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I’ve been waiting on film to be developed in order to get this blogpost written. Never again am I using disposable cameras. They are more horrid than I remember and the week long wait was too much. I had no idea what to expect at Camp Winning Spirit so I left my very expensive camera at home for fear of damage due to dampness, or something stupid like dropping into the lake or something. I hope to acquire a smaller, pocket-sized digi cam for next year. Never using the disposables again.

We had a wonderful time at Camp Coniston, which hosts Camp Winning Spirit over Labor Day Weekend. Alexa wasn’t sure what to think at first, she was really nervous but after the first evening’s gathering she was hooked. The entire weekend was wonderful for her, I had a great time too however, at the same time, I could see just how much she has changed physically from treatment. My thriving girl is so thin and weak with this sometimes lost or tired look. It makes my heart ache and I had to bury the urge to scream. Fortunately we were kept busy enough that I scarcely had time to dwell on it.

Despite the winds from the blown out Hurricane Earl, Alexa and I went canoeing. Her weekend was filled with new experiences and several “firsts”, one being canoeing. I love it and though its been more than a decade since I last did it I felt confident in taking her out. I should’ve warned her that canoes feel “tippy”, she freaked out several times and the wind blowing across the lake certainly didn’t help. However, we found our groove and were soon paddling out beyond to the second lake. She LOVED it. Our second trip out was hairy, the boat towing the waterskiers and tubers stirred up too many waves in addition to the wind gusts, so our second trip was shorter which was a blessing in disguise because we spotted a beautiful loon.

Another first for her was archery, another of my loves. She wasn’t too sure about it until she took her first shot and got a bulls eye! After that she kept at it and did really well, only missing the target once. The girl is definitely a natural!

She also took a stab at the climbing tower, a rock wall that I was astounded she was even considering. She didn’t get very far and in the process completely fell apart to the point of hysterics. Very unlike her and also surprising to me as she clung to me and sobbed so hard I thought she was going to hyperventilate. I wonder if it released all the pent up emotions she has had building. She is still determined to not be afraid to try new things, something new since her diagnosis, and I am so incredibly proud of her.

I followed suit and tried a ride in the motor boat when they towed the skiers/tubers. I get motion sick easily and have a horrible fear of dark water (yeah, I went canoeing, I don’t understand it either..lol) however I tried it with her and can gladly say I did it and will probably never do it again! She went back out again the next day with two of her favorite counselors and spent over an hour out on the water. Of course when you have goofballs like this guy it’s hard to say no

It was a busy weekend, she was on the go all day long. It did catch up with her though, she experienced leg pain in addition to the muscle weakness which makes using stairs a challenge. The last day her leg gave out while she was walking and she came down hard on her knee. I knew later that day her platelets had to be great because there was no bruising! By Thursday we had her blood counts and everything was fantastic, normal or close to it on everything. So Friday she had another visit to Dartmouth, got through her lumbar puncture relatively well (waking up is always ugly for the rest of us..) She isn’t scheduled for another until December (yay!). She has one more appointment for this phase which is scheduled for next Tuesday.

As for the weekend at camp, she wants to return every year and once through treatment she wants to go to summer camp at Camp Coniston and one day be a counselor there. I learned that many of the counselors there that weekend are no longer summer counselors and come back special for this particular weekend. How amazing is that?

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