Camp Okizu was created by Larry Bell, who wanted to create a special place for children with cancer to go and experience camping. Mr. Bell took a $3.8 million loan and built a beautiful camp site on 500 acres of land. He pays for the $1.2 million in operating expenses per year to keep the camp going. Additionally, Mr. Bell does not charge any family to come to the camp. Mr Bell depends on donations and volunteers to act as counselors. On our weekend we had several Oncologists and Register Nurses available for medical assistance and to answer our questions.
We arrived on Friday and immediately started making friends. Jeremiah was taken off by a 5 year girl named Samantha, who was also the sibling of a Leukemia patient. Naomi made friend with two other Leukemia girls, both 3 years olds: Little Mimi and Ella (seen in the picture with Naomi).
Our days where full of activities. In the mornings, the parents met in support groups while the children where divided by age into small groups. Jermaine and I learned a lot about how to manage our sick child and our healthily child during Naomi's Chemotherapy.
After the sessions we had lunch/nap time. The afternoon was filled with a list of activities. On day one, we stayed in the craft room because it was too hot to be outside. On day two, Jeremiah and Jermaine went fishing and to archery while Naomi took a nap. After her nap, I made Ice Cream with a Red Ice Cream Ball that had to be shaken for 20 minutes. I tried rolling it on the ground to ease the pressure on my arms. That Ball got heavy!
After ice cream, we all went to the ropes course and got to fly through the trees. Naomi took two turns first with me, then with Jermaine. Jeremiah went twice by himself. On his 2nd trip through the trees, Jeremiah got daring and let go of the rope to fly more freely. After our flights Jeremiah and I climbed up some trees to reach a cat walk in the air. I made it across the first log, but Jeremiah gave up at about 20 feet above. We had fun dropping to the ground and swinging back and forth. After the ropes course, all four of us played flag football with other campers. Jermaine was on the opposite team as me and the kids, and he led his team to the first victory.
In the evening, we had smores on the first night and a party the second night during which the entire camp created a nice song by beating tubes. The party lasted until 10pm. During the party, we also played "Mafia" with 20 other campers. Jermaine and I where both "killed" early in the game. Our main purpose for going to camp Okizu was to check it out before we allowed Jeremiah to go to the Sibs Camp (camp for the siblings of cancer patients) on his own. Jeremiah is excited; he made a lot of friends and looks forward to going back.
For more information about Camp Okizu or to make a donation go to Camp Okizu
Photos of the trip:
The Cabins where the family stayed
Naomi having fun
Nina and Naomi making Ice Cream
Naomi eating home made Ice Cream
Naomi saying goodbye to her new friend, Ella
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