This year's summer camp is behind us

ČSH

The beginning of this year's summer holidays in haemophilia circles belonged to a truly traditional event -- the Summer Haemophilia Camp. For the third time, we visited the beautiful setting of the Zubří Recreation Centre near Nové Město na Moravě. This year saw many new faces among the camp participants, but the team of counsellors was also partially refreshed compared to previous years. However, all newcomers handled their roles excellently, and the camp proceeded in a relaxed atmosphere.

On the very first camp evening, everyone was introduced to the theme of the camp-wide game, when Emperor Hachimikado welcomed his subjects in his palace in Kyoto, the capital of 17th-century Japan. The children became samurai apprentices who set out on a journey whose goal was to master the virtues and skills that every samurai should possess, so that each apprentice could be knighted as a true samurai at the end. During their journey, the children had to overcome many obstacles and deal with difficult tasks; at the same time, they influenced the inhabitants of the realm and gained their support. The journey was ultimately successful for everyone, and so the Emperor was able to knight more than forty new samurai on the penultimate evening.

A typical camp day began with a wake-up call and morning exercises, which not everyone was entirely keen on, but it was good for everyone to warm up and stretch before a demanding day. During the mornings, we stayed in the camp -- apart from rehabilitation sessions, which were on the programme every day, various hands-on workshops usually took place. The children made swords, photo frames, masks, and armour for the final battle.

An integral part of the camp is also the practising of self-administration of medication for haemophilia patients, so that everyone becomes as independent as possible and does not depend on others for medication administration. The aim is to teach everyone who attends the camp to self-administer. Under the supervision and assistance of physicians and nurses, many newcomers made significant progress this year, which made us all very happy, and we believe that this is where the camp proves its usefulness.

The afternoon programme was always devoted to a stage of the camp-wide game, in which the teams worked towards having all their members knighted as samurai. The evenings were then filled with various activities -- a disco, filming videos in the style of YouTubers, a talent show, or roasting sausages by the campfire. On one occasion, the weather allowed us to pull out sleeping mats and sleeping bags under the open sky, and those interested could spend one night under the summer night sky.

For a change of pace, in the second week we left the camp for a day and visited the western town Šiklův mlýn, where plenty of attractions were prepared for all of us. Despite persistent overnight and morning rain, we eventually set out on the trip, and the gradually clearing sky let us know we had made the right decision. We were able to enjoy the entire day at Šiklův mlýn to the fullest.

Another activity that took us out of the regular camp routine was a one-day visit by disc golf players. The players, who are among the Czech elite in this not-so-widespread sport, gave all of us a brief overview of what disc golf is about, and then we could try out what we had in us on an improvised six-hole course. Throughout the day, we honed our technique, whether for short or long throws, and so at the end of the day we could play an inter-team tournament and compete in distance throws. Disc golf made a very positive impression on all of us; each of us received our own disc as a gift, and so we believe that for many, this was not the last encounter with this interesting sport.

The difficult farewells at the end of the camp and the occasional tears appearing on some faces suggested that this year's camp was a success. The great weather, an amazing group of children, and the dedicated effort of the counsellors, physicians, nurses, and physiotherapists -- all of this combined ideally to create two weeks that will be hard to forget. A big and sincere thank you goes to all those who contributed to making the camp happen, whether through their work or financial support. We believe that despite the personnel changes, we managed to maintain the quality of the camps that you were accustomed to from previous years, and we will look forward to seeing all of you next year at the same venue from 1 July to 15 July.

PS: A selection of photos can be found below the article; the complete photo set is available at https://hemofilik.rajce.idnes.cz/

Vojta Horník

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