Camp Hendon KY Diabetes Camp
- Emily Norman
- Jul 7, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 7, 2021
As I rode down to Leitchfield, Kentucky, for a week-long camp dedicated to children with diabetes, I had absolutely no idea what I was in for. To my surprise it was a week full of learning, laughter and new experiences.
As some of us dietetic interns arrived at the camp grounds, we were almost immediately thrown into different groups of staff and split up. I was told that I would be counseling the 15 to 17 year old girls. I knew that I would enjoy being able to talk to them like young adults, but I didn't realize how impactful they would be on my entire experience until the end of the week.
We began basic staff training, received our schedules for the week, and mingled around the camp to meet all the other staff members and become comfortable with the grounds.
The leaders gave us goody-bags full of classic camp things. I threw on my fanny pack and staff t-shirt and got excited for the campers to arrive the next day!
The kitchen was run by two young registered dietitians, Madison and Mikyla. The women were wonderful and extremely helpful. They told us dietetic interns that we would be serving the food to our specific assigned dens, which was about four cabins of campers and counselors combined. We were serving roughly 50 – 60 people for three meals everyday.
This was the week's menu:
Once the campers arrived on Sunday afternoon, the fun camp chaos began! I introduced myself to the seven girls in my cabin. The three other counselors, plus myself, led with some icebreaking games and learned a little about the specific diabetic device each one of the girls had. It was soon dinnertime and I was thrown into the serving line, which was always a fun and crazy experience.
The two dietitians created whiteboard designs for the carbohydrate counts for each meal. This was a smart way to get the campers involved with counting the carbohydrates on their own. With my girls being 15, 16 and 17 years old, they did not need too much hands-on help with the carb counting. I aided them more with serving sizes and encouraged the inclusion of trying new foods.
These were three of the breakfast meals and the carbohydrate counts for each food item offered:
The Wednesday night "Fire-Pita Pizza" dinner was a CRAZY experience. The staff members of each den were instructed to cook the entire den pita-pizzas in the den campfire. Being the dietetic intern and food expert, I ultimately took charge with my fellow intern, Hallie Keller.
We got to work in the 80 degree heat next to an intensely hot campfire and whipped out 50 or so pizzas. One of the other counselors went around taking each cabin's pizza orders, while I started laying out the pita crusts into individual cooking pans. We had pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperonis, and green peppers as the topping options. To make things even more complex, I had a few gluten-free and dairy-free campers. With my extensive food-allergy knowledge, I kept separate silverware, pans and utensils aside for those specific allergies to avoid cross-contamination.
I may have had pizza sauce and hard work slapped across my forehead by the end of it, but we successfully fed every single camper with a smile on our faces. It was such a fun experience, and I couldn't have done it without Hallie!
It was only right that s'mores were to be made after a pizza-filled evening. Thankfully that went a little more smoothly with the campers being able to grab individual packets of chocolate and graham crackers to make their own delicious s'mores.
CRDN 2.3: Demonstrate active participation, teamwork and contributions in group settings.
After that intense meal, one could only predict that the campers' blood sugars were a bit higher than the previous nights!
The counselors were instructed to check the campers' blood glucose levels several times throughout the day. We checked our girls' sugar levels before breakfast at 8:30 am, before snack at 11 am, before lunch at 1 pm, before the second snack at 4 pm, before dinner at 6 pm, before the last snack/bedtime at around 10:30 pm, and finally at 2 am. I practically learned how to best check someone's blood sugar by the end of the first day!
I was somewhat nervous for the 2 am checks. I was unsure how the girls would react to being woken up so late in the night, or if they would be high or low. For the first two days, more than half of our campers were low throughout the day, reading levels at 80 mg/dL or lower. Due to increased physical activity and the endured heat, several of the girls were experiencing hypoglycemia. The American Diabetes Association states that exercise can lower blood sugar by increasing insulin sensitivity and muscle contraction during physical activity, which may take up glucose. The staff instructed that this was common, especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, where a majority of the children's physical activity was decreased due to staying indoors. After a couple days of the campers' bodies getting more used to the exercise and heat, their levels came to be more regular.
Throughout my college studies, I was taught and understood the 15:15 rule for hypoglycemia, but this week truly made that treatment a lifelong skillset. When a camper checked their blood sugar and it read 120 mg/dL or lower, they were given a 15 gram carbohydrate snack to raise their blood sugar. We gave them everything from fruit snacks and glucose tablets, to juice boxes and skittles! After 15 minutes of finishing the snack, the camper's blood sugar was checked again, in hopes of it reading above 120 mg/dL. We would sometimes have to repeat these steps a few times over if a camper's sugar would not raise after each set of 15 minute intervals and each 15 gram snack.
I practiced this rule/treatment up to a hundred times - no exaggeration!
CRDN 1.6: Incorporate critical-thinking skills in overall practice.
Beyond the basic diabetic practices and treatments, I learned a GREAT deal about what a teenager goes through every single day to deal with their diabetes. I was taught what all the different insulin pump devices do and how they work, like the Dexcom, t:slim, and Omnipod pumps. The campers made their diabetes such a casual daily thing, which I learned to understand, as it is something they have to deal and live with every single day.
I looked at the nurse on the first day with wide, concerned eyes on why all my girls' sugars were SO LOW, but she told me by the end of the week I wouldn't be as concerned/surprised; she was right. I learned that as long as we were on top of their sugar checks and treatments, the girls were safe and alright.
I grew to see and understand their struggles, but I also learned to acknowledge that the diabetes did not define them. The disease does not define them whatsoever. They were all so strong and caring. They always sought out to help each other and look after the group as a whole. The entire cabin got along so well, including us four counselors, who have become new friends!
The week was a beautiful learning experience, and I am very glad I was able to come and hopefully leave a mark on these people. They sure left one on me.
References:
Blood Sugar and Exercise. Blood Sugar and Exercise | ADA. (n.d.). https://www.diabetes.org/healthy-living/fitness/getting-started-safely/blood-glucose-and-exercise.
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