For many kids across Canada, sleep away summer camp is a rite of passage – spending their days swimming, boating and making lifelong friends.
But, for those with a chronic illness like arthritis, that experience can seem out of reach.
With the need for daily medications, and, often, different abilities due to stiffness and pain, being away from home and actively participating in camp activities can be difficult for kids with arthritis - kids like Rylee Rideout.
The seven-year-old was diagnosed with arthritis a few years ago, but for one hot and humid week in July, she got to experience summer camp like many of her friends back home in Digby, Nova Scotia.
Rylee was one of more than 80 youth from across Atlantic Canada who came together at camp JoinTogether for a magical week of fun, fresh air and friendship in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley.
“I’m loving Camp so much,” she says. “I love going on walks and going swimming.”
Her face lights up as she talks about how much she’s enjoying camp – and it’s only day 2.
It’s Rylee’s first time at camp JoinTogether and, in addition to the fun, she welcomes being surrounded by other young people who can relate to her.
“In my school back home I’m the only kid who has arthritis, but here everybody has arthritis,” she says.
Clara Easley describes the camp as inclusive and a place where she feels supported. She’s a seasoned camper who has been coming since 2015.
“I look forward to Camp every year. I look forward to seeing my friends and trying things I can’t do at home, but I can here because they’re so supportive,” says the 17-year-old who was diagnosed with arthritis at age four. “I always wanted to go to summer camp as a kid so when this opportunity opened up, it was incredible.”
The camp has on-site nurses 24/7, as well as physiotherapists to ensure campers can participate as fully as possible in the activities, which include a ropes course, boating, swimming, art and cooking. There are also modifications available, for example a seat can be added to the kayaks to give campers back support.
Clara appreciates it all.
“I like to cook, I love going swimming and boating,” she says. “I really enjoy paddling and kayaking, but at home it can hurt. Here with the supports and trained staff it’s easier to enjoy it.”
One of the nurses is actually a former camper. Emma Trottier is back for her second year as staff after spending six summers as a camper starting in 2013.
“I’m so grateful to be able to come back for this week,” she says. “It’s so special to be able to give back in even the smallest way to somewhere that gave so much to me and my family.”
Diagnosed with arthritis when she was 12, Emma didn’t have any classmates with a chronic illness. She found herself at Camp JoinTogether shortly after receiving her diagnosis and it was here, she found a community.
“Camp provided me with such a sense of belonging because when I met another camper it was someone I had this connection with,” she says. “We were able to build a support system. Everyone here understood what everyone else was going through.
“It’s the most special place.”
Clara shares that sentiment. “I’m really happy to be here and while also a little sad that it’s my last year as a camper,” she says, adding she plans to come back as a counsellor.
“A lot of campers come back as counsellors,” she says. “It really just shows how much this place means to people.”