Oh yes, it is true. You didn't read the title wrong. I went to Asthma Camp. I was diagnosed with Moderate to Severe Asthma when I was pretty young, and was told that I would never be able to participate in sports or any kind of running activities as I grew older. I think my parents felt really bad for me, because they jumped at the opportunity to take me to a camp where there would be others just like me, and fun activities that I could participate in.
What is Asthma Camp, you ask? Well, it is this summer camp where large numbers of kids from age 5- 18 with Asthma can play and participate in activities under close supervision of a doctor. There were things like fishing, drawing, water balloon fights, medicinal tutorials, hikes, swimming, and finally soccer. We even got cool little T shirts to wear that said clever little things like: "Got Asthma?"
Out of all the activities, I remember soccer the most, because no one really knew how to play, because they were always told by their parents that it was off limits. I remember turning eight years old and after a few years of watching from the sidelines, finally deciding to try it- I just wanted to know what all the hype was about, and it's what all the "cool Asthma campers" were doing.
So, I walked timidly out to the group and whispered to the doctor in charge that I wanted a turn to play. He smiled and told me to be very careful, and if I felt like I couldn't breathe, then just stop. I speed-walked out to my side of the field, and the game began. The first thing that I noticed was how slow it was, and that everyone was kind of waiting for the ball to get to them. I got bored really, really fast. I also looked around to see that my parents weren't around to see what I was about to do- I started running. I ran and snatched the ball from the kid that was walk-jogging, and took it all the way down the field and GOAL! For the next twenty minutes I ran all over that field. I totally showed all those kids what it was really like to play soccer, and made every single goal made during that game. I felt like a champ, and loved that feeling.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "That's awful! You were running circles around poor, pathetic kids with a disease, and there was nothing they could do about it." That was only partially true, because once I started running, everyone started running- and having Asthma attacks. One by one as the kids ran, they dropped to the ground unable to breathe and the doctors would come and get them to take their breathing treatments, and I would still be out there showing those kids what was up. I went for the next four years just to play soccer against kids with Asthma- it's a real confidence boost when you know you're going to win every time.
I think it was karma that fourth year though- when I was fishing, I got a fish hook caught in my finger all the way through. That was the end of Asthma camp.
Now, I want you all to know that I still have Asthma, but I run around like nobody's business. Just goes to show if you can believe it, you can achieve it. Oh yeah, and also its fun to play soccer against kids with Asthma.
......still single?
No comments:
Post a Comment