I have recently moved from New Jersey and there was a great camp there and I don't mind sending a shout out to Camp Riverbend in Warren NJ!! We love you and miss you!! They had a nurse there that was WONDERFUL!!! She took care of so many children and had at least 2 or 3 Type 1 diabetics at one time and never blinked taking care of them. This was an everyday outdoorsy camp, complete with ropes course, pools, archery, you name it. She was wonderful - my daughter was so well taken care I felt like she was so safe there, when I got my new job in NC and the company relocated me here I was saddest to leave because I knew I had to leave the camp.
I got here and not one camp has a nurse?!?! Not one! The diabetes camps are only 2 weeks maximum, most are not local and are sleepaway. My daughter is not ready for that and even if she was, what do I do for the rest of the summer? I am forced to send her to a day camp where I have to pay for a nursing student every day an hour to be there over lunch to give her her shot because she is not yet ready for a pump.
I think the Type 1 diabetes nation and JDRF should start a campaign to get nurses into camps for children not only for Type 1 diabetes but for ALL conditions. I mean so much can happen at camp and parents are ok to leave it to untrained counselors to decide if a kid needs more help or not?
If there is anyone in North Carolina who wants to start an outdoor day camp for Type 1 diabetics in the Triangle area please let me know, I will help! With all the medical facilities around, I think we will get tons of sponsorship and lots of support! How about it JDRF? What do you think?
What you had in NJ sounds wonderful. I'd actually never heard of a day camp with a nurse. That's cool, but it can't be very common. I hope you're able to find something.
Is there a reason your daughter isn't able to do her lunch shot herself? I wasn't sure how old she is, but she sounds like she's school age.
The cool thing about NC is that there are a couple good diabetes camps that are held in state. My brother in law who has T1D has been an adult counselor at Camp Carolina Trails. It's held at YMCA Camp Hanes on 400 acres next to Hanging Rock State Park. But registration fills up fast. Our endocrinologist in Charlotte put together a day camp that we've attended - Camp Coqui. Not sure if that's still going on though. Thirdly, there's Camp Needles in the Pines that's put together by ECU. The link to that site is: www.ecu.edu/.../Camp-Needles.cfm
If you're willing to travel consider this:
A camp that we saved up for- and was totally worth it is Camp Clara Barton (for girls). Camp Joslin is the boys camp. Both are up in Massachusetts and are amazing programs.
If you are willing to travel, please consider Camp Sweeney in Texas. They not have only have a nurse, they have doctors and medical students for camp counselors. I consider it to be hallowed ground. My son went there and it was wonderful. It is for boys and girls. Our medical insurance covered most of the tuition to attend. We just had to get a note from his doctor saying it would be helpful for him to attend.
There is a camp called camp sweet pea in colorado. It has almost every nurse, one that do nlood sugars,shots,finger pokes. Igs also super fun! I was there once and u get to swim and play on the stage, do sctivities and crafts, even meet are sate soccer teams coach! Its in colorado, but its worth it!