Seriously ill children take a break at camp

KERR LAKE -- When the handler pulled the first snake out of its bag, there was a chorus of gasps and murmurs from the Camp Kaleidoscope kids sitting around her.

"Oh my gosh, it's tying itself into a knot!" one camper called out. Some jumped off their logs to get a closer look.

A show-and-tell with snakes is a time-honored feature of the sleepaway summer camp experience. At Camp Kaleidoscope, kids also swim, sail, play sports, and do arts and crafts.

But the place affectionately known as "Camp K" isn't an everyday summer camp. Hosted by Duke Children's Hospital, the camp is for children with chronic and terminal illnesses, including cancer, HIV, sickle cell disease, heart disease and asthma.

Now in its 31st year, Camp K aims to provide as full a camp experience as possible for kids who otherwise wouldn't be able to go. It's also designed to instill confidence in campers - the belief they can handle activities from which they might previously have been sheltered.

Campers want to come back

Many kids come back year after year, seeing old friends and making new ones.

Because of his severe asthma - so grave that it caused his lungs to collapse when he was born - Jonathan Van Hoose became a camper in 1990, back when the program allowed 6-year-olds. He ended up going back every summer until he was 16.

But he didn't want to leave after that.

Van Hoose, who recently received his nursing degree, has been a counselor since 2006. He is co-director of the camp's third week, which started Sunday and caters to teens ages 14 to 16.

"I see these kids, and I know how they're feeling and what they're going through," he said. "I remember how much I learned those years to start coping with my disease. I want them to grow the way I did."

Instead of being divided by medical condition, Camp K kids are grouped by age. The first week is for 7- to 10-year-olds, and the second for 11- to 13-year-olds. Each week, about 35 campers attend.

Camp K counselors are doctors, nurses, physical therapists, medical students and other caregivers affiliated with Duke University Medical Center. They say they don't coddle their charges.

"This isn't Make-A-Wish," said Ken Baroff, counselor and deputy director for development at Duke Children's Hospital, referring to the foundation that makes dreams come true for children with life-threatening conditions. "We show kids - and their parents - just what they are capable of."

At camp, the counselors do double duty - performing health-related tasks such as passing out medications at night, and scheduling and leading regular camp activities during the day.

Funded by donations, the program is held on Kerr Lake in Henderson, on the grounds of Camp Graham, owned by the Girl Scouts of North Carolina Coastal Pines.

What makes Camp K unique is the way it brings together kids with very different conditions to live, learn and have fun together.

"It's fun to be away from home for a week," said Jordan Bermudez, a bubbly 13-year-old from Durham who has gone to Camp K since age 7. "And my parents like that I'm here. They know I'm safe."

North Carolina has other camps for sick children, but they tend to group kids by illness. East Carolina University hosts Camp Hope for children with sickle cell disease, Camp Rainbow for those with cancer or hemophilia, and Camp Needles in the Pines for those with diabetes. The North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center funds Camp Celebrate for children with burn injuries.

Important experiences

Camp K Director Arthur Taub points out that the quality of modern medicine makes it especially important for sick children to have these kinds of social experiences early on.

"Most of these kids are going to live to be adults," he said. "Camp provides them with a normal growth and developmental experience."

If there is a medical emergency, counselors are trained to notify parents. Other than that, Taub says, parents will have to wait until the end of the week to hear from their kids, just as with any other sleepaway camp.

"I tell parents that no news is good news," he said. "For minor problems - like scrapes or homesickness - we take care of that at camp."

Yet for most kids, the bustle of activities leaves little time for homesickness.

"The snakes were cool," said Joseph Watkins, an 11-year-old from Cary now in his third year at camp. "But my favorite part of camp is making friends."