Perspective

First off, I know you have all been experiencing a massive void in your lives since my random anticdotes have been MIA over the past few weeks. Needless to say, my summer has ended up being WAY busier than I anticipated. It is filled with lots of great stuff, but I can't believe it is already mid-June!

Last week I worked as a camp counselor at a camp for kids with cancer. It was an amazing experience. There were around 60 children at the camp between 6 - 12 years old. My camper was 11 years old and has Leukemia. With her, you would never have known she had cancer because she looked very healthy and loved to talk about High School Musical, stuffed animals, and swimming.

For some of the other campers it was more obvious that they were dealing with way more than any 6 or 10 year old should have to deal with. Some of them had beautifully shiny bald heads, while others were just starting to get their hair back. I would overhear conversations where they used words like chemo, stick, port, relapse, remission, etc. More than once I had to ask what certain abbreviations meant (For example, ALL - Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).

I was constantly amazed by just how brave and strong these kids are. I had to keep reminding myself that they are kids above all else and it was our goal to give them an amazingly fun week where they could forget about cancer for a while.

There were two children that really touched me. One girl was 11 years old, but hearing her talk you would think she was 20. She has been through a lot in her short life and has had some heart-breaking experiences. One day while we were in the cabin I overheard her talking to some other girls about their wigs. They were all talking about how much they hated wearing them. The other girls had already gotten their hair back, but she was just starting to get some. I asked her what her wig looked like and she said, "Oh I can show you, I brought it for my costume." She put it on for me and it was amazing how totally different she looked. She said, "I just don't like to wear it because I am used to being bald now. I figure if someone doesn't want to be friends with me because I don't have hair, then they aren't really a friend worth having." I thought that was pretty amazing and confident for an 11 year old.

The other camper that really stuck with me was a 10 year old boy who is currently being treated and has a shiny bald head. He seemed very angry and standoffish. Their personalities were all so different. Some seemed mature beyond their age, and others seemed very wary of people they didn't know. This little boy commented to me that he didn't want to be doing the activity his counselor was doing with him. I asked what he would rather do and he said he wanted to go back to the cabin to read. I asked what he was reading and he said The Lightning Thief. This is a book I have read with my class for the past couple of years, so I launched into a great discussion about the book with him. His face lit up and his whole demeanor changed. We talked and talked about our favorite chapters and characters and I got a glimpse of what this child was like without the worry, anxiety, and frustration that is cancer. When I got home I got on his caringbridge page and read all about his diagnosis and treatment. I now understand why he was so angry. It seems that his prognosis is not very good and the treatment is very aggressive.

After spending a week with these kids I feel even more blessed and thankful for all that I have. These kids will forever be an inspiration to me! I can't wait to go back again.