SAN ANTONIO -- Brooke Army Medical Center's Fisher Houses celebrated Children's Day June 10 with their annual Kindertag event. This year more than 50 children and their parents were treated to a day of fun and adventure at Morgan's Wonderland.
Morgan's Wonderland is the world's first ultra-accessible theme park designed with special-needs individuals in mind.
Fisher House Manager Inge Godfrey said she and the Fisher House volunteers wanted the event to be special for the children because many of their parents have had to endure long recoveries at BAMC, which also affects them.
"We started this event four years ago at the Fisher House residence and it's expanded and expanded," Godfrey said.
"We celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day, so why not Children's Day? Children's Day is celebrated all over the world."
Godfrey herself remembers celebrating Children's Day as a little girl growing up in Germany.
This year, the event included a visit from some exotic animals from Zoomagination.
The kids were able to pet a Blue Tongue Skink Lizard, Bearded Dragon, Ball Python and a Red Tailed Boa and even got an up-close look at an African Crested Porcupine.
Sisters Makayla and Mariah Adams, whose father works at BAMC, took full advantage of the activities zooming around the room in their wheelchairs getting their faces painted, coloring pictures, playing games and seeing the reptiles.
Makayla, 7, said she was having fun. "I like the animals," she said with a broad smile.
"This event is good for us. My daughters, Makayla and Mariah, are both in wheelchairs so it gives them a chance to get out and do things, especially here at Morgan's Wonderland," Joshua Adams said.
Each child also received an age appropriate toy and enjoyed lunch and all the park amenities.
Karen Matayka said she and her husband Ed have stayed at three different Fisher Houses during his recovery. Today they brought their 2-year-old twins, Alana and Ryan to enjoy the day's activities.
"We stayed at the BAMC Fisher House for nine months," Matayka said. "It's good to be included in a community that we haven't actually been living in for quite a while. The Fisher House is amazing."
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