Superheroes on a T1D mission! Kids with Type 1 Diabetes conquer the disease’s challenges – Fredericksburg.com

A raucous relay ball game was underway in the fellowship hall of the Presbyterian Church in downtown Fredericksburg.

Shouts, beach balls and running kids filled the room. Captain America, Spiderman and Wonder Woman were leading the activities.

"Someone's low," one child yelled.

A counselor wearing a shirt bearing the Superman logo and the words "Power of insulin" crossed the room toward a little girl in a pink dress. The counselor checked the screen of a device the girl wore on a flowered belt around her hips.

The device was a continuous glucose monitor, a tool that tracks the child's blood sugar levels all day and night to give an overall picture of how they fluctuate.

It showed that the levels were slightly down but they weren't falling. She could keep playing.

Twenty-two children between the ages of 7 and 12 gathered this week for the 11th annual Kids for a Cure Club summer camp for kids with type 1 diabetes.

KFCC is a local nonprofit organization that was founded by the Mary Washington Healthcare diabetes management staff and parents of children with type 1 diabetes to provide education and support for families living with the disease.

The summer camp, which had a superhero theme this year, aims to help kids become more proficient in managing their diabetes while letting them have fun with peers who share their daily challenges. It is sponsored by MWH and the Aquia and Fredericksburg Lions Clubs.

"The purpose is for children with diabetes to be with others who have the disease," said Lana King, a registered nurse and the camp's founder. "In their school, they might be the only diabetic child. Here, they can feel like it's a normal thing. Here, they're acting differently if they're NOT having their blood checked."

Campers are under the care of four MWH registered nurses and diabetes educators and King, who used to work for MWH and now is clinical business manager for Animas Corporation, an insulin pump company.

All the camp counselors, who are 15 and 16, and the junior counselors, who are 13 and 14, also have type 1 diabetes.

Camp activities included craftsmaking superhero capes, badges and masks, decorating flower pots and picture framesgames and special activities such as cooking classes and trips to the Farmer's Market and the pool.

The kids heard from adult guest speakersa writer and a Secret Service agentwho have diabetes. They also prepared their own diabetes-friendly snacks each day.

Regular blood sugar checks were part of the day's activities.

"I think the hardest part of this disease is that there is no break," King said. "You must get up every day and check your blood sugar 6-8 times a day or give yourself injections. You're having to be responsible."

Hence, the superhero theme. For one of the daily activities, the kids had to answer the question, "Who is your superhero and why?"

One girl answered, "My superhero is me because I have learned how to manage my diabetes."

Other kids said their parents were their superheroes for helping them with their disease.

Matthew Gomez, 13, and his sister Gianna, 11, have attended the camp for multiple years.

"I like everything about it," Matthew said. "It's definitely up there [in my list of favorite summer camps.]"

Gianna, who was diagnosed at age 6 and has a twin sister who doesn't have diabetes, wears an insulin pump which delivers insulin to her body continuously. Matthew, who was diagnosed at age 9, gives himself insulin injections and pricks his finger to check his blood sugar four or five times a day.

He said it used to hurt, but his fingers are so tough now that it doesn't bother him.

Trinity Riley, 10, said she was diagnosed at age 3 after she went into a diabetic coma. She doesn't remember, but her sister has shown her pictures and video of herself in the hospital.

"I looked dead, not like myself," Riley said.

She said she's the only kid in her school with diabetes and usually tries to hide what she's doing when she pricks her finger to test her blood. But at camp, she doesn't have to do that.

"It's nice not being scared," she said. "When I'm here, I'm wide open, because everyone's the same."

Jayden Britt, 12, was just diagnosed with the disease in December. She said she's loved the summer camp because it helps her "not feel so different."

For two months leading up to her diagnosis, she felt "a little weird." Her mom noticed that she had lost a lot of weight and wasn't fitting into any of her clothes and took her to be checked out. Doctors ran a urine test and found ketonesacids that remain when the body burns its own fat instead of glucose for energy. It's a common complication of diabetes.

When the doctor started to tell Britt what the diagnosis was, she saw her mom begin to tear up.

"She knew what was coming," Britt said. "My dad has type 1 and my mom was blaming herself because she hadn't noticed the symptoms."

Katlyn Agosta, a nurse and MWH diabetes educator who is in her second year with the camp, said the camp helps kids as well as parents find support in handling the disease.

Mom Karen Embrey was wearing a shirt that said, "Some people never get to meet their hero. I gave birth to mine." Her daughter, Hannah, 15, has type 1 and is a counselor at the camp.

She said the hardest part about the disease from a mother's perspective is trusting anyone other than herself to manage it.

"Letting her be away from me is hard," she said.

Embrey said Hannah has been taking care of her own diabetes for a few years and generally does a good job.

"But this camp, being responsible for other kidsit's making her more mindful," she said.

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Superheroes on a T1D mission! Kids with Type 1 Diabetes conquer the disease's challenges - Fredericksburg.com