Stanford Report, July 26, 2006

Camp for children post transplantation

No, it wasn't a scheduling snafu.

The 60 children milling about outside the Mary L. Johnson Ambulatory Care Center on July 25 weren't waiting for doctors' appointments. They were headed to a summer camp sponsored by Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Health Camp Program at St. Dorothy's Rest Camp and Retreat Center in Sonoma County. The annual five-day adventure brings together kids who owe their lives to organ donation, giving some campers their first glimpse of "real life" since their transplant.

"These are very normal kids who want normal life experiences," said Christina Dong, MSW, social worker at Packard Children's. The campers were accompanied by nurses, social workers and child life specialists, but the camp isn't meant to feel like a medical setting.

"These kids will swim, canoe, even challenge a ropes course," said Dong. "Sharing such fun with others who have been through the transplant experience is very life-affirming."