By Juliane Khadra
We were all very excited when we got the email to let us know that our family had been one of the lucky ones selected to attend the Lower Mainland CHN Family Camp. When we arrived at Camp Stillwood, we were greeted by a familiar face, one of the heart moms and a CHN board member, Sabrina Robertson. She had everything ready for us, which made checking in to our cabin smooth and easy. Our fun had just begun! The camp was very clean, and the food was amazing; kids and adults alike loved it. Our days were filled with fun activities for everyone: archery, rock climbing, arts and crafts, low and high ropes courses, games rooms, and campfires.
It was heartwarming to see my heart kid bond with other heart kids. They were encouraging each other and cheering each other on as they accomplished new challenges. They shared laughs, made new friends, and even showed each other their surgery scars.
It was such an incredible experience for our family to meet other heart families. We realized that although we come from different places and backgrounds, we all have similar stories that involve struggles and pain as we travel the journey of bringing up children with heart disease. It is valuable to our family to know that we aren’t alone.
We left the camp knowing we had made new friends and new heart family connections. Thank you to CHN for this amazing opportunity. Thank you to Sabrina Robertson for hosting us and for making this trip a stress-free experience—you really went the extra mile for all of us. We were pampered and treated like royalty; it was an experience we will never forget! ♥
“Camp Stillwood September 2019” is from our fall 2019 newsletter, Heart Matters. See our Newsletters page for more stories and to subscribe.