Camp Health Hope & Happiness

Last year for the first time ever Jake went to camp for a week. By accident one day I stumbled across the Camp HE HO HA website (here if your interested www.camphehoha.com, Jakey is actually on the website now!) and found out that it is a camp just for kids with disabilities. They have two seperate camps, one for kids with physical challenges and the other for mental. Luckily I got in soon enough and he was able to go! Krista went with him as we were nervous about having him by himself for a week and they both had a blast!

This year he went again, only he flew solo this time. Krista loved it last year but felt he would benefit and do well without her so on the 12th of July we took the drive to Seba Beach, Alberta to drop him off. We really couldn't have picked a worse time to go to camp as it was pouring with rain, but as soon as we arrived there were kids and their counsellors running all over the place and jumping in the puddles!

Needless to say jake was NOT impressed when he figured out what was going on, but I met two of the young ladies that would be involved in his care and felt confident that as soon as I walked out his cabin door, he would be having as much fun as the rest of the kids.

After 6 very peacefull days for us and 6 fun-filled action packed days for him we were anxious to see Mr Jakey again. He was so excited to see us but we could tell he had a great time. The theme for the week was Super Heroes and we even saw Superman in the flesh wandering around. Apparently Jake was quite the hit with the lady folk as we discovered on our way to the car and managed to melt a few hearts with his killer smile and sparkly eyes.

What I said in my earlier post re the Ronald Mcdonald House rings true for Camp HeHoHa. It is a fantastic place with a sweet spirit that is evident as soon as you enter the grounds. The people that take care of the kids are amazing and I am just in awe of how they choose to spend their summers. It really does give me reason to hope that this world isn't as mean and nasty as it sometimes seems.

Because it is such a specialised camp it is expensive, but most of it is subsidised by generous businesses and groups so that at the end of the day families like ours that already have alot of extraordinary costs related to having a child with a disability are able to have a break for a week for a relatively small fee. And this I am so grateful for!

Ronald McDonald House 16th-18th June 2009

In June, Jake and I got to spend some one-on-one time together. For any dental work that he needs to have done he has to have a general anaethetic. He needed a filling and some cleaning to be done. His mouth has always been a pretty sensitive area and so I am actually surprised we have gone 8 years without any problems.

His surgery was booked for the 17th June at the Stollery Children’s Hospital and because we would need to stay in the city for 2 nights we got to stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Edmonton.

We went in for his pre-op appointment on the 16th and because the weather was sooo nice and the house was only a mile or so from the hospital we were just able to walk. I have never spent any time on Whyte Ave, but heard a lot about it so it was nice to feel like a city slicker once again.

The house was just beautiful! Jesse and I had stayed at RMH in Australia when Jake was a baby but that one was much smaller and not near as fancy as this one. It only cost us $12 per night and it truly is a home away from home.

The house’s main floor had 2 play areas plus 3 kitchens and a dinning room. There was also a library and a T.V/quiet room. There were 2 upper floors that had bedrooms and a laundry plus some more T.V rooms. There is enough space in the house to accommodate 30 families. In the basement there is a sort of teenage area with a fuse ball table etc. They have a few paid staff, but most of the people there are volunteers. Once a week some Hutterite women come in to bake for the families.

For the past 8 years I must admit for probably seven and a half of them I have wished that Jake was just a regular little boy that could speak and act appropriately in public, use the bathroom, not have to be on medication and cart some clunky communication device around and certainly not have to be admitted for surgery for a simple filling! But if he was just a regular boy we never would have had the amazing experiences that we have and having the privilege to feel the sweet spirit at Ronald McDonald House was one of those times.