"Hope" ALS Camp returns to Flat Rock in June
Feb. 18—ST. PAUL — Hope Loves Company, a not-for-profit organization helping children who have dealt with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a parent, a family member or even a friend, returns to Flat Rock River YMCA Camp June 18 through 23, and is hosting a virtual camp via ZOOM on March 10 and 12.
HLC sponsors camps around the country that give kids up to 18 years old a chance to have a fun-filled camping experience bonding with others who have dealt with ALS.
Named Lou Gehrig's Disease for the baseball great who succumbed to the fatal disease in 1941, ALS is a disease that causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles.
About half of the people affected with it develop at least mild difficulties with thinking and behavior, and most people experience pain, eventually losing their ability to walk, use their hands, speak, swallow, and breathe.
Some also use the term "motor neuron disease" for a group of conditions of which ALS is the most common.
ALS, which is always fatal, is characterized by stiff muscles, muscle twitching, and gradually worsening weakness due to muscles decreasing in size. ALS usually begins with weakness in the arms or legs, or with difficulty speaking or swallowing.
The team at Hope Loves Company have facilitated camps across the nation based on the experience of HLC's founder, Jodi O'Donnell-Ames, whose husband, Kevin, passed away from ALS in 2001 after being diagnosed in 1995.
For her, the HLC camps are a labor of love.
"I try to create something that I wish my own children had when they were going through this," O' Donnell-Ames has said.
HLC camps focus on bringing together children who might not know how to deal with the grief of losing someone to ALS.
Children might be at a level of understanding that allows them to notice changes happening in their lives, but might not know how to respond to that information. Hanging out with others with similar experiences provides a level of support many might not otherwise experience in their day to day lives.
The experience helps them learn coping skills to deal with adversity, be it ALS, cancer, or any on the list of terminal illnesses.
Some fly in, many travel from other states to take part in weekend camps, or even, like the recent HLS camp at Flat Rock YMCA, for a week-long camping experience.
Camping experiences include scrapbooking, crafting, and discussion groups punctuated with fun activities like camp fires, swimming and hiking to provide old-fashioned camping fun.
To provide a week-long experience, Flat Rock YMCA donates extra days so that the HLC campers can spend more time together, learning avenues to express what they are feeling in positive ways.
To learn more about Hope Loves Company's other free programs for families affected by ALS, visit www.hopelovescompany.org, call 609-730-1144, or look for them on social media.
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com
