CAMP TRILLIUM

I think I was more excited than Brian and Aly ..... but I was looking forward to going to Camp Trillium.  I never went to camp as a kid and regardless of what my mom says, I think I would have liked it.  Okay maybe not when I was 8 or 9, but definitely when I was a bit older.  I had missed the registration date for last summer, and I was quite upset that we didn't get to go.  When I received the confirmation in the mail for this summer - I was so excited.  I was even more excited to know that we were going at the same time as another family we knew from clinic AND we were sharing a cabin with them.  I chose the last week available for camp - I thought it would be a great way to end the summer.  We had a busy summer this year, and I felt like it was the first real summer we were able to enjoy.  We did have some visits to the emergency room and a couple of admissions, but nothing serious. We went to Disney, we went camping, Aly and I went to Blue Mountain with some good friends and now it was time for camp!!

We packed all our gear, followed the list provided by Camp Trillium and we were set!  We headed to Prince Edward County and parked our car just outside Wellington in a farmers field. They loaded our stuff into the boats and we were off!  I was enjoying the moment - the sun was shining, the wind was warm and everyone in the boat was excited.  What I didn't realize, was how emotional this week was going to be and it all began as the boat turned the corner and made it's way toward the dock.
The dock was full - - counsellors ( at camp trillium they call them special friends) were all dressed up with a Dr Seuss them ... jumping up and down, waving and full of excitement.  It was a bit overwhelming to me to know that a camp like this exists.  I am sure every camp has a similar experience  - where life long bonds are formed, a team of counsellors and staff dedicated to making your time at camp memorable - - but this camp is different, and it was evident the moment I saw it.  I was struck with emotion as the boat docked.  The staff had definitely done their homework.  Aly's special friend walked right up to her and said - you must be Aly "my name is Brittany and I am going to be your special friend for the week". Aly immediately went to her and gave her a big hug - thank goodness I had my RayBans on!  She walked us to our cabin then gave us a quick tour of the camp.  We arrived just after 4pm, so we only had a little time to settle in before we headed for dinner.  The cabins were far from luxurious, the food was cafeteria style - but everything ran on a schedule and it was a well oiled machine.  For many years the Canadian Cancer Society used to provide funding so that Camp Trillium could operate each year.  They no longer provide that funding - actually they do not provide any funding specific to childhood cancer.  The camp relies fully on donations from large organization and private donors. ( Okay - rant over .. back to my happy place).

There were activities for the kids and there were activities for the parents - but they were optional.  Most days we participated in events, and there were other days were we spent the day chatting with other parents, napping in the hammock or reading in the shade.  Aly was always with her special friend.  She would wake Aly up just before 8am and each morning they participated in the Polar dip ...brrrrr.  Then she would take her to breakfast - then they were off.  They did crafts, they went swimming, fishing, canoeing, played games and even went on unicorn hunts ( Aly's favourite).  We would meet up with her again at lunch - then spend an hour with her after lunch - then she was off again.  We would see her again at dinner, spend a bit of time with her after dinner ... then they would have a campfire and once that was over, her special friend would take her down the body shop where the nurses would give her her nightly dose of chemo, then she would read her a story and tuck her in.  They would stay in the cabin with the kids until 11pm - that was the parent's curfew.  It was great.

Ok - so back to this campfire.  Each night there was campfire.  The staff would put on shows and they were always full of music and laughter.  On the first night I was familiar with the routine ... as the sun began to set, someone pulled out a guitar and everyone put their arms around the person next to them and began to sway side to side ..... and they began singing the "good night song".  Emotional moment # 2 for me.  Wow - the lyrics were great ..... "when you need someone to talk to, or you just need someone to hold.  Now you know you've got someone to turn to ....."  and "may you dream of love, peace and hope and may all of your dreams come true." The lyrics totally capture the camp experience and challenges that all the families have faced.  In our normal worlds, not very many people can relate to the feeling, emotions and challenges that we go through when your child has cancer.  Except here it is different. Everyone gets it.  These are people you have a bond with - you can laugh with them, cry with them and sometimes you can just stand with them and now what they are going through.

This week was life changing for me.  Sounds intense, but it's true.  It not only gave us time away to relax and unwind - it gave us hope. As we chatted with the counselors, we found out that many of them have been coming to Camp Trillium for years.  They were once campers.  Some of them had siblings who had cancer, some of them were childhood cancer survivors themselves.  They are the ones that gave me hope.  They were healthy, active and intelligent (young) adults.  Some of them were Nursing students or enrolled in pre-med programs.  They were confident, they were intelligent ..... they were leaders and they were survivors.  This is what I needed to see.  I needed hope.  I needed to know that Aly would have every chance of having a normal life, to live a normal life - to go to school - to be a leader and to be happy.  They said they barely remember going through treatment and that they really only remember the good times.  The nurses being nice to them, and always being surrounded by loved ones they would rely on.

I look forward to many more years of memories at Camp Trillium.

A Wish has been granted!

We were counting down the days until Aly's WISH trip and before long the day was finally here.  We headed to Toronto on Friday June 21st where we would be staying the night at the Sheraton right at the airport.  We arrived at the park and fly, dropped off the truck and too the shuttle over the hotel.  I think Aly thought this was the extent of our trip.  When we entered the hotel there was a large escalator that took us up to the check in area - she that it was AWESOME!  We then got settled in our room and headed out to have some dinner.  Aly overheard some other children talking about he pool, so we wrapped up the night with her swimming and playing in the pool.

The next morning we didn't have to get up too early as our flight was not until 10am.  We were greeted at West Jet by an amazing crew and had our own personal escort that took us through security and waited with us until we boarded the plane.  I wasn't sure how Aly would react to flying. Although it wasn't her first flight, the last time she was on a plane she was only 15 months old when we went to Cuba and she doesn't seem to remember that trip at all.  To our surprise she sat in her window seat put on her headphones, wrapped a travel pillow around her neck and sat there as though she travelled often.  It was quite funny.  We were the fist people on board and Aly was allowed to go into the cockpit, meet the crew and ask some questions.  She asked how high the plane will fly, how it stays in the air, how old the plane was.  The crew chuckled at her questions and seemed surprised that a 4 year would ask such questions.

And we were off ...... the fligh was just under 3 hours and when we left the plane were were hit by the Florida humidity. Those around us chuckled because Aly said " mommy why do they the heaters on so high ....:"  Apparently, like her father, Aly does not like the heat!

We were greeted by a lovely English woman from Give Kids the World ( the place we would be staying at) ... and she lead us directly to the car rental place.  We picked out our car and we were off!  It was a short drive to our destination and when we pulled into the secured property, we had no idea what was on the other side of those gates.  It was a little village appropriately named "Give Kids the World".

It was June, so we knew it was going to be hot ....but it was HOT!!!  Well over 100 degrees on most days and really only one cooler night.  Thankfully there was a pool at the resort.  We would wake up early - hit the parks after breakfast, spend a few hours - return to the villa and spend the afternoon swimming in the pool, then return to the park a few nights to see fireworks etc.  Give Kids The World is hard to describe.  Everyone told us how great it was, but you don't truly appreciate everything about it - until you go there.  Volunteers come from all over the country ( ...and probably the world) and spend the week serving ice cream, carrying dinner trays to your table, operating the carousel, helping in the kids spa, and helping out with all the evening festivities.  In a week they celebrate, a birthday, Halloween, parades and they even celebrate Christmas and it includes a visit from Santa and each child received a present.  We would sit in the dining hall and look around at all the families that were there with us.  It's hard to put into words the struggles that so many families have, the strength they have to deal with the challenges they have been dealt and yet how happy, hopeful and inspiring they all were.  I am not even going to go into details about our visits to Disney World, Universal Studio and Animal Kingdon.  What can I say about it - it's magical!  We had passes that allowed us on rides almost immediately.  I don't think we waited any longer than 10 minutes for a ride and all the employees where AMAZING.  Our trip was not so much about Disney - it was about getting away from the crazy life we have lived for the past 2 years.  It was a stress free visit.  I never worried, I lived in the moment and as crazy as it sounds, I was grateful for the experience we have had through Aly's treatment.  So many kids have bigger battles to win, battles that won't end in remission and battles that some of them won't win.  This trip was good for us as a family. We needed to spend the time together outside of our "normal".  We needed to laugh, we needed to see Aly's face the first time she saw Darth Vader - - and later the smile on her face when she went up against him and became a JEDI.

We will be forever grateful to the Make a Wish Foundation for this trip and for continuing to offer this opportunity to families with sick children.