{"id":49400,"date":"2018-07-26T12:57:15","date_gmt":"2018-07-26T16:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=49400"},"modified":"2018-07-26T12:57:15","modified_gmt":"2018-07-26T16:57:15","slug":"why-diabetes-camp-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=49400","title":{"rendered":"Why Diabetes Camp Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

For five summers in a row, I spent two weeks in Massachusetts at diabetes camp.\u00a0 At the time, the camp was called Clara Barton Camp for Diabetic Girls and it sat on the grounds of Clara Barton\u2019s birthplace in North Oxford, MA<\/a>.\u00a0 The cabins were rustic, the pond was rumored to house snapping turtles, and the mess hall was filled with table-thumping girls of all ages, singing camp songs at the top of their lungs.<\/p>\n

And every single camper was living with type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n

Going to camp is pretty awesome on its own, and being surrounded by diabetes peers and educated medical professionals keeps kids having fun while managing their diabetes effectively.\u00a0 While I was at camp, my parents said they slept soundly knowing that I was having an amazing time and also being closely monitored.<\/p>\n

I talked with some folks in the diabetes community about their diabetes camp experiences and why they thought camp was a powerful psychosocial tool for families with diabetes.<\/p>\n

Tonya said, \u201cMy daughter will be attending camp for the 3rd time this July. It is the highlight of her summer. This is how she describes camp to me, \u2018Camp is awesome because everyone there speaks diabetes. You don’t have to explain anything to anyone. Everyone is poking and beeping and wears things on their bodies. And NO ONE asks what that ‘thing’ is on your arm, or what’s that noise, or why are you poking your finger and does it hurt?? It’s the BEST place on Earth!\u2019 She gets some independence and sees that she is NOT the only one. We LOVE camp and recommend it to every PWD we know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alison was as fellow camper at Clara Barton, and she shared this: \u201cBeing somewhere that made me a part of the majority rather than the minority was a priceless experience. \u2018Sharing\u2019 my type 1 status with so many amazing people helped to normalize my diabetes and made camp that much more enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my daughters sixth year at Clara Barton, her first as CIT. Camp is her happy place,\u201d said Julie. \u201cIt\u2019s where everyone \u2018gets it\u2019 – the work, the struggles, the pride in overcoming. But it\u2019s also just camp. Secrets are shared. Pacts are made. Bug bites and lack of sleep, too. A friend told us about camp right after she was diagnosed, and he said it best. \u2018She\u2019ll have a great time. And she\u2019ll need the break from you and you\u2019ll need the break from her diabetes.\u2019 He was right. I know she\u2019s safe (actually closer watch than when she\u2019s home), but most importantly, she made lifelong friends who can share her journey in a way that I can\u2019t. Truthfully, she would give up Christmas and her birthday before she gave up camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sherry has experienced diabetes camp as both the parent of a child with diabetes who attended camp and as a member of the diabetes camp medical team.\u00a0 \u201cAs a parent, it is such a joy and comfort to be able to send my child to camp knowing she will be well taken care of and have experiences and adventures that she might not otherwise have. As a camp nurse, I have to say that it\u2019s something to behold seeing a mass of sun-kissed kids from ages 7 to 16 all bolusing for their meal or injecting their insulin together. It really is an incredible opportunity for kids and med staff alike. I am so thankful for Diabetes camp!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Diabetes camp was my first experience with any sort of \u201cdiabetes community.\u201d\u00a0 Until camp, my PWD peers were people I sat next to in waiting rooms at the pediatric endocrinologist\u2019s office, and I never talked to them.\u00a0 Camp let me connect with other kids who were living with type 1 diabetes, who were carrying snacks for emergencies and who also took injections every day.\u00a0 Being around other girls who wanted to sing, laugh, and play and who also\u00a0<\/strong>took insulin and checked their blood sugar was beyond empowering for me.\u00a0It showed me that it was going to be okay, this life with diabetes, and that I wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0 Diabetes camp helped set me on the path towards living well with diabetes, and I\u2019m forever grateful to have been a \u201cBarton girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penny, mother of a child with diabetes, summed it up like this: \u201cI think it has empowered her, given her strength, given her relief, provided endless laughs and comfort and strengthened her ability to do what she needs to do to take care of herself. I think, if I had one phrase for diabetes camp, it would be life-changing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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