ENT & Camp Korey

Thursday we headed to Seattle for Caden's follow up ENT appointment for his ear tubes that were put in the end of November.  The tubes look fine ... and he had his hearing re-checked.  His hearing test shows moderate hearing loss in the left ear and mild hearing loss in the right.  The audiologist seemed more concerned then the ENT doctor.

I will talk with his pre-school teacher and check with his speech therapist he used to see, get their opinions, and decide from there if we need to do anything further.

We met my parents for dinner Thursday night, stayed at Uncle Scot's, went to Bell Square Friday, stopped by to see Uncle Chris ...then it was time to head to .... *** Camp Korey *** 

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Camp Korey!  Going into this weekend, I didn't know what to really expect.  It's called camp ... I knew there were "cabins" ... so I was thinking rustic cabin, outside fires, muddy, etc. ~  But it was none of that. Everything is fairly new.  The older buildings have been restored and are gorgeous (a house that was built in 1914).  The rooms are more like hotels and or dorms.  ... and the best part (for Caden) was they had bunk beds! The food, wonderful. I was anticipating cafeteria food, not so!

Last summer, was the first week long Skeletal Dysplasia camp for kids ages 7-15.  And this year they had the first Family Weekend for kids ages 5-15. Since Caden is two months away from 5 (how can that be?) they allowed us to attend :o)  I just cannot express the experience this provides for our LP kiddos.  Now, that the weekend has come and gone and we experienced camp, I think Caden was a little young for this weekend. It was alot. Activities till 9:30 Friday night, and activities yesterday from 7:30am to 9:30pm.  I hope next year he is able to absorb more of it ~ and for sure the week long camp, (not so sure he will be ready at 7) in a few years. 

The opportunity for these kiddo's to spend a week with "friends" who are just like them ... face the same physical challenges ... and no one is looking at them with wonder as to why they appear "different". Awesome!

The staff at Camp Korey ... phenomenal! The volunteers ... super ... the "camper pals" (cabin counselors) fun!  In the picture below, the guy on the far right ... belongs in Hollywood ... seriously entertaining!  They have volunteer doctors and nurses on staff the entire weekend from Seattle Children's ... so neat.

The kids played games, did arts and crafts, climbed the climbing wall (Caden was going to try, but then after waiting in line, psyched himself out), sang camp cheers, played basketball (they lower the hoops), played musical instruments, had scavenger hunts ...there were so many options ...

These two might just become the next teen heart throbs with their rock star music :o)

The weather was the only thing to be desired for the weekend.  It rained ... then turned to snow! But that didn't stop the kids.  The grounds at Camp Korey are amazing!  Everything is so well maintained. 

 

Saturday night was "stage night".  The kiddos can dress up, and dress up their "camper pals" then they perform on stage.

Caden had fun putting makeup and finger nail polish on our "camper pal" ... and goofing around on stage.  Once it was time for the actual performances, they turned off the lights, turned on the spotlight and Caden was ready to go ... it was a little after 8, and he was done ... so to bed we went.

It snowed like crazy Sunday morning!  If you click on the snow picture below, it will appear larger.  You might be able to see Caden's orange jacket in the middle of the picture. Crazy. Crazy. Snow.  Caden "opted" out of the closing ceremonies.  If you look in the other picture below, you see Caden standing outside the window, waving inside to his buddy, who is waving back at him. Really?! Caden, must you be the class clown?  He had had enough structured activities ... again, why I think he might be a little young for all this fun.

After breakfast and the closing ceremonies it was time to wrap up our fun. They had more activities planned for the morning ... but since Seattle doesn't "function" in the snow, everyone had to start heading home.  Which was okay, since we had two mountain passes to get over.  So we packed up our "Chia Pet" and the rest of our goodies and said our goodbyes.  As we pulled away, Caden looked behind out the back window and said, "bye Camp Korey, see you next year". 

Caden slept the whole way home. Didn't wake up until the truck shut off in the driveway .... that's a good measure, that Caden had fun ... he was exhausted :o)

I don't want to wish away Caden's years ... I will continue to enjoy each stage ... but I am happy to know that he has a week at Camp Korey each summer in his future!  The amazing part about our FUN weekend at Camp Korey ... it didn't cost us a PENNY!  Why? Because of donors. We don't ever want Camp Korey to go away, due to lack of funding. So, I ask this of you ... if you are looking to make a non-profit donation ... or ... if your company is looking for a non-profit to sponsor ... Please! consider donating to Camp Korey!  What an awesome gift to give kids who may just be a little different then the majority of their peers. http://campkorey.org/ 

Thank You Camp Korey for a fun weekend!