camp drop off

Riley stood in the parking lot looking at the arriving campers. He said he was trying to pick out the sick ones. He couldn't tell. I told him some had probably finished their treatments or were siblings or like him, in between. There were a few obvious ones; A girl on crutches, another family unloading a wheel chair. The addition of healthy siblings makes the camp seem normal.

One of the things I noticed at the camp was rather than young high school councilors for the cabins, the councilors were grown adults. Riley's councilor had the nick name Viking, was six foot tall, and probably weighing 210 pounds, sporting a beautiful full grown red beard. He looked at least 28 years old. Trevor's councilor was a wirey young man also in his 20's. Trevor probably out weighed him by 30 pounds. The boys stay in different cabins due to their age difference. Probably just as well as they would fight if sharing the same space.

We were early so the check in process wasn't quite ready for us. There were two decorated golf carts in the gravel parking lot to help carry bags. They also had big garden carts. The boys loaded a garden cart, but then a golf cart drive took pity of me and loaded the bags into his back flatbed. The boys returned the cart and off we went down the path in the woods, to a wood lodge tucked back in the trees.

The boys were given colored wrist bands like you get in the hospital. Riley's was red and Trevor's was blue. Their councilor's had matching colors. I could see it was a very slick way of quickly identifying everyone. The next line was paperwork. Ours was in order. I just had to fill out one for who would be picking up the children at the end, and a behavior form that we all signed saying that if the boys misbehave they know I will be called to pick them up. It was similar to the one at school, listing the rules and order of punishments, pretty much standard procedure.

The next table had nurses. They took the bags of medication. I had brought one for emergencies that we had never used, the epi pin, constipation and nausea meds, that kind of stuff. I had also brought his regular meds, of course. One nurse worked with me. She sorted through them all individually. She said they had most of the emergency meds I had brought already on sight, but she would keep the bag just in case. She wrote comments on the side of a sheet of paper that listed Riley's regular meds and how much and how often and what part of the day they were to be administered. She even took note that he wanted yogurt with them so he could swallow the pills. I had sent a little extra on all the meds as back up, but I could tell she had it all under control. She was meticulous in the details.

I also mentioned if Riley wanted to use his Retinol more often on his skin, morning and night rather than just nights, he was welcome to do that. I told Riley it was at his discretion. The nurse was comfortable with the arrangement. They like to encourage the children to feel responsible even though the nurses keep ultimate control.

The next table was their camp T shirts and baseball caps. They were white with camp UCANDU and a cute camper design. Once through these tables, we went outside where there was water and crackers waiting served by an elderly volunteer, a grandmother, petite and sweet. At that point we had to wait for the rest of the campers to be checked in. The boys councilors where going to take them to see their cabins. The gear had already been delivered directly to the cabins from the parking lot. The golf cart drivers had camper names on a list with their assigned cabin number and had stuck duck tape on the bags with those numbers, so he knew where to deliver everything.

Being early helped avoid much of the lines. The nurses took the longest, as you can imagine. But the whole system was very well organized and efficient. From checking all emergency numbers and the medications, to making sure the children were comfortable and happy, the staff was cheerful and accommodating. Perhaps that is why I have not stressed as much as Tom. Had he been there to see it he would have felt much more comfortable this week. It was almost like dropping the children off at a hospital resort. Primitive since children like camping atmosphere, a theme hospital.

I have heard nothing from them all week. I pick the boys up tomorrow morning. I will probably be early again. I want to hear all about it. Yesterday I was so focused on the numbers that I didn't ask the nurse that called how things were going. She probably wouldn't have known anyway or just fed me platitudes. I look forward to juicy stinky hugs tomorrow first thing.