My name is Band-Aid and I was the nurse’s assistant and now am one of the Operations coordinator for Camp Kesem. The first time I heard about Camp Kesem, Curious George announced that applications for Cabin Counselors were open and they were looking for people to fill the positions. The idea sounded fun but at the time (and still today) I was working two jobs and trying to maintain my sanity with school, so adding another thing to my agenda seemed to be far too difficult. I missed the application date and subsequently missed my opportunity to join the Camp Kesem team…or so I thought. Several months later while driving back from a conference, Curious George (CG) and I started talking about Camp Kesem again and I expressed my regrets for not applying to be a counselor. With a little excitement in his voice CG told me that they were in need of a nurse’s assistant and that if I wanted to the position was mine. Without hesitation I accepted happily and started to get extremely excited for my first Kesem experience.

My Experience with Cancer

    When I was 16 years old my mom sat my siblings and I down after dinner and announced that she had something that she needed to tell us. For several years she had been having lower back and abdominal pains, but none of the doctors she had been to see were able to determine the definite cause. Finally they found it, Leiomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer in the abdomen. The doctors soon took her into surgery where they removed a tumor the size of a football, after which they started her on two different forms of Chemotherapy. For a while things were looking up and she seemed to be doing better. My mom was always positive about it all and tried her hardest to keep her head up through all the treatments, especially when talking to us kids about it. As the time went on I had a feeling that there was something that she wasn’t telling me about how serious the situation was. I was finally able to contact some of her medical providers and get more detailed information, it was not what I wanted to hear, but it was what I knew to be true. My mom only had a short time left to live; the cancer had taken over most of her vital organs and was spreading with great speed. By this point I was 18 years old and in my senior year of high school. I was spending every weekend at my mom’s house in New Mexico doing what I could to alleviate some of her burdens while trying to spend whatever time I had left with her.

    The time was drawing near, my mom only had about a week left to live. Her hospice nurse requested that each of us take a moment to say our goodbyes. As we gathered around my mom’s bed we were given just a brief amount of time to reminisce on a lifetime of memories and express everything we wanted her to know. No one can possibly prepare themselves enough for a moment like that; no one can possibly say all of the things they wanted their mom to know in just a matter of moments. I took about a month off of school so that I could try to take care of all the final arrangements for a memorial, take care of my family, and try to sort out my mother’s things. The morning she passed away is a memory that will forever be with me and continues to be so vivid it feels like it was yesterday. Cancer affects every person close to the individual with the diagnosis. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, so was I, along with every other member of my family. My childhood was taken from me when cancer took over my family, I felt like I didn’t have an escape or outlet. Aside from my siblings, I felt like I was alone in my situation, and that there were no other kids around me that I could lean on who had a similar understanding of the situation I was thrust into.

How Camp Kesem Changed my Life

    As camp approached I had a pit in my stomach, I had no idea what to expect nor did I think I could really be what I thought these kids needed. I was filled with excitement and nervousness simultaneously. The first day of camp was exciting, all of the kids arrived with smiles that went on for miles and a light about them that could blind you. Because I was the nurse’s assistant, Stiches (the nurse) and I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to all of the parents as they checked their kiddos into camp. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of gratitude that these families had. They have been able to see the “magic” that Camp Kesem brings and they have seen the beautiful power it has to change lives. This brought me hope and the confidence I needed to move into the week knowing that no matter what happens, this was for the kids and that was my goal; to create as many opportunities to for magic and joy as I possibly could. The staff and kids alike are some of the greatest inspirations of my life. I was amazed at the strength, compassion, and generosity each person possessed. I witnessed miracles that week; I watched perfect strangers reach out and comfort their neighbors in times of hardship. I watched staff members go about each day with energy unparalleled to anything I have seen, joy beyond measure and a heart full of love and compassion, all while running on about four hours of sleep each night. To say that Camp Kesem changed my life would be an understatement; it has become a part of me and is now a driving force for me to desire to change the world in whatever way I can. One week of camp might sound menial and ineffective to the naked eye. But in that one week, these kids are given the opportunity to be a kid again. They are given an opportunity to escape their burdens at home and be around people who know what they are going through. Camp Kesem provides opportunities to have someone to walk with you as you face the fears of a parent struggling with cancer; it brings back childhood even if it is for a brief moment in time.

With all my heart,

Band-Aid