A place to still be a kid

Oct. 7—Before Makenzie Matthews was 10 years old, she survived childhood brain cancer.

"Three days before my 8th birthday, I was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor the size of a racquetball," Matthews said. "I had to have emergency surgery. When I woke up from surgery, I was blind. I couldn't walk or talk. I missed third, fourth and fifth grade."

The Mt. Juliet native learned about Camp Horizon from her doctor after she was cancer free. The camp is held each year at Bethany Hills Campground in Kingston and has been providing a week-long summer camp for current and former childhood cancer patients since 1987.

"Camp Horizon is a really magical place," the 23-year-old Matthews said. "It is a week-long sleepover camp for children who currently have cancer or survivors."

Matthews has attended Camp Horizon for 13 years.

"My first year at Camp Horizon was 2010," Matthews said. "I was pretty shy. I had just finished treatment, so my hair hadn't grown back yet."

While Matthews is cancer free, she still deals with the effects of her treatment.

"Once a year, I have to go back and be dragged into it all again at the hospital with the oncologist and the endocrinologist and MRIs, which I have been doing since I was diagnosed," Matthews said. "Those are really hard for me emotionally. The treatment and location of the tumor have left me with a lot of long-term side effects and fatigue."

Fiftteen years after her diagnosis, Matthews is a counselor at Camp Horizon.

"We have kids that are actively going through chemotherapy at camp, and we're able to accommodate to their serious medical needs, but they're also able to still be a kid and have fun doing normal camp activities," Matthews said.

In addition to its program for children with or recovering from childhood cancer, Camp Horizon also has a program for their siblings. Special and Important Brothers and Sisters (SIBS) Camp was established in 1997.

"My identical twin sister, Madison, and my brother, Justin, both attended siblings week as campers, and now, they're counselors as well," Matthews said. "SIBS week is for children whose sibling has or has survived cancer, but there's also a lot of siblings at SIBS Week that their sibling did not survive. That's really eye-opening and moving."

The camp is funded by donations and run by volunteers. It was previously funded by the American Cancer Society, but when the organization stopped participating in pediatric research in 2014, it also stopped funding camps.

"It costs about $500 to send one child to Camp Horizon, but all of the campers attend for free," Matthews said. "I would love to send as many kids as possible to camp."

Matthews is hoping to raise enough money to send 10 kids to Camp Horizon at an upcoming fundraising event in Mt. Juliet. Concerts and Causes at the Paper Mill in Mt. Juliet will raise money for Camp Horizon on Nov. 16 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Throughout the night, attendees will have the opportunity to donate to Camp Horizon, and 10% of the money that the Paper Mill makes during the event will also be donated to the camp.

"I want to give back to camp and (to give) other children going through that and having a hard time that camp experience," Matthews said.