I volunteered during the Bleeding Disorders & Rheumatology Week, so several of my campers were affected by hemophilia.  You don’t know what trust is until you let 13 year old boys stick you with a needle so they can practice how to deliver blood clotting factor to their bloodstream.  During the week, I let two of my campers inject a needle into my hand for practice.  I tried to act cool, calm, and collected as they probed the needle around in search of a vein.  My performance might not deserve an Oscar, but the excitement and appreciation of these boys was enough reward.  By the end of the week, one of them was able to self-infuse which is a tremendous milestone toward independence and self-confidence.

My head was filled with light-hearted moments as well, such as eating spaghetti without utensils or a water gun fight on paddle boats in the lake.  I can’t forget the various songs, dances, and cheers that created quite a roar in the dining hall or the guaranteed standing ovations after any camper’s performance.  I’ve captured countless other memories, but I’ve yet to mention the most important ones… the campers.  In the words of the late Paul Newman, the camps give the kids a chance to “raise a little hell” and I can’t begin to explain how much I enjoyed being along for that ride and how much I learned from it.                   

            ~Michael Petro (Fall ’06)

The motto of the camp is to feel “Safe, Respected, and Loved”, and the atmosphere created there allows the kids to not be defined by their illnesses and to truly be themselves.  By the time the six days of camp are over the kids were full of confidence and energy, feeling renewed and ready to take on their illnesses in the real world.

This confidence comes from doing activities that they might not normally do or be allowed to do, which include archery, horseback riding, fishing, canoeing, swimming, working in a wood shop, and arts and crafts.  They are provided a summer camp experience that caters to the specific needs of their illnesses, and they are allowed to explore, try new things, and make mistakes.  The energy comes from the atmosphere of the camp.  At Camp Boggy Creek there are cheering, chanting, and singing happening nearly all the time.  Originally the counselors take the lead, but within a couple days, the campers take the initiative and their enthusiasm is invigorating.  In addition it is a fast-paced week, and the kids become fully invested in all the activities from the Silly Olympics, an organized food fight that involves the entire camp, to the camp dance to the Aquatic Activity, a massive water fight, to Stage Day.  This energy was most apparent on the last day of camp.  During the farewell breakfast, there were campers and counselors dancing to “Cotton Eye Joe”, campers getting their shirts signed and exchanging contact information, and everyone just having fun.  There were donors visiting that morning, and as I walked by them and saw their amazed expressions, I thought to myself, “How can they not be impressed?  Everyone is having the time of his or her life.” 

From my experience at camp I take away a desire to return to Camp Boggy Creek, and this desire is shared by the campers.  On the evening of the second last day of camp, I asked one of my campers if he had enjoyed himself this week, and of course, he said that he did.  I then asked him how much longer he wished camp would last, and I was surprised by his answer when he replied, “Five years.”  Although he did want to go home back to his family, he also wanted to stay at this place that allowed him to have fun in spite of his illness.                

          ~John Zamojski (Fall ’05)

Everyone says that volunteering at Boggy Creek is a life-changing experience, but you don’t truly understand it until you’ve been there yourself.  I volunteered during Epilepsy Week, the week that many counselors deem as their favorite week of the summer.  The kids for this week can be quite special, because the continuous trauma in their brains can cause permanent damage.  Most of the campers are operating at an age-level less than their years.  They can have short attention spans, don’t always remember the things you tell them, and sometimes just don’t register anything you’re saying.  On top of all of that, they are some of the most loving kids you will meet in your life.  They give the best hugs, the hardest high fives, and their smiles will just brighten your day.

I had two campers in particular who left their mark on me.  The first was probably the most enthusiastic and energetic kid I have ever met in my entire life.  This was his fifth time at Boggy, and he absolutely loves the place.  He always wants to lead a cheer, sing a song, or do a dance. He has some difficulty getting to bed, because he just wants to be up doing something. Sometimes he has so much energy stored up in him that we’ll be sitting at lunch or dinner, and he’ll just scream to get rid of some of it!  He is always the one to give you a hug or a high five, and he makes sure you feel it.  He does all of this in spite of the fact that his left arm and left leg have been rendered mostly useless because of the damage his seizures have caused.  It is absolutely amazing to see someone who loves life so much though he has to face such adversity.

The other camper who impacted me is quite the opposite.  Though he is 15 years old, he has about the functional level of a 7-year-old.  He needed constant one-on-one attention by the counselors, and didn’t interact with the other campers too much.  He didn’t want to do anything we asked him and would always need to be coached step-by-step through everything he did.  He was, by far, the most challenging camper in the cabin, and, from what I heard, one of the most challenging campers of the entire summer.  Despite all of this, when he looked at you and said, “I love you,” your heart would just melt.  When the camp did the Web of Kindness on the last day, he asked to go up twice to say Thank You to people, even though no one could understand what he was saying.  Despite how he acted, I believe that he did enjoy his time at camp and with the other campers.

What makes camp amazing are the children who touch your life.  You come away with this great feeling of love that you just want to share with everyone you meet.  There is no feeling that could possibly compare.  I will always highly recommend the camp to everyone I know, and I plan to go back again next summer.  If my life happens to be in the right place in a few years, I might even go down to work for the whole summer.

                                                            -David Karnick (Fall ’07)