Inhale…Exhale…Play!
Sometimes known for sitting on the sidelines, they held nothing back. As they ran, swam, dove for fly balls and played games, the kids at Camp Superstuff held their heads high, emphatically saying no to being breathless. For this camp wasn’t just about having a great time—for kids like Niamh Haller, 11, it was about taking control of their asthma and discovering how to live life to its fullest.
“I’ve had asthma and some other conditions since I was born, so I always seem to have a hard time playing sports or being really active,” said Haller, “but here at Camp Superstuff it’s different, I don’t feel as different.”
Enjoying the perfect mixture of learning and fun, twenty kids with asthma spent the week of July 30th at Breathe California’s annual day camp at Willow Glenn Middle School. There they learned about their disease and how to better manage it, while enjoying traditional camp activities and fieldtrips. Whether in the classroom or outside playing, the mood was that of summertime frenzy, with campers as boisterous in their learning as they were in their play.
“There was a lot of stuff we could do here that we couldn’t do at other camps, like go to Great America or the Tech Museum, and we learned a lot of cool stuff about asthma too,” said first-time camper Faithy Limon, 8, whom couldn’t get enough of Camp Superstuff and her new friends. “It was interesting and important to learn what’s happening to my body so I can take care of my body so I don’t get an asthma attack.”
In the classroom, fact-packed and image-filled Camp Superstuff workbooks sat open on desks with pages filled out by campers. Around the room, faces were bright as they took part in interactive lessons and absorbed new information about asthma. “Woah! Our lungs do that?!” exclaimed camper Max Partridge, 8, after counselor Titi Le described how the body reacts during an asthma attack during a morning class, “I didn’t even know!”
As campers learned important lessons like how to recognize and avoid attack triggers, they also had a chance to just be kids. Each day featured a number of games, field trips and outdoor activities that allowed campers to bond with one another and put into practice what they had learned. In addition, constant medical supervision helped campers fully and freely participate in all of the traditional activities, while also putting parents at ease.
As Candace Le, an appreciative mother of two return campers commented, “Many teachers don’t understand, but here they do. The kids go to other camps and the whole time I clutch the phone and worry, but not this week, I know they’re okay here.” Son Dillon Le agreed saying, “I liked everything, but being able to enjoy regular activities without fear of asthma was the best.”
As the week came to an end, many campers were left wanting more. Yet, they also left with the skills to better manage their condition as well as a newfound confidence,that will stay with them for years. And they can walk away with the most important lesson of them all - that asthma doesn’t have to control you; you can control your asthma.
Media Contact: Dave Low
(408) 998-5865, david@lungsrus.org