Ammie’s Playground
When little Ann Marie Palacios was born, her parents knew she wouldn’t be long for this world. The extremely rare disease she was born with came with a doctor’s prognosis of only a few months to live.
But “Ammie” defied their projections, living three-plus years, bringing smiles to her parents’ faces — and leaving a legacy of playtime for years to come for developmentally disabled children and their dedicated parents in the Boerne area.
“Ammie’s Playground” will open in mid-March, according to city officials, in Boerne City Park. The park’s old playground equipment, mounted on a mulch base, has been replaced by an inclusive playground with a smooth surface, making playtime accessible for children with limited mobility.
Ammie was born Jan. 9, 2020, with epilepsy and MPPH — short for Megalencephaly- polymicrogyria- polydactyly-hydrocephalus — Syndrome, a rare condition that affects the brain, hands, feet and other parts of the body.
Her multiple disabilities left her “medically fragile,” her mother, Brady Palacios, said. “She could not walk. She could kick her legs, she loved to kick her legs ... and she could move her hands enough to push a button.”
She had poor vision, “only able to see certain colors that she could notice. ‘Swiss cheese’ was the best way to describe her vision,” Brady said. “She’d spend a lot of time searching, to get something in her vision ... and it was always different, never the same pattern.”
Ammie, also being non-verbal, was able to wave her hands — which her parents, Brady and Adam Palacios, put to good use, teaching her to “sign” certain words.
“She knew what her words meant. We taught her to sign certain words,” Brady said. “The very last sign she ever used before she died was “I Love You.’” Ammie passed away on May 20, 2023.
“Her last week of life, we played in the rain with her tumble chair one day, and she swam the next,” her mother said. “We went and saw the sunflower farm at Marble Falls ... and she died the next day.
“We took her everywhere we could get her; light shows, Christmas parades ... a lot of the things we did as a family,” she said. “We knew we were on borrowed time.”
Brady said Ammie loved being around and doing activities with her brother and sisters. “She loved hearing her siblings. She listened for them, and her eyes would light up, but she was happy because her siblings were there.”
Lissette Jimenez, Boerne’s Parks and Recreation Department director, recently related Ammie’s story to City Council, telling how Ammie’s Playground came to be.
About a year before her passing, Brady took Ammie and her siblings to the park. While her siblings eagerly ran off to play, Jimenez said, Ammie struggled to navigate the uneven mulch in her motorized walker/ scooter.
Unable to follow her siblings, Ammie became visibly upset, Jimenez related. Despite her nonverbal nature, Ammie had her own way of communicating, and it was clear she wanted to join the fun.
Brady searched the park for equipment that could accommodate Ammie’s needs but found nothing suitable.
Determined not to let her daughter feel excluded, Brady took a bold and creative step, Jimenez said. Brady carefully placed Ammie in her younger sister’s car seat, detached from her oxygen equipment, and set her in an old tire swing. The simple joy of swinging allowed Ammie to feel the thrill of belonging and inclusion on the playground, even if just for a moment.
Brady recalls the car seat-makeshift-tire swing episode.
“That was a fun moment for this mom. We did that because her siblings were like, ‘Let Ammie play; just put the wheelchair up there,’ which we knew we could not do,” she said.
Once home, Brady logged on, posting about her experience on several social media sites. “I wanted to know, how do we get a playground accessible and inclusive?” she said.
Enter, Jimenez and Trace Klein, president of the Boerne Parks Association (BPA).
“Trace was the one who really connected for us. He reached out and said, ‘I saw your post,” Brady said. “They came to her funeral and said, ‘Let’s get this done.’” Brady linked up with the BPA, aiding in their fundraising effort to remodel the park.
Chris Shadrock, Boerne communications director, said BPA raised the full $ 150,000 for the playscape upgrades. Work began Jan. 6 and is expected to be unveiled in a March 10 time frame.
The inclusive playground will feature a variety of equipment designed to be accessible for children of all abilities, including a celebration spinner, inclusive swing seat, butterfly photo station, a toddler musical instrument, and a Buddy bench, to foster friendship and connection.
Palacios said her children — Isabella, 8, Charlie, 6, and Emma, who turns 3 on March 1 — are excited to see what the playground looks like.
“It was talked about before she passed, and now, it’s even more exciting for them. You can’t ask for more than that,” Brady said.
A plaque with Ammie’s name and story is expected to be placed at the site.
“It’s exciting for my family, knowing they can see that in public, and keep that memory alive.”
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