Camp Summersault

August 2 - 6, 2010

American Cancer Society (Long Beach chapter) sponsored the 25th annual camp for cancer kids and their siblings. Alisha had been looking forward to camp for quite some time since the menu called for archery. She had wanted to experience archery first hand after perfecting her skills on the Wii version. Unfortunately, she found out that the minimum age for archery is eight, so she will have to wait until next year. In lieu of her favorite activity, she found herself climbing up and down the 30+ feet rockclimbing wall.

The Camp was extremely successful not without the devoted volunteers of all age groups. The counselor/camper ratio were close to one to one, which is unheard of. What is heartbreaking about some of the counselors is that they are either coming out of another relapse or going through chemotherapy again. For some, the Medi-Cal coverage ended since they're considered an adult. We hope that they are able to win the plea with Medi-Cal to continue coverage at least until the end of treatment.

We were concerned with Ashley and her attention span at camp. She amazed us by staying all the way through the week and enjoyed most of it. There were rhymes, sayings and songs that kept her interested. Any arts and crafts involving jewelries such as crowns, necklaces, bracelets, etc. were a big hit for her. The girls worked on masks, fireflies, instruments made from recycle products. They prepared their own lunches, roasted marshmallows to make s'mores, made banana boats, etc.

On Thursday evening, the parents were invited to a BBQ by the Long Beach Fire Department, performances by the kids and special presentation to celebrate 25 years of the camp.