Field Of Dreams by Lisa Knight

When asked how and why Camp del Corazon started, Kevin tells a special story about his 6-year-old patient who had undergone many heart procedures. Although his life threatening arrhythmia was essentially corrected, he was still unable to let his friends see him without his shirt on. His deepest scars were not on his chest, but in his thoughts about his body image.

Children with heart disease often carry their emotional scars quietly, not believing that anyone could ever understand ... not Mom or Dad, and certainly not friends at school or in the neighborhood. Kevin was profoundly moved by this revelation. He had worked very hard to repair that youngster's heart problem but was unable to remove the emotional scars. That is just one example of the many, children who come to Camp Del Corazon, an ideal place for those with heart disease to find special friends who are alike in ever so many ways.

When I think back to the beginning 9 years ago and ask myself why I wanted to start Camp del Corazon, I realize that the true story of that young man and all the children I know with similar problems, reminds me of the fine film, "Field of Dreams".

Briefly, for those of you who have not yet seen the movie, Kevin Costner stars as a struggling young farmer about to lose his farm, one day while working in the fields, he hears voices saying, "build it and they will come". Not knowing whose voices he hears or who will come, or why, he cuts down his ripening rows of corn and builds a baseball diamond. Of course his family and friends ... just about everyone he knows, thinks he has gone crazy! But one day, all the greatest baseball players who ever lived show up in his field to play.

Camp del Corazon began in much the same way. Kevin and I had no clue - not an inkling of how to start, let alone run a residential camp. Where will it be? Who will be able to come? Where will the money come from? Were we even thinking rationally? After all, Kevin and I both have full-time positions running the Pediatric Electrophysiology Service at the UCLA Medical Center.

But something deep, deep inside told us that if we built a special, safe place where children with heart disease could play together, they would come! We put out "feelers" ... and one by one, the answers to the tough questions appeared! Catalina Island Camps leased us the campsite, stating simply, "We were just talking about supporting a "special needs camp". Donations started to arrive and one by one, friends announced that they would love to help; and then came! I met Glenn, who loved me enough to say, "If we do this together, just think what we will be sharing.” We were married at camp in the summer of 98'.

Yes, we really built a camp - and one by one, children with heart disease who had never ever been away from their families or even met another kid like themselves came to camp. This year we we even found a little office space (so Glenn and I now have our living room back).

I knew without question that we had started a wonderful healing, growing process for these children when one day at camp during carnival festivities, one wonderful eleven year old camper painted his very large, prominent surgical scars into warrior stripes across his chest - a literal change of heart from shame about his condition to pride in his own strength.

From the very beginning, Camp del Corazon has been a magical place. . . it beats in the heart of everyone who becomes a part of our dream. Our field is on a beautiful island 26 miles out to sea and represents all of what we do and who we are - our fund raising events, camp planning activities, staff meetings, etc. It's the core of Camp Del Corazon, where ever and whenever we come together with staff, campers, parents, and our faithful supporters to build and play, that's where you will find our "field of dreams".

And our dream? Simply to make Camp del Corazon available to anyone who might benefit - that includes campers, adults with heart disease, camp counselors, moms, dads, nurses, doctors, and donors.

The campers, Kevin, Glenn, and I send our heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful people who have helped us in ever so many ways with financial contributions, arranging fund raisers, and always supporting us. To my friends who were there at the start of the dream and did not think me crazy when I told them about the voices. Thank you for believing. To everyone who has been a part of Camp Del Corazon I can only say, you are all the greatest players on our field of dreams… come true!

Lisa Knight RN

Executive Director, Co-Founder Camp Del Corazon, Inc

 

Message from Lisa & Kevin

Children with heart disease are often limited in their physical activities, are frequently absent from school and require special medications and treatments.

For all these reasons they also feel separated from their peers and unable to be part of "regular" life. They are separated from children like themselves because they are few and far between.

The only time they have seen another child with a heart problem is while sitting in the doctor’s office. ( We all know what that feels like) When you look at their lives, there is a lot of things that the children feel they cannot do. That is, not because they are physically limited, but because of the perception they have about themselves and the experiences they have been though.

As Medical professionals involved in the care of children, we are often witness to the effects of heart disease on the health and well being of children. Merely treating heart disease is not enough; we must strive in every way to make these children feel normal, and good about themselves.

Lisa & Kevin

 

Message from Glenn Knight

Dear Friends,

As we celebrate Twelve years of service to the special children who come to our camps, I reflect on what it means to be thankful. Often, saying “thank you” in our daily lives takes on the meaning of a casual phrase such as “excuse me” rather than sincere and deep-felt gratitude. Yet that is just what we at Camp del Corazon want to express to you—the donors, volunteers and supporters of this collective effort—our heart-felt wishes of deepest respect and admiration for all that you do.

With your generous support, children recovering from heart surgery and their families have been given a rare opportunity that has changed many lives. Over the last eleven years, hundreds of children from as young as 7 to17 have learned skills and techniques to help them face their vulnerabilities and overcome their fears while building self-confidence and trust in themselves.

Education for the campers is and has always been the chief focus of Camp del Corazon. The more children understand and accept their conditions, the better prepared they are to deal with all the challenges they might face in life. Because of your help, we have been able to expand our camp and educational programs which includes our young adult program from ages 18 to 25.

Last summer, I spoke with several campers who really summed up the value of this camp. When asked, “What does Camp del Corazon mean to you?” they responded, “It changed my life","I found friends I thought I could never have","It has made me closer to my family.”

These sentiments get to the heart of what we are all hoping to achieve. We thank you for all that you’ve done to ensure this opportunity continues for these and many more children in the years to come.

Yours truly,

Glenn Knight

Chief Executive Officer

"Just seeing the children at camp having fun, with no care in the world, has reinforced to me, the reason we do this"

DONOR FORM

 

Thoughts on Camp del Corazon by Dr. Kevin Shannon

The third session of Camp del Corazon Inc. marked the largest and in my humble opinion, the Smoothest session yet. It also brought considerably more media attention, with news stories on channel 4, Channel l2, the LA time the Daily Bruin, Nurse week and a half dozen other publications, One question seemed to reoccur with each of these interviews: "What do you see in the future for Camp del Corazon Inc.?" Anyone, who saw the TV spots or read the news article, knows that my answer was at best uninspired and at worst totally lame. I have now had considerable time to ponder this question at my leisure and I think I have at an answer that may not be inspired, but at least stands on it own legs.

We learned a lot from our first year, and managed to break even in our second year, despite expanding to 86 children and 5 days. This past year, we finally moved the camp out of my office (and into Lisa & Glenn’s apartment) and purchased some of our own office equipment. We were also fortunate to have Glenn take on a major role as CEO. Glenn is responsible for obtaining our non-profit corporation status, incorporation, and creating all of the, professional appearing brochures, information booklets, and name tags.

Although we have nearly tripled in size, becoming a non-profit corporation (with a board of directors, bylaws and even a corporate seal) and even started to look like a real Operation, Camp Del Corazon Inc. is still a program about children, for the children, and about teaching children with heart disease that they are not alone, and that strength derives from overcoming obstacles. It is not about raising money (not that this is not important), nor is it about getting publicity, influencing people or even expansion. With this in mind, I have a very modest goal for Camp del Corazon Inc.: "To make this opportunity available to anyone who might benefit from it". This includes the doctors, nurses, camp staff, and adults with congenital heart disease who have Volunteered as well as the children who attend, for we all walk away with a better understanding of who we are, what we do, and the importance of understanding how others see the world. I have spent nearly a month thinking about this question, and I must confess this is the same answer I gave the first time I was asked. I think it makes more sense to me now than it did then.

In conclusion I would like to thank all of those persons who have helped make Camp del Corazon Inc. what it is today, and hope that they share my vision for the future.

Kevin