Patient Stories
The Painted Turtle Camp
by Rammeet Kaur
Hi, I am Rammeet Kaur, and I went to the Painted Turtle Camp in the summer of 2010. My experience in camp was amazing and very enjoyable. The Painted Turtle Camp is its own special world. I did many fun activities, such as flying through the air on a zip-line, singing songs near the campfire, dancing under rainbows, eating spaghetti with no hands, fishing, boating, riding horses, practicing archery, swimming, and much more. We had Stage Night to show off our talents, and we even had Silly Olympics, where counselors and campers splatter each other with oatmeal, chocolate syrup, and other soft or liquid food that made us all get dirty.
I made many friends at camp who are still in touch with me. I will always remember sharing good time with them. We ate three meals a day at the grand dining hall. The food was healthy, as well as tasty. It is very safe there, because doctors and experienced counselors are there to help us and comfort us 24 hours a day. Each cabin had its own nurse and four counselors to take care of ten campers.
This camp was founded by people such as Paul Newman, an Oscar-winning actor, who wanted to help children with chronic illness. Thanks to generous donors, the Painted Turtle is full of life. This camp gives kids with chronic illness a chance to escape from the hospital and have fun just being a normal kid for a whole week. Going to this camp was an everlasting life experience which will be cherished in my memory, because I learned a lot from group involvement with my fellow campers in all the activities I did.
