The Truth about Diabetes Camp

I have been sharing my take on Diabetes Camp...but now here is the real scoop!

Hi, it's me Ally again!  I'm home from camp now and I want to tell you all about it because I promised you that I would. 

At camp, we stayed in cabins.  There were lots of bunk beds and a bathroom.  That's it.  Sometimes at night we would play flashlight tag on the ceiling or have a dance party in our cabin. 

It rained one night after dinner, so we went outside and danced in the rain!  It was awesome because Mom would never let me do that.  (Shhh don't tell her what I said!)

We played Field games like tennis, soccer and Gaga.  Gaga was my favorite.  This is how you play it.  (See the picture below?  That is the Gaga pit.)  Somebody throws the ball in the middle of the Gaga pit and everyone tries to hit the ball at other players.  There are no teams.  It is kind of like dodgeball, except you are out if it hits your knees or below.

 

There was a big lake at camp. 

We got to go swimming, canoeing and jumping off the blob. 

The blob is a giant trampoline on the water.  It was lots of fun!

We did crafts at camp.  I made a tie-dye t-shirt and two necklaces.  I gave Jessi one of the necklaces when I got home.  She liked it.

We didn't get to ride horses because it was too hot and they were sick.  I was sad about that.

We went to the climbing wall.  I climbed all the way to the top and rang the bell!

Another game that we played was called Gorilla Warfare.  It was like capture the flag.  You had to steal the other team's flag without getting tagged and without getting hit by the counselors who were throwing puffs of flour at you.  You knew when they were going to come after you because they would pound on their chest and sound like a gorilla.  It was cool!

The Diabetes Dude even visited us at camp.  He gave us blue flamingo silly bands and necklaces.  Dancing Danie also taught us a cool dance.

The things that I did not like about camp were that there was a bat in our bathroom and it was so hot.

The best things about camp were making new friends and learning how to insert my own pump site.  Oh yeah, and the food was awesome!  I want to go back again next year!

Your Friend, Ally

How Do You Spell Relief?

Relief finally came for me on Saturday morning when it was time to pick Ally up from diabetes camp. 

It had been a very long week for me.  If you read any of my posts from last week, you know that I had a hard time sending her to camp for a whole week.  It was a very long week of not talking to my girl.  It was a lot of worrying and wondering...is she ok?...what is her blood sugar?...is she having fun?...is she missing us?...is she scared (of the storm)?  It was really hard to go that long without hearing anything.

I learned that the counselors offered all of the girls a chance to call home on Wednesday night.  She decided not to because "I thought that it would make me miss you even more."  Awwww! 

She loved every minute of camp (well, except for maybe the bat in the bathroom and the heat)!  I knew that it would be so good for her to be in a place where having diabetes did not make her the exception. 

Denise wrote about picking her daughter up from camp on Saturday too.  And I think I could have written that exact post!  I felt like I was picking up a different child than I had dropped off just 6 days earlier.  She seemed so sure of herself, so comfortable among a group of people that she did not know just a week ago!  She told me that she learned to insert her own infusion set.  (This is the girl who had to be held down for shots, had anxiety attacks over every site change until we started using numbing cream and generally hates needles!)  I was so proud of her! 

Her sisters were so happy to see her!  And I think she actually missed them too.  (Don't worry, by about noon they were already back to normal...arguing about everything!)

When I tucked her in to bed last night, she said, "It sure is good to be home.  I missed the air conditioning!"  (Hey, what about me?  Did you miss me too?)

Introducing...

By this time tomorrow, Ally will be home!  And I can't wait to see her, to know that she is ok and then to hear all about how much fun I just know that she has had this week.  I am sure that this week has been such a good experience for her.  She is usually the one member of her class that has to do things differently, but this week all of the kids were stopping activity to check blood sugars right along with her.

One of the really good things that has come out of this week of diabetes camp for me, is that I have met several new D Mama friends.  We have been texting and messaging on facebook all week, helping to keep each other strong.  If any of us heard a tidbit of information from the inside, we shared it with the others.  It has been very helpful to feel connected to these other families who are missing their girls as much as we are missing Ally here.  I look forward to getting to know them all better.  Several of them live within the general area that we do, so I hope to be able to get the girls together again in the near future.

And now, let me introduce you to two of my new D Mama friends.  They have both started their own blogging adventure this week.  What else is a Mama to do when her girl is at camp for a week?

Michele has started writing about their type 1 journey with her sweet 8 year old daughter who was diagnosed just over a year ago.  She is now taking up residency at Sweet and Sassy and our Diabetic Courage. 

Denise is beginning a new blogging adventure at Life...as we know it.  Blogging is not the only new adventure that she is taking on.  She and her beautiful family have just moved to a new state.  That means new home, new schools and new doctors.  I look forward to hearing about all of her new adventures!

Make sure to stop by and say hello to these brave ladies and thank them for sharing their stories with us.

Five down.  One to go!!!!!
(I bet you are cheering with me.  Is it because you are excited that she is coming home too...or are you just sick of hearing about diabetes camp?)