Week Thirteen - Surviving Summer.....

Like all of you, we are dealing with one of the hottest summers on record.  No big deal, really.  Push those fluids, lay back and rest when you need to, go and see Harry Potter one more time because the theaters are cool.

But for my baby?  Well, she's off at camp.  And her camp is a swim camp, all lake activities like learning to water ski, being launched off the blob, climbing an inflatable iceberg, kayaking and canoeing.

When we went to visit the camp, I knew already that she was sick, although I didn't know that when I arranged for her to go in the first place.  I was supposed to be out of town, remember?  She always goes to camp the week we do the Mission Trip, but we had to pick a new camp to fit her schedule. We toured the place, and they showed us the lodge where it was most likely her group would be housed.  Not luxurious, but AC and a bathroom across the hall. 

Camp was excellent about arranging for her dietary challenges.  They were great about handling her meds.  But when we arrived, she was assigned to a large, somewhat primative cabin with 17 girls and a counselor, with a bathroom in the lodge one building over.  No AC.  She and her best friend picked bunks, and settled in.  I chatted with her counselor about hydration and not ignoring her muscle cramps because they are the only way we know she's dehydrated.

And I went home.  It was 85 degrees, dry, not too uncomfortable. I got the biweekly call from nephrology - kidney function is worse, anemia is better. And then the heat wave rolled over all of us. I pictured that crowded cabin, kids sweating on bunk beds. So yesterday I did something I have never done.  Swore I would never do.  I played the overprotecive mom and called the camp.  My counselor actually suggested that I do so.  Why worry when you can actually do something?

And I honestly felt better.  The woman I spoke to knew my daughter, listened to my concerns, and said, "I'm going to leave right now and speak to her counselor and the nurse to let them know the risks for her."

I go to pick her up today.  And we'll keep surviving.

DeeDee