Summer Camp

Yep, it's that time of year again. 

Summer camp. 

I am NOT a big fan of summer camp. Many parents probably worry when their kids are at camp because they miss their child, worry that they might be home sick, etc. 

 But, when you have a kid with allergies and asthma, we worry about things like - oh, breathing. You know...that thing that keeps you alive.

Daughter Kitty is at a church camp. And it's REALLY far from the closest town (and cell service), so that makes me nervous. There is a caretaker couple that lives in a house at the campground, and they have a land line, so I guess there is ONE way for Kitty to contact me if needed.

The other bad part is....well...you are out in nature! To quote Melman the Giraffe from the movie Madagascar, 

"Ahhhhh! Nature! It's all over me! Get it off!" 

There's no getting away from nature when you are camping. It's not being at home, eating dinner on the patio, and then going back into your air conditioned house and a nice shower. 

With camping, you are out surrounded by trees, grasses, bushes - all sorts of things that can set off allergies (and cause an asthma attack.) The cabins can be really dusty too.

Kitty is also at a high elevation, which can make it more "fun" to try to breathe.

If you worry about your kids at camp, there is another option. 

American Lung Association has special asthma camps in most states. What's an asthma camp? That's where kids can enjoy all the fun of camp BUT - the best part is that there are doctors, nurses and/or respiratory therapist there 24 hours a day!

Camp Superkids in Minnesota has a youtube video that shows what asthma camp is like.  

They also have a nurse assigned to each cabin! How cool is that? I would really sleep easy at night knowing there were doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists that could help my child in case anything happened. 

You can look for an asthma camp near you by checking The Consortium on Children's Asthma Camps website 

I hope you find a fun camp nearby. Until then, I will just worry until Kitty gets back home (Moms are great worriers you know). I'm sure she'll be fine and there's the whole "teenage bonding thing" that is an important part of camp, right?

Speaking of camping, I am really craving some s'mores right now.....