Founding Mother's Letter

On June 11, 2003, at eleven years of age, my son, Casey, was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes. Just five minutes before the doctor walked into the examination room to give us the news, Casey had said, “Mom, if I have diabetes, I’ll kill myself!” At that time, Casey only knew one classmate with diabetes. Watching what she went through on a daily basis seemed like a nightmare, not to mention really weird, to him.

As a Mother, hearing my child receive this news and holding him in my arms, crying with him for hours, I have never felt so helpless and afraid in my life and I could not begin to imagine what he was going through. We transported Casey to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, to stabilize his blood sugar and learn how to live life as a teenage diabetic. For four days, we literally ate, drank and slept diabetes education.

While in the hospital, Casey, his sister Katelyn, his grandparents and I all learned to give shots and poke each other for testing because needles and shots were now going to be a huge part of Casey’s life, for the rest of his life. By the end of the fourth day, Casey could poke every one else in the hospital without a problem, but he still could not poke himself. For a couple of weeks after Casey was released from the hospital, I was still pricking his finger and giving him shots because it still scared him to death.

Then came our blessing: FCYD Diabetic Semi-annual Camp for Kids! The hospital staff had told me how wonderful this camp would be, and that it would help my son learn to adjust and deal with his diabetes. As a single mother, I was not able to pay the camp fee, but I sent them Casey’s application anyway. Within just a few days, Casey was enrolled in camp, fully sponsored, fully paid, no questions asked!

So, in July 2003, I sent my precious, sick son, all alone, away to camp for a whole week. What a tremendous and truly wonderful blessing this turned out to be! Casey came home with a whole new attitude about his condition! He quickly became friends with many other kids that were also diabetic. And guess what? They were not weird or sick or anything of the kind -- they were simply diabetic, just like he was. Talk about an overnight attitude change! My son left thinking, and even wishing, for his life to be over. He came home knowing that this was just a challenge he had been given, and with proper care he would be able to meet that challenge and lead a normal, happy life as a normal, healthy kid.

I want to give back what was given to Casey and me. These kids have been handed many challenges to deal with in their young lives “because they are diabetic.” I want to give them an absolutely phenomenal experience “because they are diabetic” by educating and enlightening them in this profoundly spiritual place enabling them to conquer their fear of diabetes! Diabetes Camp for Kids literally saved us in our time of need, and every child, regardless of race, ethnicity or financial means deserves the same experience.

I am very grateful to all the wonderful people who so generously helped my son when I was unable to. Camp Casey is my way of showing my appreciation.

Sincerely,

Jana Curtis