I'm a Turtle lover!

This past wkd I had the opportunity to volunteer at The Painted Turtle (TPT) located in Lake Hughes, CA. If you've been reading my blog you may remember that TPT was my connection to RHPS, via my best friend Jenn who is the camp's Nursing Director. Let me give you some background to the camp: TPT exists so that kids with chronic diseases can attend a week of camp and/or family wkd totally free of charge, in a safe and fun environment, with a full medical staff and state of the art facilities that include The Well Shell (think Urgent Care), a full pharmacy, staffed by doctors, nurses, RT's, PT's, and a number of highly talented volunteers. At this camp the kids have no limits! They can ride horses, do a high obstacles ropes course, fly on the zip wire, go boating and fishing, have arts 'n crafts and woodship time, and so much more! Also, on these family wkds there is something for EVERYONE! Siblings of all ages can come, we have special parent discussions and activities and during this time the "family pal" babysits/entertains the kids. I was just blown away by these kids and their amazing families! You have to understand that my exposure to kids at work is when they are at their worst, so to see them at their best doing such adventurous things was truly amazing!!! There are so many memories from such a short wkd and I don't know where to start! 

First, it was so great to share this experience with Jenn! She has been a steady rock in my life these past 3+ yrs and it was great to share this experience of her new camp life and see just how much she loves her job, how many people she touches, and how great she is at what she does! Second, it was amazing to see this kids overcome obstacles and fears and just be kids, surrounded by their peers, who are in the same circumstances of themselves. I'd say that 1/3 of the kids were in wheelchairs, 1/3 in walkers, and 1/3 still able to walk. I got a kick out of how fancy some of these wheelchairs are! Shiny pink to royal blue, Wheelie lights, amazing turn radius'...I've never had so much fun dancing as I did when twirling these kids around in their chairs! Funny story, during the Carnival one boy rolled up to me and asked me to dance. Needless to say, I was quite flattered (don't judge, no one ever asks me!)  and as I start to spin his chair this other little girl rolls up and yells at him "You want to dance with HER?! over ME?!" Haha...it was so cute/funny/priceless. 

Another favorite part was helping out at the ropes course/zip wire. There were lots of pep talks to be given and even more cheering to yell out as these kids, some of them that are wheelchair bound were harnessed, then belayed up to a 20ft high platform, where they could either do the ropes course or ride the wheelchair across the planks for their turn on the zip wire. As I mentioned earlier, there are tons of very talented volunteers and especially so working the ropes course! The smiles on these kids faces as they flew through the air...it was priceless!

I think we all know that no camp would be complete without lots of signing and dancing! Not only was there a talent show---which you could tell these kids had practiced their jokes, magic tricks, and songs for WEEKS, but there was also singing and dancing at every meal time (I guess to work off the calories from the exceptionally yummy camp food!). I grew up attending and volunteering at camps, but they were all church camps where we sung "Christian camp songs"...let's just say I learned a lot of new songs this wkd and their motions for the songs are all out dancing! It was quite a lot of fun and again, it was so neat to see how the kids did as much as they could despite their physical condition.

For those wondering about the medical aspect of this camp, and if I actually did any nursing let me report that more adults were treated than campers! Haha. We had several dads with allergies,  a volunteer with a splinter, a boy with 2 blisters from woodshop and one girl who needed antibiotics for a UTI. Overall, not too shabby! I was free to roam the camp with a walkie talkie in case the MD at the Well Shell needed me. 

I have to say, one of the most eye opening moments at camp for me was in meeting our "modern family". We had one family that was comprised of 2 dads and 3 kids with Spina Bifida. This gay couple knowingly adopted each of these children at young ages, knowing their diagnosis and being willing to take on the challenges they would face. 2 of the kids were old enough to participate in camp, ages 5 and 7 and were some of our favorites (I know, you shouldn't have favorites!) It just blew all of us away with how well they cared and provided for these kids, and that they undertook 3 kids with special needs when most "traditional families" can't even take one! Personally, I really enjoyed meeting Daddy Ben and Daddy Tom and hearing their adoption stories & challenges, and seeing their compassion helped soften the blow I received just last week at the TV taping. Of course, my psychosocial inquisitive self can't help but wonder "What do these kids think? Have they asked about "mom"? What will they teach the children about relationships? How will their upbringing affect the children's view of relationships?", etc.

Overall, it was a FUN*tabulous experience and I can't wait to do it again...hopefully in March! Who knows, maybe even for a week in the summer! Sadly, I don't have any pictures from the wkd but if you are interested in learning more about Hole in the Wall camps, or know of a child in California with special needs who would want to attend camp then please visit: www.thepaintedturtle.org .