My daughter, currently in 8th grade, wants to join the band for high school and this will require her to go to overnight band camp. I was not in the band and so I know nothing about the overnight camp. What should I know to be prepared? Did anyone of you or your children take a vest and nebulizer, etc. to over night camp. Can she do her treatmetns in her camp room or does she have to go to a nurse's office. She is independent with her treatments and I am confident she would be consistent since she needs no reminders at home. If this is a school sponsored event, then do they have to let her go to camp? Any advice is appreciated.
Over night camp - how
- Thread starter Beccamom
- Start date
TreasureGoddess
Member
I was a band geek way back when. Call the band director at the high school and talk with him/her. I'm guessing it's either cabins with 4 people/room or bunkbeds in sleeping halls. I think as long as there's a room set aside for your daughter to do her vest or air clearance treatments & nebulizers it should be fine! Just do some prep work beforehand and it should be a great experience for her. It really makes a difference to go to the camp, lots of bonding and good friendships made too. GO FOR IT! 
Every camp is probably run differently so you should find out from the camp how they administer medication. My daughter went to a winter camp last month that was very strict in how it was handled. The students were not allowed to have any prescription / over the counter drugs (with a few exceptions) and all treatments had to be done at the nurses station. Doing the treatments there, instead of the cabin was what my daughter wanted to do anyway.
At this camp they had a small nurses station (next to the mess hall) that they mainly used to dispense medications at meal time. They set up my daughters vest and neb machine in a small office off the nurses station. My daughter would go there before breakfast and tell them what she needed (saline vial / albuterol drops / Pulmozyme). She then went to the office and set-up and did her treatment herself, and then dropped off the unused medication (albuterol drops) to the nurse. Then she was able to pick up her meds (Creon, Source CF...) and go have breakfast. The process was reversed at night. She would go get her Creon then go have dinner. After dinner she would pick up her saline, albuterol, pulmozyme and do her treatment. They did give her a small supply of creon to take with her so she would have pills if she had a snack.
At this camp they had a small nurses station (next to the mess hall) that they mainly used to dispense medications at meal time. They set up my daughters vest and neb machine in a small office off the nurses station. My daughter would go there before breakfast and tell them what she needed (saline vial / albuterol drops / Pulmozyme). She then went to the office and set-up and did her treatment herself, and then dropped off the unused medication (albuterol drops) to the nurse. Then she was able to pick up her meds (Creon, Source CF...) and go have breakfast. The process was reversed at night. She would go get her Creon then go have dinner. After dinner she would pick up her saline, albuterol, pulmozyme and do her treatment. They did give her a small supply of creon to take with her so she would have pills if she had a snack.
This will be a wonderful chance for your daughter to bond with her fellow bandmates! It's good that you're getting a head start on what you need to do so your daughter has a fun and "normal" camp experience. My two girls went to Girl Scout camp, one with me there as a camp counselor for another age group entirely and the other all by herself. My oldest also got to go on a week long trip with her class, that was a hard one to do... The youngest went to cheer camp the summer before her freshman year of high school. Anyhow, they've often said they were grateful for us allowing them to do normal stuff. I agree with TreasureGoddess about calling the school and speaking with the band director. Best place to start. I also advise talking with her CF team about camp, perhaps obtaining a letter from them explaining CF and reassuring the staff at camp that she is well enough to go to camp, responsible to take care of herself, her meds etc. Opening up a line of communication for the band director and the CF clinic if they have any questions. This will give them comfort in case they don't know anything about CF. Both my girls were allowed to carry their meds with them all through high school, inhalers and enzymes. I'm sure she'll have a wonderful time, making long lasting friendships and great memories!
Thanks for your responses. You all made overnight camp seem doable. I will work with the band director and speak directly with the camp nurse to make arrangements. My daughter is so happy with your suggestions. Only on this forum could 3 different people really understand the problem.
best wishes
best wishes