by Ophir Lehavy Busel

Created on: October 22, 2009   Last Updated: November 09, 2009

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of three and have been living with the disease for over 34 years. Living with diabetes can be challenging, and my parents were faced with managing those challenges when I was too young to care for the disease myself. Like other children, I began seeking greater independence in my life before I turned 10, and so my parents sent me to a camp for children with Type 1 diabetes to help me learn how to manage life with a chronic illness.

No, it is not every young girl's dream to go to diabetes camp, and I did actually go to a regular camp a few years later. But, I strongly believe that diabetes camp can help prepare young diabetics for what lay ahead - not only at a regular camp but in life.

I knew, even then, that the diabetes camp had improved my life significantly. Before I went away to camp, my parents helped me develop realistic goals. I really wanted to learn how to inject my own insulin, and I did learn how to do so - actually on the first day - after seven years of being dependent on my parents for insulin shots. Not only was it empowering, but it also paved the way for my diabetic freedom.

Diabetes takes practice. At camp, the nurses and educators were there to help each of us make wise choices and guide us as we tried things out for the first time. The nurses taught me how to check my blood sugars, rotate injection sites, measure insulin dosages correctly, and manage low and high blood sugars. We learned about the different kinds of carbohydrates and how they affect digestion, and we learned how to plan healthy meals.

Some children with Type 1 diabetes, like me at age 10, may never meet another child with the disease. I remember feeling a certain sense of relief when I met my co-campers for the first time. We didn't necessarily discuss the disease or sit around comparing diet plans and blood sugars, but the experience let me know that there were other kids out there who were going through the same things that I was.

I did go through emotional and physical challenges while I was there, but I was not alone. Many of the campers were going through the exact same trials and tribulations. It can be frightening for a child to face one's own disease in someone else, but part of the strength in sending a child to diabetes camp is becoming a part of a community of peers, in addition to learning to live independently with the disease.

Diabetes camp could also be fun. Although the focus for me was the diabetic training, I also remember playing sports and games with the other campers, eating meals together, swimming in the pool, going hiking and canoeing, and singing songs.

Diabetes camp was a first step, and an important one. When I returned home from camp, I was able to manage my own diabetic care, and begin my path to becoming an independent woman who just so happens to live with diabetes. Could this be done without the camp? Probably, but I believe it was worth it.

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