David, who has had Type 1 diabetes since early childhood and has been attending The project was entitled, “What’s It Like Being a Child with Diabetes? …
Being a Regular Kid-How Camps Support Children Facing Challenges
Melora Mayo, RN
Carol LeBoeuf will never forget it the day her twelve-year-old son
David came running out of the Clara Barton Day Camp in North Oxford,
Massachusetts, yelling, Mom, theyre all just like me David, who has had
Type 1 diabetes since early childhood and has been attending the Heard
Street Discovery Academy in nearby Worcester where he is the only child
with diabetes in a school of 260, had made a discovery of his own There
were other kids just like him And he and they could have a serious
medical condition, one that is alarmingly on the rise in this country, and
still enjoy the carefree summer activities of normal children
Carol says, David has always been a serious child Sometimes he meets
girls who have his condition, but rarely boys At camp he met a counselor
named Kevin who also had Type 1 diabetes and bonded with him instantly He
began to relax to the point where he got the Barton Boy Award as the most
happy camper
Carol, too, had a positive experience As a registered nurse, she had given
up working to be on call for Davids school because the Heard Street
Academy has no nurse on staff While
David was at camp, she said she felt
confident about his safety away from home for the first time since he was
diagnosed
Camp Can Be the Common Bond
Across the country, among families dealing with serious diseases, the camp
movement for children with such conditions is on the rise Whether its
juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, diabetes, or lifelong challenges
such as blindness, through camping their conditions have become the common
bond that helps them to not define themselves by their diseases but to view
themselves as kids first
Major diseases and disabilities burden the childhood of tens of thousands
of youth each year One in five hundred children suffers from either Type 1
or Type 2 diabetes It is the most expensive major disease known, costing
over 100 billion for treatment and its complications Juvenile arthritis
affects an estimated 285,000 children under age seventeen and 50, 000 of
them have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis And, cancer is the leading cause
of nonaccidental death among children
A joyful discovery
In experiencing camp with other children affected by the same condition,
David is not alone in his joyful discovery Claudia Uppendahl, age ten, who
has had
Type 1 diabetes since she was five and has attended the Clara
Barton Camp since she was six, feels the same way: I feel happy knowing
Im not the only one and that I can be a regular kid The counselors treat
everyone the same
Claudias mom, Laura, is a single parent who gave up her floral business
and moved in with her parents to care for her daughter full time She says
that camp is a place her daughter can be totally herself while I sit back
and relax a total break for me Also, Claudia learns how to do one
major thing for herself each summer Last year she learned how to give
herself an insulin shot in her abdomen
Camps for Special Needs Are on the Rise
Clara Barton Camp has served close to 30,000 children during its seventy-
year history of managing day and overnight summer camps for girls and boys
To meet increasing demand, it recently expanded its summer programs to co-
ed day camps in nearby Worcester, the Boston area, New York, and
Connecticut
Whats going on? Shelley Yeager, executive director emeritus of the Barton
Center for Diabetes Education that administers the camp programs, explains:
Diagnoses of children with both Types 1 and 2 diabetes are rising
astronomically in
this country But a diagnosis is only the beginning
Parents need help in coping A child and her or his family and friends must
learn to adjust to the many changes in lifestyle necessary to enable a
child to live as normal a life as possible Camping is the best way we know
to help make that realization happen
Currently, according to American Camp Association ACA files, there are
more than two hundred camps for children with special diseases such as
diabetes and cancer The camps serve those with a range of diseases,
including HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, cystic
fibrosis, and cerebral palsy Several of these camps include those with
related conditions, such as spina bifida, blindness, and hearing loss
Camps may be sponsored on a national basis, such as those funded by the
Lions Clubs International Foundation They may also be supported by local
chapters of national charitable organizations, such as the Southern
California chapter of the national Juvenile Arthritis Foundation, or, as
part of a special division within an organization, such as the American
Cancer Societys Camping Center of Excellence
National/International Associations Bring Camps to
Kids
International Diabetes Camping Association
Zula Walters, executive director of the International Diabetes Camping
Association, confirms the trend toward greater camp numbers and says today
there are more than 124 diabetes camps in America and 110 worldwide Our
newest board member is from the Republic of Georgia New camps are even
forming in England, South Africa, and Japan, she reports
Children of working parents may need these programs most, Zula says Many
are latch-key kids who come home from school and, while safe from dangerous
streets, watch television, eat junk food, and get little or no exercise
The Arthritis Association
The Arthritis Association does not yet have a national program in camping
In its place, some local chapters are filling the gap In Southern
California, Camp Esperanza uses another camps accredited facilities to
hold its annual programs
Amanda Fleckensteins mom, Penny, says attending Camp Esperanza held under
the auspices of Camp Whittle, the YMCA camp in San Bernardino, California,
has made her eleven-year-old daughter more knowledgeable about her
condition Amanda, who has had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in her right
wrist and ankles since she was
six, has also met other children and
counselors some with conditions a lot worse than hers All are accepted
for who they are as people and are not defined by their illness My
counselor has so many scars on her legs from operations she cant bend
over, so she uses special tools to pick things up But shes just great,
and we all like her, says Amanda
Penny thinks the camp is really good for the parents; some are
overprotective and may actually be holding their children back She sees
the need for the camp experience to continue throughout the year, on
weekends, and during school vacations to provide children and their
families with ongoing support systems
Lions Clubs International
Lions Clubs International, a time-honored service club since 1917 with
chapters nationwide and abroad, has long been raising and donating funds
for charitable causes Their chief mission is blindness prevention Since
diabetes may sometimes lead to loss or diminution of sight, the Lions
Clubs International Foundation LCIF, founded in 1968, focuses
contributions on diabetes awareness, screenings, and camp activities
through its two-year-old program Core 4 in the United States, Finland, and
Australia
Russell
Link, former director of the Wisconsin Lions Camp in Rosholt,
Wisconsin, and informal head of the loosely organized Lions Camps
Association, says his Lions camp for kids with disabilities started in
1956 The camp for the visually and hearing impaired, those with mild
cognitive conditions, and children with diabetes serves 1400 children a
summer It is free and, as expected, has a waiting list
Fifteen-year-old Cale Newton has been a star camper there for seven years
and a role model for the younger children Cale, legally blind since birth,
loves a challenge The youngest of six children and the only one with a
disability, Cale has been encouraged by his siblings to participate in
their play activities from an early age When he arrived at camp at eight,
he decided he wanted to swim across Lions Lake, an achievement that his
peers regarded as unattainable Accompanied by a lifeguard swimming beside
him and another in a rowboat, he reached his goal and was presented with a
very cool award, certificate, and patch as the youngest camper to ever to
swim across the lake
Cales mom, Carole Benzschawel, says camp has done excellent things for
Cales self-esteem He has found his own place and
has become a leader to
whom the other kids look up Cale says he would recommend camping to kids
with disabilities who are not exposed to outdoor activity Cales favorite
camp activity is raising pop-up tents in the woods, starting a campfire,
and cooking smores As the camps goodwill ambassador, he also gives talks
to visiting Lions members
The American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society ACS runs forty-six camps nationwide under its
Camp Center of Excellence Program Former director Sheryl Markowitz
describes the camp experience for past or present sufferers of the disease
as a significant therapeutic intervention When children who have cancer
are diagnosed and treated for this life-threatening illness, she says, they
are often removed from their every day circumstances and may lose the
ability to interact with their peer groups Reintegration with other
children at camp is an invaluable lesson about how to navigate the
challenges of relating to other children their age
Another interesting aspect of the ACS camps is that at any one time, among
the 5,000 children a summer who attend, 50 percent may have beaten the
diagnosis Although recovered, they may still have scars or
disabilities
and being among others who understand and make them feel accepted is an
important experience in their steps toward wellness
All the ACS Camps are free Bradley McGory, eleven, of Ohio, who was
diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at four years old and went into
remission at eight, started going to Camp Friendship North in Chagrin
Falls, Ohio, while he was still ill At age seven, his mother Dee says,
although he was still on medication and feeling its side affects, she
reluctantly sent him at the urging of his doctor and staff I was frantic,
seeing him off for a whole week, and wanted to hide in the weeds and watch
him And the camp management doesnt want you to phone because a child can
get homesick and want to leave But the nurses were wonderful, and would
call me every other day and tell me how he was doing In the years since,
the McGorys receive an hour-by-hour schedule of camp activities, so they
always know what Bradley is doing
Dee thinks the camp experience has made her son more open to and
understanding of others Bradley looks forward every year to meeting the
same children from all over the region, whom he only sees, due to distance,
during that time
His and his familys favorite staff member is Patrick, a
counselor whose leukemia is in remission and who has married another
counselor The couple has recently had a child, and the McGory family
discusses with them what is ahead for Bradley in terms of college and grown-
up relationships
Bradley enjoys the many camp activities, including fishing, hiking,
archery, and the last night special celebration, Carnival He says the
camp has made him feel good about himself and happy and thinks other
children with cancer would feel the same In fact, when he has been faced
repeatedly with the choice of joining the family on a conflicting vacation
schedule, camp has always won Dee expects him to continue to attend until
the age limit of eighteen
Camps Remarkable Influence
One anecdote seems to illustrate best the influence camp has had on
childrens lives Carol, mother of David, relates that the Barton Day Camp
experience made her son so confident he developed a science project about
diabetes as the invisible disease the following year in school The project
was entitled, Whats It Like Being a Child with Diabetes? A photo of
normal-looking boys, including him, illustrated it Underneath the
picture
of the four was a caption that read, Which one has diabetes? The answer
they all do
To learn more about camp and child development, please visit the American
Camp Associations family Web site: wwwCampParentsorg
Sidebar
For more information about camps for children with special needs, contact
the following organizations:
The Barton Center for Diabetes Education
30 Ennis Road
PO Box 356
North Oxford, MA 01537-0356
Contact: John Maconga, Executive Director
508-987-2056
Fax: 508-987-2002
johnmaconga@bartoncenterorg
wwwbartoncenterorg
The Diabetes Camping Association
9 Pine Avenue
Tacoma Park, MD 20912
Fax: 301-891-3157
wwwdiabetescamporg
Wisconsin Lions Camp
Conference of Lions Camps
3834 County Road A
Rosholt, WI 54473-9355
715-677-4969
Fax: 715-677-4527
lioncamp@wi-netcom
Lions Clubs International
300 W22nd Street
Oak Brook, IL 60523-8842
630-571-5466
Fax: 630-571-8890
wwwlionsclubsorg
American Cancer Society
Camp Center of Excellence
Deb Dillinghham
Program Director
517-664-1308
debdillingham@cancerorg
American Cancer Society
1599 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
800-ACS-2345
404-417-5850
wwwcancerorg
Camp Esperanza
Arthritis Foundation Chapter,
Southern California
Held at Camp Whittle YMCA Camp
1133 Robin Hood Road
Big Bear City, CA 92314
Contact: Fiona Hearst
800-954-2873
infosca@arthritisorg
Arthritis Foundation
American Juvenile Arthritis Organization
1330 West Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA 30309
800-283-7800
404-872-7100
Fax: 404-872-8694
wwwarthritisorg
Children with Diabetescom
wwwchildrenwithdiabetescom
end sidebar
Melora Mayo, RN, served as health services manager for the Barton Center
for Diabetes Education in North Oxford, Massachusetts She has Type 1
diabetes herself and was a camper at the Clara Barton Camp when she was
ten She is a graduate of the University of North Carolinas School of
Nursing where she trained as a diabetes specialist
Originally printed in CAMP Magazine, reprinted by permission of the
American Camp Association 2005 American Camping Association, Inc
