“Camp Endres provides kids with diabetes the chance to have fun in a safe setting with a dedicated team of health professionals readily available to meet each individual’s needs.” – David Domek, M.D., Camp Endres co-medical director

Each summer, children from across Oklahoma and surrounding states gather for Camp Endres, the annual residential camp for children with diabetes. Camp Endres has been a summer event for the past 23 years. Sponsored in part by INTEGRIS Health, the camp will take place again this summer at Camp Classen, near Davis, Okla.

“Last year, around 150 children from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Kansas attended camp,” says Kim Boaz-Wilson, Camp Endres organizer. “We hope to see that many children this year. It’s important for them to have the opportunity to interact with other kids with diabetes – and to share their experiences.”

Children, ages eight through 16 years, with diabetes are eligible to participate. The eight-day camp begins Aug. 1 and runs through Aug. 8. The camp fee of $490 covers each child’s meals, snacks, insulin, testing supplies and activities. Children also return home at the end of camp with supplies and goodies such as water bottles and T-shirts.

Camp Endres allows campers to share experiences with other children who have diabetes through activities such as swimming, boating, horseback riding, making scrapbooks, arts and crafts, hiking and mountain biking. In addition, campers learn how to prevent, recognize and treat hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis, test their blood sugar, plan meals, properly administer insulin and discuss the emotional adjustment surrounding diabetes.Volunteer medical staff members consist of physicians, counselors (most of whom have diabetes), nurses, dietitians and psychologists.

“Camp Endres provides kids with diabetes the chance to have fun in a safe setting with a dedicated team of health professionals readily available to meet each individual’s needs,” says INTEGRIS physician and the camp’s co-medical director, David Domek, M.D.

Half of the children accepted to the camp will receive full or partial scholarships from contributions made by various organizations and individuals. This year’s goal is to provide more children the opportunity to attend Camp Endres by way of scholarship.

“It’s amazing the effect that Camp Endres has on these children,” says Boaz-Wilson. “I recently heard about one of our campers telling a friend from Denmark who has diabetes how much she has enjoyed camp in the past.Maybe someday the Danish child will be able to come to camp herself.”

If you have questions about Camp Endres, or if you would like to make a donation to the Camp Endres scholarship fund, please contact Kim Boaz-Wilson via e-mail at kim@campendres.net. Or you may call Kim at (405) 843-4386.

YOUTH DIABETES
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes affects about 150,000 people younger than the age of 18 in the United States. Although most cases of juvenile diabetes are considered type 1 (juvenile onset), the number of cases of type 2 (adult onset) diabetes in children is rising.

More diabetes information can be found on the CDC Web site, www.cdc.gov/diabetes.

Diabetes Facts

• Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases among children in the United States. About 150,000 people younger than 18 – or about one in every 400 to 500 – have diabetes.
• Type 1 diabetes develops when the body’s immune system destroys pancreatic cells that make the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar. It normally strikes children and young adults. People with type 1 diabetes must have daily insulin injections to survive.
• Each year, more than 13,000 young people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
• Type 2 diabetes begins when the body develops a resistance to insulin and no longer uses it properly. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce sufficient amounts of insulin to regulate blood sugar.
• Health care providers are finding more and more children with type 2 diabetes, a disease usually diagnosed in adults age 40 years or older.
• Children who develop type 2 diabetes are typically overweight or obese and have a family history of the disease. Most are American Indian, African American, Asian or Hispanic/Latino.