Fresh Air Fund
No time to dwell on anything but fun
August 2, 2010
Leslie Ferenc
STAFF REPORTER
ROUSSEAU, ONT.—The thought for the day at Camp Oochigeas is profound: ‘Friends are like wedgies. It feels great to pick a good one.’
And Rhea has plenty — pals, that is.
This is her first year at camp and her new friends have made her feel right at home. Thing is, she didn’t know what to expect because she’d never been to camp before.
“I wasn’t familiar with the surroundings and it took just a little bit of getting used to,” said the 7-year-old, who planned to attend for one week and stayed on for a second. (She didn’t want to miss the dance program and learn how to hula.)
She’d heard a lot about Ooch at the Hospital for Sick Kids, but couldn’t imagine what it would be like. Arriving at camp was like landing on another planet where having fun was the priority.
“I like everything,” she said, adding that until she got to Ooch, she had never swum in a lake, kneeboarded, climbed high ropes or lounged in an inflatable couch towed behind a boat. “That’s so much fun.”
If not for Ooch, she may still not experienced any of those joys. The only camp of its kind in Ontario, it’s for children with cancer, in various stages. Some are in treatment, others in recuperation. Many have beaten cancer. There’s also a camp for newly diagnosed teens and bereaved siblings. Many kids return for the leaders-in-training program. There’s also a day camp in the city for younger children.
Rhea has faced great challenges too. But at Ooch, cancer isn’t the first thing on her mind when she wakes up or the last when she goes to bed. There’s so much positive energy at Ooch there’s no time to dwell on anything but having fun.
Campers’ medical needs are a hop, skip and a jump away at the Med Shed, where a volunteer pediatric oncologist and a team of oncology nurses from Sick Kids is on site 24/7. Children with cancer can get full-service medical care on the spot, including intravenous chemotherapy and blood and platelet transfusions, and be out having a blast in no time. It means parents and children who are very astute when it comes to their cancer can rest assured it’s all honky-dory at camp.
Cecelia is also a first-time camper. Within days of arriving, the 9-year-old received a special Ooch award for determination.
“I did 43 jumps off the diving board in two hours,” she said as she showed off her badge of honour.
Like Rhea, Cecelia didn’t know what to expect either.
“I thought I would spend all day walking around with a counsellor,” she said as she wrote a letter to her mom and dad telling them about her amazing camp experiences.
“I didn’t know I would be doing so many fun things like swimming, water-skiing and fishing.”
Cailyn, 8 ¾, had already written to her mom to say she missed her, but that she was having a good time. It’s one of the reasons Cailyn came back to camp this summer.
“My mom wants me to be happy,” she said. “My friends at camp make sure I’m happy.”
She loves all the activities including archery, swimming, water-skiing, making pottery and kayaking.
“Pottery is kind of difficult because you have to shape the clay and it moves,” she said laughing. The completed piece will be displayed with pride at her house and be a reminder of great days at camp.
You never know whom you’ll run in to at Ooch. It was great to see Madison, who talked to the Fresh Air Fund about her camp experiences last summer.
What a difference a year makes. Madison had changed so much. She was taller, more mature and her freckles even more beautiful.
The biggest change was the missing peach fuzz. Madison wasn’t embarrassed to show it off at Ooch last year.
“It’s a place where I can feel good about my beautiful peach fuzz,” she said at the time after undergoing treatment.
This year, her hair had grown into long silky, shoulder-length locks.
“Look, I have hair,” she said as we chatted.
It was so great to see her again — healthy, happy and as always smiling. It’s what makes this assignment so rewarding.
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