Camp Happy Days
posted in Life, Parenting |I’m sitting here remembering my Camp Happy Days experience from several years ago as I realize that today, a large group of kids, young and old, all affected by cancer in one way or another have gathered together for an entire week of fun and frolicking and hopefully a chance to escape this dreadful disease. What I like most about Camp Happy Days is that it is not only for children with cancer, but also for their siblings. And for those children who have lost a sibling to cancer, they can attend too.
My husband volunteered at Camp Happy Days for a couple of years before I met him. I took a week off from work the year we were dating to be a Counselor and I can honestly say it greatly affected my life. At the time, of course, I had no children. It was so impossible for me to imagine at that time could possibly face the news that their child had a life threatening disease. Now, with my own children, it’s even more unimaginable. You really don’t know what unconditional love is until you’ve experienced the miracle of having a child.
But, more about my camp experience. The whole day is centered around FUN FUN FUN and the one thing you discover as a counselor is that the more fun YOU are having, the more fun your CAMPERS are having. It’s pretty simple! The kids have opportunities to go swimming, climb rock walls, go to dances, sock hops, sleep overs, lots of singing…. it’s just delightful. One rule as a counselor is that you not bring up the topic of cancer. If the child brings it up and wants to talk to you, then that’s ok. But, the goal is to give those chidlren a break for the week and let them feel as “normal” as they possibly can. Everyday, I witnessed something with the children that would make me have to find a quiet corner just to cry. But, I’ll never ever forget my first night at camp. A little girl in my room name Alana (she was 5) had a little sister who was 3 going through chemo. I met her sister and her parents before camp and her little sister had lost all of her hair. Well, the first night of camp, we (all the counselors in the room) were tucking the little girls into their beds. It’s not a Christian camp so we don’t force children to pray but we DO go around the room, tuck them in and ask them if they say prayers at night before bed. If they do, then we pray with them. Well, thankfully, Alana was the last girl I had to tuck in. I got to her and asked her if she said prayers at bedtime. She said, “Yes! Would you please say a very special prayer for my baby sister with cancer?” How do you respond? My eyes welled up with tears and it’s only by the grace of God that I got through that prayer and then I tucked her in and looked at one of the other counselors and politely excused myself from the room - she understood. It wasn’t her first year at camp. I had a long and hard cry after that.
Since my time at camp, I know that one of the young girls in our group has since died - I know that Jamie is in a much better place. She was a sweet young girl affected by brain cancer and she had had so many operations to remove the cancer from her brain that she had trouble with memory and motor skills. The newspaper here did a big article about her and I’ve seen her picture on advertisements for Ascend Foundation here in Charleston. I hope that her brother has a chance to go to Camp Happy Days every year and release a balloon in her memory.
If you can volunteer with Happy Days and Special Times, they have many other events throughout the year to help the families and to raise money. They also always need volunteers for Camp Happy Days. It’s a wonderful opportunity to do something special for someone.