A dream is a wish

It's been a week since kid's arthritis camp and I have to say that this was one of the best years ever.

Not only was it Disney themed which totally rocked, but the kids were awesome! 

I mean, they are awesome every year, but there was just something special about this year. 

Like every year at camp we have a DJ come and the naval base sends over some military guys and gals to spend the night dancing and having fun with the kids. 

We normally last like 45 minutes...maybe. This year, we had like a 2 hour dance. 

All the kids participated, as did all of the counselors! 

I really don't know how any of us were able to walk the next day lol! 

But the really cool thing about that night was that we had a few people come and help the girls get ready. Just like the bibbity boppity boutique....minus having to pay 100 and something dollars for the "disney experience" :)

I can't tell you how excited the girls were to get all dressed up like real princesses! 

There were some in pirate gear too! 

3 days full of magic happened and I wasn't even at Disney.

Yes I love camp because it allows the kids to hangout and talk to others like them. It's great that they get the chance to realize that they aren't alone. But I love camp even more because it allows them the chance to be normal. 

Here they aren't worried what others are going to think because they are thinking the same thing. 

Camp give them the chance to not have to explain themselves for once in their lives. I had (still have actually) a red mustache rash from one of my meds or part of my psoriasis and nobody asked why. It was great because if I was anywhere else and when I got home and went places, people stared like I had a contagious disease. At camp, everything is normal!

Oh they have to go take pills now....

Instead of having to tell their friends why, their friends are taking the same thing!

Their doctor also comes out 2 of the 3 days of camp, just to hangout. He does crafts with them, talks to them, and even dances with them! 

How many people can say that they danced the cha cha slide with their doctor?

It truly is a hands on experience.

I started this blog because I wanted to give people an inside look at what it's like growing up with a chronic illness. I also wanted to bring awareness to Arthritis. 

I want people to see how much of a positive influence kids camp is. 

I want more camps.

I want more people to know about how kids are affected. 

I want to find more ways in which we can help them beat this. 

This is my dream.

This is my wish.

Now to just make that reality! 

Here is an awesome pic of myself, Counselor Tricia, and Counselor Austin rocking our awesome Peter Pan pose! 

By the way, this picture was taken by Cat Outzen. She's the awesome person who runs camp every year. There needs to be more people like her out there in the world! Go like Sacred Heart Children's Hospital's page on facebook to see more pics and learn more about this awesome camp and other camps like it! 

On Pause

I was thinking the other day about how right now my life is in between events.
It's like I'm on commercial break between two really adventurous and addicting shows.
It's the summer. The first true summer I've had in 2 years and the last one I'll have for who knows how long.

You would think that I'm enjoying it! Don't get me wrong, I am! I love not having responsibilities or homework or professors to impress.

But it's so hard going from 60 to 0. For the past 2 years I've had something to do all the time and now I really don't have anything.

It's been a little over a month since I've graduated and I've already read 5 books and watched 3 tv shows.

I love this time because I can relax.
But I also am not a fan of my commercial break because of 2 reasons:

The first is that I can't really do anything because of my health.
Remember that hospital stay a few months ago?! Yeah, well, that's made it to where I can't get on planes or go to Disney (that's a really big deal for me) or really even be anywhere close to someone who is really sick.

The second and probably the most difficult is that I'm growing up. This commercial break is going to end soon and I'm going to wake up and it'll hit me that I'm in a doc program. Right now it's still just words. Right now that's months in the future when in reality it's 2.5 months away. I do not like the idea of growing up lol! I think it's why I like Peter Pan so much. Growing up means more problems. The other downside to growing up is coming to terms with the fact that all of your friends leave you. Now, I've had friends move before. I have 2 in Texas, one in Hawaii, and a few in Georgia. Now the friends that I've spent the last 2 years with (that's another big deal because I'm not talking like oh you see them every now and then during those 2 years...no this is everyday all day even on the weekends for 2 years) are moving to different places.




I'm complaining right now and I'm not sorry for it lol!

What does this have to do with having Arthritis? I promise I have a point, it's not all whining lol!

Growing up is inevitable and my commercial break will end in 2.5 months. I can't stop that. I can't control that.

The future is something that everyone worries about.
Now imagine having a disability.

The uncertainty of how my body will handle the stress of a program as demanding as the one I'm entering is stressful. The thought of not having my best friends close when I need someone to crawl in bed and watch greys anatomy with me because I can't move, is scary. I could go on, but I won't.

I like my commercial break so much because it's like hitting the pause button on life for just a little bit.

Once this is over, my next adventure will begin. I'll handle it and succeed just like I do with everything else! It's normal for us to worry about what the future holds. It's exciting and scary. But that doesn't mean we won't miss how things were.

Ask me in 2.5 months if I'm ready for that adventure to start, hopefully it'll be a different answer than I have right now.

Or I might have run off to be a dolphin trainer....you never know what the future holds!!



I'll try to write more this summer and not leave you hanging for 2 months. Arthritis kids camp is coming up, so stay tuned for stories from Disney Camp!!!