Camp Red Fox helping P.E.I. children with Type 1 diabetes

Many children's summer camps have themes ranging from sports to drama to cooking, but one in Canoe Cove is helping children to manage their health.

At Camp Red Fox, you will see children having fun playing traditional camp games, but you'll also see them checking their blood sugars.

The camp is for children with Type 1 diabetes. 

Lara Abramson, Atlantic manager camps and new programs at Camp Red Fox says along with crafts, games and camp fires, the kids learn how to manage their disease.

"These kids are going to have to go home and and you know, go to a birthday party where's there's going to be cake and candy and cupcakes and they're going to have be prepared to deal with that with their diabetes," she said.

Organizers say they try to make everything feel like a regular camp including meal time, but when working with diabetics and food, Abramson says there has to be a bit of extra planning.

"At meals you'll see what we call carb boards which have everything in the meal that you're about to eat," she explained. "So they'll take the amount of insulin based on what they plan to eat."

The camp has a full medical team on staff, but that is largely kept in the background. The focus is on kids having fun with other kids who understand what they're going through.

"Feels like here you don't feel left out you're having so much fun with these kids," said camper Nick Dijkema. "We're playing games, we play this game called ninja, kick the can, we play at the beach, it's really cool."

Dijkema says he eventually wants to be a leader at the camp, a common occurrence. Many counsellors, like Laura McQuarrie, were once campers and now want to give back.

"I just want to make sure that everyone has a really great time because it is so important for these kids to come and have an experience where they feel like they aren't diabetic almost because everyone else is diabetic so it's almost like nobody is," she said.

Camp Red Fox wraps up on Friday.