Asthma Camp creates bonds by empowering those with asthma
When you think of summer camp, you think of kids running around and enjoying the great outdoors. One camp believes kids with asthma can do the same.
And it’s proved helpful, too, according to Astarta Guillen. She’s a fourth grader who recently visited the Monterey Zoo for the first time alongside dozens of other campers.
There, she fed an elephant, which if it were an animal with more fur, she’d be having a hard time breathing.
“Most of the time a lot of the pets you want you can’t have,” Astarta says. “I can’t have hamsters or anything with a lot of hair.”
Other kids were there at the zoo, of course, including incoming fourth-grader, Aaron Villegas.
His favorite part of the experience?
“Feeding the elephants,” Aaron exclaimed. He, along with Astarta and the other 50 or so kids at the zoo have asthma. Through Asthma Camp, they’re learning to not only how to deal with the condition, but also how to feel empowered enough to go out and do any number of physical activities.
“They should be playing soccer and running around at the zoo!” says Asthma Camp coordinator, Lindsay Gimelli. “Their asthma doesn’t have to hold them back.”
Asthma Camp has stepped in to provide that empowerment to kids with asthma for about 34 years now.
The kids who have joined in the camp not have a little fun, but also leave with the understanding that their lungs are different than others.
Medical professionals at the camp arm the kids with tools to help them know when they need to use their inhaler or when to call a doctor.
“The green zone means you’re good,” says incoming fourth-grader Bella Carranza. “The yellow zone means to use your inhaler, though. The red zone means you should go and see a doctor.”
For Astarta, asthma can be triggered by furry animals. Bella, meanwhile, can have it triggered thanks to certain smells.
“Those smells start allergies and that can lead to asthma attacks, too,” Bella says.
The kids managed to stay away from furry animals on this zoo day.
They walk out of the zoo and out of the camp knowing they can do anything, even while fighting off asthma, as long as they play it smart.
