Opening ceremonies is a time-honored ritual at the Texas Lions Camp. Cabins (or Units as they are referred to here), busily spend time learning their yells. Typically they are written up on large sheets of paper and the campers huddle around it to sing the silly lyrics, typically something related to having diabetes.

We get a short and solemn address from the Camp Director, who outlines our duties to ourselves and each other. After a few more camp songs, we hear the story of the “coup feather” from the mystical “Indian” who once inhabited these hills. Over the 28 years I’ve been here I’ve seen coup feather talks that ranges from the hilarious to the sublime. The gist of the talk is about being brave and doing what is right over what is easy. At the conclusion of the talk, the name of one camper is announced who embodies the coup spirit. This often is a boy or girl who has done something brave, or has been especially kind to another camper. In many cases, it may be to lift the spirits of a homesick camper who has risen above these feelings to engage themselves into the camp routine.

Afterwards, all the camp, staff included, file by one by one beside the small campfire at the front of the amphitheater. What starts out as a small fire becomes a raging inferno through the collective effect of hundreds of small twigs. Before tossing the piece of wood into the fire, campers must blow a wish into their stick. Hopefully, the wish will become true by the end of camp.

Now an update. We have 95 campers on pumps this week. I don’t know the final total number of campers. That might change by tomorrow with a few late shows. It still is on par with the 53% pumper rate we had last week.

We got a plethora of photos today. They will all go onto the DVD that each family will get at no charge at the end of camp. Our med staff team meeting is tonight at 10PM. I will be bombarded with questions, which is part of my job here. Camp has changed so much since I first came here. Insulin pumps and basal-bolus insulin regimens are largely the reason. So far, all is going very well; beyond expectations. But…this is camp and I’ve learned over the years to always expect the unexpected!

Last 5 posts by Steve

• Halloween and Diabetes CAN mix! - October 5th, 2009
• Introducing Healthy Families of South Texas - October 5th, 2009
• Complications 101 - About Kidney Failure - August 23rd, 2009
• The Sleep Bolus - August 18th, 2009
• The Dirty Truth Behind DCCT - August 16th, 2009

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 9:07 pm and is filed under Camp. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.