With our son being eight years old and having been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just last summer, we were obviously extremely hesitant as we thought about summer camps for him this year. Not only has he never spent any significant time away from home, but with the added stress of worrying about his health, we were resigned to the fact that he would likely not be able to experience the joys of summer camp until later in life.

But then we were told of camps that specialize in adventures for kids with Type 1 diabetes. I did a little research, finding two camps within a relatively short distance from our home, and reached out. The camp we eventually chose was Camp Conrad Chinnock, located in the San Bernadino Mountains in Southern California.

The camp was excellent and completely inspiring. Being our first time, we chose to go to their ‘transition camp’ which allowed both parents and the child to stay for the weekend before setting the child free for the next week. During the weekend not only did our son immediately gain a sense of independence (“see ya!”) but we enjoyed a series of discussions with the camp staff, counselors, doctors and the other parents learning not only about how the camp is run but also what it is like to live with diabetes (note: almost all the staff and counselors have Type 1 themselves).

Of course the experience was valuable to us as parents, being able to ask young adults about their own lives with this disease and being able to learn about other parents’ experiences, but it was tremendous for our son on two levels.

First he got the great camp experience – staying in a cabin with friends, rock climbing, swimming, archery, hiking, all the great outdoors stuff. That alone was worth the money. By the end of the week he was completely exhausted.

But more importantly (and this may not have dawned on him given his age) but he got to meet a lot of other kids going through the same exact issues he goes through. He no longer was the odd kid out. There was no awkward moments where he had to excuse himself to go to the nurses office to get a shot – his whole cabin did this together. He didn’t need to feel shy about feeling ‘low’ – all his friends at one time or another did and all the counselors had testers and glucose tablets on them at all times to help out.

He also got to learn how other kids manage their diabetes. About half the kids his age were on the pump and the others were taking shots. He got to learn about the pump and see how to operate one. And they all learned about carb counting and bolus and insulin calculations.

We are so happy we found this place and so relieved to know that kids with Type 1 diabetes can not only experience a camp just like every other kid, but that they can grow up to be responsible and inspirational people – all the counselors were perfect models of this.

Our son was so enamored by the experience that he asked to go back, so we’re going to send him again in a couple weeks.

The one thing to remember about sports and diabetes is that strenuous activity can, at times, bring your blood glucose levels down and cause hypoglycemia. As such, it’s important to test blood glucose levels before you start and if your child is low, make sure they eat something or drink a little juice.

We also try to test our son at halftime to help determine whether or not he should have a snack with the rest of his team mates. Typically he hasn’t fallen too low during a game and so he’s had to refrain from those great orange slices.  But it is important to always have some quick-acting carbohydrates on hand just in case your child does go low during their activities.  Juice or fruit is perfect.

The slightly dangerous part combining sports and diabetes is that you actually have to keep an eye on blood glucose levels for a couple of hours after playing. It’s not just during that game that you should look out. Because of this, we do tend test one extra time a few hours after our son’s game if needed and sometimes give our son a little low-carb snack just after his game.

Mixing sports and diabetes is not only possible, but it’s highly recommended. Staying physically fit helps in managing against complications and as with all children helps to teach them about team work and burn a little extra energy.

We have a good friend who ran track in college and tells of his roommate who also ran with him and had diabetes. He was one of the stars of the team and the only difficulty he had was that before every practice he had to eat to ensure his glucose levels didn’t drop too low. As a result, anytime there was a strenuous practice he ended up against the fence throwing up a bit.  He now looks back on it and laughs…”just part of the routine”.