Camp New Beginnings offering enjoyable within the solar for teenagers with diabetes

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Camp New Beginnings is giving West Texas kids with diabetes an opportunity to take pleasure in some enjoyable within the solar.

“We just saw a need for children in West Texas living with diabetes to be able to come together for a few days and just have time to get to know each other, see other children who are just like them,” camp co-director Rosanna Castillo mentioned.

Covenant Health has been targeted on giving youngsters with diabetes an entertaining summer season expertise since 2016.

Castillo, together with co-director Brittny Ayola, say the camp has grown fairly a bit over time.

“We started off, actually Rosanna and I were the only nurses for about 20 kids,” Ayola mentioned, “and now we have 60 campers, so every group has a nurse and so we’ve definitely tripled in our growth.”

There’s no scarcity of enjoyable at Camp New Beginnings. The camp affords video games exterior with arts and crafts inside and even affords bowling and laser tag on the aspect.

Ayola says as these youngsters are having enjoyable, the whole lot is being finished to verify they get the proper of meals and the proper of care.

“We’re focused on those special dietary requirements that they may have,” Ayola mentioned. “We eat pizza, we eat burgers, some of them just may be gluten-free.”

Camp New Beginnings can be a bonding expertise. When these 60 campers get collectively, they’re attending to be taught extra about one another and the way they dwell life.

“For me, I like it because there’s a lot of other kids that are diabetic and it feels supportive,” camper Zaileigh Ortiz mentioned. “It’s really fun to have other people who are diabetic.”

“It’s just really neat to see them encouraging each other and just that they’re normal,” Ayola mentioned.

Several camp volunteers and workers both have diabetes or have members of the family who’ve it themselves. Castillo’s niece was recognized final November, and that is her first time at Camp New Beginnings.

“Every day since November,” Castillo mentioned, “it’s been when is camp, when is camp. Her mom sent me a message saying she’s so tired. She said her legs hurt ‘cause it’s so much fun.”

As camp runs via Saturday, these youngsters are studying they’ll nonetheless have enjoyable it doesn’t matter what life throws at them.

“It’s just neat to show them you can have normal lives,” Ayola mentioned. “You can do whatever you want to do when you grow up. It’s okay to check your blood sugar in public, it’s okay to count carbs and to do your insulin and change your pump. It’s just a cool experience for all the kids to see others like them and that this is a normal thing for a lot of people and it’s not something you have to be embarrassed about.”

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