Camp Teaches Kids Diabetes Care

By: Kim Eiten - Email

Updated: Wed 7:33 AM, Jun 20, 2012

A twist on a traditional summer camp has kids with diabetes signing up.

It's a requirement for Camp Hot Shots.

Together, those kids learn how to deal with disease.

"I'm learning about making new friends and how to take care of diabetes," camper Haleigh Kramer said.

They all have one thing in common: Type One diabetes.

"It's nice for them to see they're not alone and there's lots of kids that are doing the same thing," Mary Lanning Healthcare Camp Coordinator DeeAnn Carpenter said.

More than thirty kids come to the camp put on by Mary Lanning Healthcare.

Those campers say it's about having fun but learning at the same time.

Carpenter said one of the best things about the camp is bringing kids together.

"I'm not really around a whole lot of kids that have diabetes," camper Braden Benjamin said.

Carpenter says sometimes the disease can be isolating.

"It's nice, especially for the kids who come from a small town where they're maybe the only kid with diabetes. Sometimes it's hard checking sugars and counting carbs and those things when none of your other friends are doing it," she said. "When they're here at camp it's never a problem because everyone is checking sugars and everybody's counting carbs and everybody's giving insulin at meal times."

At camp, they all care for their disease together.

"There's other kids that have diabetes," Braden Benjamin said.

Camper Gavin Sheen agrees.

"It's really fun," he said.

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