A Week of Firsts

Hello out there!

When I was first diagnosed I heard about this camp for kids with cancer called Camp Fantastic. I have always loved kids; this is why I want to be a teacher. I applied to be a counselor with no hesitation. Little did I know, I was making one of the best choices of my life.

It was the second week in August; in the mix of end of summer blues and the knowledge that I can't return to school. I headed down to Virginia with Erik and Shirley; to the 4H center in Front Royal. There was an amazing sense of calmness when we first pulled up onto the mountain. I would be working with 12 year olds. There were 3 counselors and 3 campers in my room. When I first arrived at camp I was a little nervous because I did not know the ropes. I was bald and surrounded by people who did not know me. Though I am an open person I still get nerves every once in a while. As the kids arrived on Sunday the nerves were really getting to me. How was I going to make sure 3 kids would have the time of their lives when I didn't even know how I was going to do during the week. As I saw all the kids get off the buses I knew I was home. 

Camp is actually very structured. Which is a good thing because as cancer patients we do not have a lot we can control. We do however, have control at camp.

The Daily Schedule:

- Breakfast

- Flag Raising

- Class 1

- Class 2

- Lunch

- Rest Time

- Class 3

- Free Time

- Dinner

- Flag Lowering

- Evening Activities

- Camp Fire

- Bed Time

The classes I would be helping with this year are the Glamour Institute and So You Think You Can Dance. I think I was given these classes because I need to stay inside. Which actually turned out for the better because I was always in air conditioning. Not that I don't like summer but mid August tends to get pretty steamy. The campers get to choose which classes they will attend throughout the week. With a schedule like this one it is amazing how fast the week goes by.

Throughout the week we do many different nightly events. We all get dressed up to support the theme of the night. The kids (and counselors) really enjoy it. During camp I had numerous experiences that I would have probably never had:

I rode a fire truck

I saw the inside of a medical helicopter

I rode a horse

I rode a go-cart

I flew a remote controlled plane

I went up in a cherry picker

I danced on stage during a talent show

I held my campers hand while they got a shot to prevent the shingles

I experienced an avocado face mask

I made my own lip gloss and soap

I painted a boys nails

I learned a TON of new songs

Camp is an experience I can't really put into words. It is a place where it is ok to be different, ok to be bald, ok to not have all 4 limbs. Everyone is accepted, and everyone has fun. I was there as a counselor to give strength to the campers, but really I was the one who was getting strength from them. To see 100 kids going through what I was going through and being as resilient as they are it gave me hope. I fell in love with an entire community; counselors, campers, staff. They would fill me up with hope, strength, and love to fight another year. Saturday came and a feeling of sadness came over me. I now had to leave this eutopia and enter back into my reality. A place where people complain when they have bad hair days, or when they had to wait in line for a long time, and everyone is in a rush to get wherever they are going. Cancer has forced me to slow down and smell the roses. I live each day and do everything I can. It is important to not sweat the small stuff, if you don't sweat the small stuff then there is really no point on dwelling on the big stuff. Now that I was back from camp it was time to start the big stuff in my treatment; radiation and a stem cell transplant.