Children with cancer get time away from disease at camp

RACINE, Mo. -- Jessica Ressel doesn't normally like to go swimming with other kids.

Multiple chemotherapy and radiation treatments have left the 18-year-old cancer survivor scarred. If given the choice, she said, she would prefer that no one inspect those old battle wounds.

But she's willing to put her anxieties aside and take the plunge into the pool when she spends a week at Camp Quality. It's a place where everyone has scars of some kind.

"Here, I don't feel any different," Ressel said recently at the park. "Here, everybody compares scars."

The camp, near Racine, is for youngsters with cancer. There are four Camp Qualities in Missouri and 15 in the country.

The idea originated in Australia and quickly spread to the United States and other countries.

At each camp, children with cancer have a companion who provides constant support and helps them get from place to place if needed.

Ressel said it has been the sense of inclusiveness that has brought her back year after year, even after her cancer was long gone. She is back again this year, but not as a camper. She is a companion for 6-year-old newcomer Keith Needham.

"Today I made two candles and she made two candles," Keith said between activities. "I also caught some fish and got to ride in the golf cart. It's fun." The golf cart is used to transport the ailing children around the camp.

Camp director Sonny Elder said a lot of former campers return to be companions for children who are new to the camp. He said the camp needed new companions this year because of the large increase in campers. There are 32 campers -- the largest enrollment since the camp started 16 years ago.

'Don't want your pity'

Elder said most companions keep tabs on their children throughout the rest of the year, sometimes attending school functions or taking them to a movie. The camp is funded through donations and is run by a volunteer staff.

"We volunteer because we enjoy working with kids," Elder said. "They teach you a lot. They are not to be pitied, either. They don't want your pity. That's why they look forward to camp so much."

Elder said many of the children know more about hospitals than most older people. They are often fussed over by doctors and parents, and they often draw stares from others.

That's why Micah Curry, 17, loves Camp Quality so much.

"It's a place I can go when I just want to get away and be a kid again," Curry said. "You get to fellowship with other kids. It's a fun experience with the little kids, too. When they are down in the dumps, I get to help cheer them up."

Elder said the camp offers a variety of activities, including swimming, archery, leather classes, candle classes, kite-flying classes and quilting. The companions are there to help them, or simply to encourage them to keep trying.

Elder said the camp has a doctor and two nurses on hand every day with equipment for emergencies.

"Two years ago, a girl with extremely aggressive cancer was brought in on her bed," Elder said. "We were able to take care of her while she was here and allow her to have fun."

Sometimes the campers lose their battles with cancer during the year while they are away. In the past two years, three former campers have died.

But while they are at camp, cancer is the last thing on these kids' minds. Elder said the camp leaves such an impression that they are always asking when they can return.

"The very day we leave, we'll have kids asking, 'When's the next camp?"' Elder said. "Camp is where they are happiest."