Pad has run into several roadblocks. The first facility fell through, supply chain issues have kept equipment from showing up in a timely manner and the rising cost of supplies continues to move the financial goal post.
Brad says with each barrier, a miracle has happened.
Through grants and community support, Brad says they’re halfway to their $500,000 goal. They’re looking for an additional $50,000 - $75,000 to finish the job.
The non-profit hopes to not charge a single dollar to those who want to play at Lily’s Pad. Everything will be funded by grants and donations.
On the board for the non-profit, under the title of 'VP of Inspiration,' is Lily’s picture.
She can’t wait to show it all off.
“Maybe it’ll be exciting for them and it’ll be the next big step in Lilly’s Pad,” she said.
To help the Lily's Pad project, click here.