Diabetes Kamp 4 Kids

Mother of Sophia, Camp Attendee

"Sophia was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on February 19, 2014. Leading up to the night of the 19th, she had been wetting the bed for about four consecutive nights. At that time, as a 7-year-old, it should have clicked for us maybe three days earlier. But it took me actually opening up her backpack that night and seeing she had six empty water bottles inside. At that moment, I called our pediatrician and they suggested to take her up to A.I. duPont Hospital for Children| Nemours.

That’s when we started asking about what types of support groups were out there. I decided to start a closed group on Facebook just so that I could get my daughter around other individuals like her because I don’t know what she goes through on a daily basis.

This is Sophia’s sixth year at the Diabetes Kamp for Kids here at University of Delaware. If you have a child who struggles with having Type 1, these camps are so important because they learn from each other. Her first year at camp, at 7 years old, she told me she would never go on an insulin pump. Then, the first day she came home from camp, she goes, ‘Those girls have the cutest pumps. I might consider this.’ These kids teach each other to be strong and the confidence they need to live with this disease.

Each child comes out of the camp doing something new that week, like injecting themselves for the first time. The maturity level for someone who gets diagnosed with Type 1 has to develop very quickly.

The thing we like about this camp so much is the security. Sophia feels normal. You’re not normal if you’re someone coming through those doors who isn’t checking their sugar and counting carbs. The camp allows parents to exhale for the week, and I have not once looked at Sophia’s Dexcom readings. I know she’s in good hands. I trust everybody. I feel like it’s a family."