Diabetes Camp-Happy and Hopeful

Camp remains much of a blur because of the constant activity watching over the kids, getting them from one educational activity to the next, participating in the fun stuff, checking their blood sugars and organizing the rally event with Danielle and Aubrey.

For the rally, we set up 7 events with 7 transition events for 7 teams to compete. The activities ranged from finding lemons in heaps of flour while using only your face to filling up a bucket of water using only the cup in your mouth. Surprisingly, despite the complicated logistics, the event went smoothly and everyone had a fabulous time. We even had a few people throwing water balloons at the campers as they worked each activity.


Other days, we played capture the flag and “find the gringo” in which a few of the monitors hid around the campsite at night and then each team had to go find them. Steve hid under a bunch of sticks on the muddy ground and only 1 group found him mainly because none of us thought anyone would be crazy enough to hide there.

The rest of the time, the campers attended educational activities. Because my group was younger, we missed out on a lot of the leadership youth empowerment sessions in which each camper sets out objectives for the year related to diabetes. Instead, we focused on acting out plays related to diabetes, took advantage of teachable moments throughout the day, and learned a little more about managing diabetes. Our group even created our own song and dance to represent our group number 2, which I can not remember anymore.




The parents attended on the last day to reunite with their kids. For many of the children, they had never left home before, even for a slumber party, because of their diabetes. The parents put a lot of faith and trust in us to be able to hand over their child to complete strangers for a few nights for the first time in their lives. Some parents insisted on calling Kendra's phone number demanding to speak to their child just to make sure she was still alive. Despite having 90 total people at camp with 90% of them diabetic, we encountered no emergencies. A miracle to say the least.

Upon witnessing their children dance the line dances we had taught them, many of the parents told me that they have never seen their kid so happy and alive. I teared up with them as they told me this. They thanked me profusely for the broad smile they saw and secretly told me that they also enjoyed their brief vacation of not having to wake up in the middle of the night to check on and worry about their child.



Highlights for me included:
Watching Maria Lizeth open up and feel a part of the community. She was quite shy at the beginning and did not participate in the activities with the other girls. This is the first time many of the campers have met another person with diabetes. Creating a sense of community clearly provided much needed support and by the end, she had made lasting friendships and even bonded with Stan the Stent Graft.

Hearing Naomi's father's question on whether Naomi could have children later in life; he has been worried about her future. He asked Joe who has had diabetes for 47 years if she could have children. When he said yes, the father broke down in tears of relief and joy. I broke down crying upon hearing this show of love and concern. I had paid Naomi's family a home visit earlier and was so impressed with her maturity not to mention perfect posture. She is such a wonderful child with a bright future and loving family.

Reading the older campers' testimonials. The older kids each wrote something about what they gained from being at camp or what they have learned. Some said it saved their lives and gave them hope that they have a future. Even Katrina, who is so thin she could barely walk, appeared happy and hopeful and healthier than when we had first met her at her home.

Final highlight, making connections with the girls despite my poor Spanish skills and becoming a part of their lives. I miss them all already.