Hello! Thanks for visiting! This is not what you would call your "normal" First Giving page, I wanted for you to feel like you were actually asking me questions and really getting inside a Diabetics life. The questions that you will be reading are real questions that my non-diabetic best friend has asked me; I wanted you to get a real answer to some of the questions that might be running through your head. The questions will be asked by Nessa, and answered by me, Emily. Let’s get started!

Nessa- Why is it so important for you to fundraise for the Bearskin Meadow Camp?

Emily - Camp is like this escape, and if it wasn't there it would feel like I lost a piece of myself. Bearskin Meadow camp is in jeopardy of not being there for kids like me  The money I am raising goes for scholarships to assist those who can't afford it. A full scholarship is 995.00 so I would love to say that with your help we were able to send someone to camp. I am very passionate about this cause!

Nessa- Has anybody ever treated you differently just because you are diabetic?

Emily- Yes, there have been times that I have been in a restaurant and have asked about the carb content, and the waitress or waiter will ask why. When I explain that I am a type one diabetic, they will sometimes ask me "Well, then why are you eating that?" That is one of the things I love so much about camp-- I don't feel judged, and I don’t have to worry about someone being nervous about what I live with because we all live with it.

Nessa- Not all the counselors are diabetic; do they ever get confused about the vocabulary associated with diabetes?

Emily- Camp is the place we all learn, and the counselors that are not diabetic are all there to learn as well. They really get to know what a diabetic's life is like, and a lot of the counselors who aren't diabetic have been trained. I wouldn't necessarily say "confused", I would more likely say they just learn and get to add onto that knowledge every day.

Nessa- What is your most favorite part of camp?

Emily- I don't think I have a favorite part. When you go to camp, you know that every camper, and some of the counselors, have this one thing in common-- they all know what it's like to live every day counting carbs, and drawing insulin shots. You all are there because you want to connect with someone who knows, or is about to find out, what diabetic life is like at camp. We are all students and teachers there!

Nessa- How has camp positively affected your life?

Emily- Camp has definitely changed me. After my first year of going to camp I realized that I wasn't the only person who lives with this. It was at camp my second year after meeting people that I connected with and having a great counselor that I could talk to about what I wanted to do with my life that I realized I wanted to be a speaker for young diabetics who need someone to talk to!

Nessa- Emily, you tend to wear your pump on your sleeve-- sometimes literally! Was it camp that instilled this diabetic pride in you?

Emily- Camp definitely has something to do with it. I knew when I was diagnosed that there was no way that I was going to be able to hide it. Although, when you have a girl pass out on you when she see's your needle the first time, it gets a little hard to really be too open about it. But at camp, everyone is so happy to be there and to know that only a diabetic can be a camper there it really means something special.

Nessa- What is life at camp like?

Emily- The first day is really all about grouping and finding out what you will be doing and who your counselors will be. Then there is opening campfire where we sing and goof off. The food is so wonderful that you almost want to steal the cooks when you leave. There is always a fun night activity. You really build up a great group dynamic because these are the people that you spend the most of your time with. All is fun, but then there is the serious side of camp. Your counselors have you test your blood sugar before your meals, you go through something called "InsuLine", which is when you are called up to take your insulin. At camp you learn to be very aware of your blood sugar. There is also something called "Teen Ed Day", which is a day where you, the camper, get to learn about everything from life on your own to hormones and what they do to your sugar. Every day at camp you learn a little about both diabetes and yourself it’s truly a life-changing place!

Nessa- What is your biggest fear in regards to a diabetic life?

Emily- Honestly, my biggest fear is that other kids will not be able to go to Bearskin Meadow Camp. Camp is facing some financial problems and it would break my heart if another kid couldn't experience this wonderful place for themselves. It is my dream that I can come back to camp every year as a counselor. Camp is that place where even though you're far away from hometown, you still feel like you're at home because everyone has this one thing in common, and you don't feel like a diabetic loner who is doomed to walk the world alone and misunderstood.

-Fin -

I hope you have learned something, and now have a better understanding of why camp means the world to me. Bearskin Meadow Camp started in 1939 as a place for diabetic children who likely wouldn't make it much longer. It provided them with a chance to have fun for the first and possibly the last time. It's amazing that people like you, people who care about diabetics, transformed this camp from a place for kids who would soon die because of this disease, to a summer camp that my fellow diabetics and I get to go to and learn how to prolong our lives as diabetics!