School has been in session for a few weeks and it’s officially fall, so it’s a good time to reflect on the summer. Junior Belén Mora describes volunteering at Camp Boggy Creek, an experience that she found on the Health Professions Advising website.
Camp Boggy Creek is like no other place in the world. I have volunteered and shadowed doctors in countries like Tanzania, Ecuador and Spain, and I could have never guessed that the most valuable experience of my life was hidden in a remote Floridian forest somewhere in Eustis.
This summer I volunteered as a cabin counselor for two weeks at Camp Boggy Creek, a camp for children that have been diagnosed with chronic or life-threatening diseases. The first week I had the opportunity to play with children suffering from either arthritis or blood disorders, and the second week I played with campers that had been diagnosed with cancer. Despite the exhaustion of a 24-hour-a-day job, every minute spent dancing, cheering, fishing, walking and laughing with the kids was worthwhile.
My first week as a cabin counselor was especially emotional because I was assigned to sixteen-year-old campers, the campers who are too old to return the following summer. Most of these children had been attending camp since they were diagnosed with arthritis or a blood disorder, and Camp Boggy Creek had become their home away from home. To them this camp is the only place where they can genuinely be themselves. For one week of their summer they are able to share their life stories and be truly understood.
Every night, right before midnight, I would accompany one of the girls in my cabin to take her nighttime medication at the camp’s medical facility. She had been diagnosed with arthritis and fibromyalgia as a child, meaning she suffered from chronic muscle and joint pain that confined her to a wheelchair.
Every night we would stroll down the lamp-lit asphalt talking about anything and everything. Our conversations ranged from the dog-like qualities of pygmy goats to her struggles with a wheel in a large high school. Every story she shared with me on those midnight walks made me admire and praise her more. She is the strongest and bravest person I have ever met.
All the campers in just one week were able to show me what it really means to be kind, compassionate and selfless. I will never forget any of the campers in my cabin, and I hope I made a difference in their lives too. Camp Boggy Creek is a magical place that more people should know about.
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