Camp for children with diabetes assists with independence

Stillwater - Children who have diabetes wake up and go to bed with the disease every day. Their lives are all about blood sugar testing and insulin shots or insulin pumps they secret beneath their clothes out in “the real world.” Escape from that world is offered at Camp Nejeda in Stillwater, a place where children with diabetes feel like normal kids while they learn to manage their disease. Each summer, kids with diabetes swim, shoot hoops, peddle boats on a seven acre lake, hike the Appalachian Trail, take rafting trips, go to a water park and build bonds that last a lifetime. At camp, those insulin pumps clipped to the waistband aren’t noticed any more than kids giving themselves shots. At home, their peers may be uncomfortable seeing these kids hooked up to a machine or watching them inject themselves, at C Camp Nejeda offers kids with diabetes life-changing experience amp Nejeda, it’s perfectly normal. The focus of each camp day is having fun, although not only the campers, but most of the doctors, nurses and counselors have diabetes. About 13 million people in the United States are diagnosed with diabetes, and of those, between five and 10 percent have type I, formerly known as juvenile diabetes. Each summer, 320 campers attend four sessions at Camp Nejeda ( short for the New Jersey Diabetes Association). The camp is open to all children with Juvenile Diabetes without regard to race, sex, age or national origin or handicap that is within staff and programming abilities. Tuition costs $850 for one week and $1,700 for two, but thanks to donations to the non-profit Camp Najeda Foundation Inc., there are a host of “camperships” available. Phillip De Rea is at the helm of this foundation. He became executive director in January 2005, coming from a post as Program Director at New Jersey Audubon’s Weis Ecology Center in Ringwood. What makes his role appropriate is that De Rea, himself, is a type I diabetic. “I developed my diabetes in my mid twenties, and have always appreciated the fact that I did not have to deal with diabetes AND being a teenager at the same time,“ he said. “That has also made me even more sensitive to and committed to making that period of life more manageable for those who ARE living with diabetes during adolescence. I think coming to Camp Nejeda, where having diabetes is the norm, helps kids feel less awkward about having diabetes which, in turn, makes them more confident in other areas of their lives.” De Rea added, “Another powerful aspect of Camp Nejeda and type 1 diabetes is the impact it has on the whole family. The younger a child is when their diabetes develops, the larger the role of their parents and caregivers. Not only is the child testing his or her blood sugar and administering insulin throughout the day every day (5 or more times each day), but there is an adult, sibling or school staff member who also gets involved in the process every time.” Camp Nejeda offers parents a period of respite and rejuvenation while its trained staff perform the multiple daily chores involved in managing their child’s diabetes. Come summer, Jim Daschback arrives on site. A middle school teacher in Pittsburg during the rest of the year, Daschback has been Camp Nejeda’s Camp Director for the past 17 years. Before that, he directed a camp in the Poconos until it closed. “He’s great, he’s manic and he’s so good for the kids at this camp,” De Rea said. “It’s something else how he’ll get 16-year-old boys standing up singing and doing a silly dance by the end of camp week like it’s nothing at all. That’s the type of guy he is. He gets the kids involved, having fun and loving life.” Camp Nejeda is New Jersey’s only residential summer camp offering educational and empowering programs exclusively for children and young adults with diabetes and their families. The Health Center is staffed by nurses and physicians 24 hours a day, and blood glucose monitoring is performed at least four times per day and whenever else necessary. Nurses surpervise all insulin administration and a pediatric endocrinologist reviews blood glucose records daily and makes adjustments when necessary. Health Center Director Ray Fowlie, RN, said the transformation some kids make during a week at camp is amazing “A lot of the kids are pretty much couch potatoes at home. They come here and suddenly they’re running and playing sports and doing arts and crafts. It’s so good for them.” With the increased activity comes the need to make sure blood glucose levels are adjusted accordingly, but Fowlie and the medical staff closely supervise all that the campers do and test when necessary. The kids also take care of each other which is part of the bond they form at Camp Nejeda. The camp was founded by a group of doctors and parents in 1958. It was run for two years at a rented property before moving to its current location off of Saddleback Road on 72 wooded acres in Stillwater. There are now 10 cabins and thanks to a recent alumni and parent campaign, each camper will now sleep on a real bed rather than a cot. During camp, each cabin contains eight campers, two senior counselors, a junior counselor and a counselor in training. A nurse is assigned to each cabin. In recognition of the fact that managing diabetes can be challenging for the entire family, the Camp Nejeda Foundation also offers “Family Camp” two weeks during the summer. Each family is assigned its own cabin, and the week includes workshops and hands-on learning as well as boating, fishing, field games, arts and crafts, swimming, indoor and outdoor activities, nature walks, star gazing, bonfires, and lots of talking and sharing experiences. Thanks to contributions from companies including Becton Dickinson and Eli Lilly, most diabetic management supplies and equipment are provided. “Camp Nejeda is about giving kids the tools to live better lives. That’s my gig and that’s my passion and that’s what we do here,“ De Rea said. Kids leave with a positive approach to their diabetes management, and as is demonstrated by the strong camp alumni association, life-long friends.