Thanks for sharing this amazing story! Her parents sound so loving and strong. Nothing they went through was easy and it sounds like they handled it with such grace.
Also, I love when kids with chronic illnesses can just be kids at special camps (like the one you describe, or Paul Newman's Hole In the Wall Gang Camp). Such amazing community and the chance to be seen as more than kids with illness - just kids.
I attended Camp Okawehna several summers to help out. It was amazing to see those kids playing like normal kids, and getting hemodialysis three times during the week. DCI (Dialysis Centers Inc) build a dialysis unit there in the woods. They called it “Stix.”
There are certain patients caregivers never forget. Emily sounds like one of those patients for you.
I have my share of them. It's wild that 30-50 years later I can still "see" what they looked like and I can remember their names and other details about them.
Emily was so fortunate to have a large team of supportive, caring people. And that transplant from Grandma at such a young age...
Thanks for sharing this amazing story! Her parents sound so loving and strong. Nothing they went through was easy and it sounds like they handled it with such grace.
Also, I love when kids with chronic illnesses can just be kids at special camps (like the one you describe, or Paul Newman's Hole In the Wall Gang Camp). Such amazing community and the chance to be seen as more than kids with illness - just kids.
I attended Camp Okawehna several summers to help out. It was amazing to see those kids playing like normal kids, and getting hemodialysis three times during the week. DCI (Dialysis Centers Inc) build a dialysis unit there in the woods. They called it “Stix.”
There are certain patients caregivers never forget. Emily sounds like one of those patients for you.
I have my share of them. It's wild that 30-50 years later I can still "see" what they looked like and I can remember their names and other details about them.
Emily was so fortunate to have a large team of supportive, caring people. And that transplant from Grandma at such a young age...
A true gift for a gritty little girl.
Yes, a blessing, and later a tragedy we never wanted. 💙
And that, too!