Boy oh boy! What a first day! This week we have a camp for teens with all different kinds of cancer. Some of these kids found out a month ago they have cancer, some have been in remission for 5 years and some are in treatment. Its so amazing to see the support group that's immediate here at camp.
Today I got to hang out in my cabin and help the girls move in. I am a cabin buddy for 13 and 14 year old girls. Many of them have been to camp 4+ years! I found out a couple girls in my cabin have brain tumors that they do not know how to operate on yet. This effect their vision. The girls remain so positive even though they know they have cancer. I already feel so close to this group of girls.
The food this week has been much better so far. Its nice to have a little more variety than last week. It makes me realize how much I take for granted the foods I am allowed to eat.
Camp this week had an awesome opening ceremony. Camp Twin Lakes normally runs the opening ceremony, however this week the partner group did. It was very intimate and touching. I love how I feel like I am a part of this camp's family even though I do not have cancer.
One hard thing about this week is although while it appears most of the girls in my cabin are pretty healthy, other campers are not. Some of these campers won't be back next year. For some of these teens this is the last week of fun they'll have before they only see the inside of a hospital. This makes me sad, however it also makes me want to work especially hard to make this the best week of their lives - no matter how long their life is.
The camp has a camp song. One of the lines in the song is "we're at camp and we're feeling just fine!". I have gotten chill bumps every time that song has been sung. It breaks my heart to see some of these kids.
I was expecting to see many teenagers hairless, however there are not as many as I expected. Chemotherapy does not always cause hair to fall out. By the same token, chemotherapy can be taken orally as well as through an IV or shot. Some kids who don't have hair are completely through with treatment and just haven't grown their hair back yet. Not having hair isn't a determinant of how sick these teens are.
It was a touching first day, however a very difficult one. I can't wait to see how this week will change my life, and I can't wait to see how I can change these teens lives. The teens this week run from ages 13 - 18. I'm only 19 years old (almost 20), and its so hard to imagine going through what some of these teens are going through at my age.
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