BLOOD matters - Société Canadienne de l'Hémophilie

Just the Guys Weekend
“It was the best weekend! I really liked the rock climbing
wall. One morning before our Polar Dip, we had to wait
because there was a very big turtle in the water. Dad
and I jumped in together and I was on the dock before
Dad even got up out of the water. I really liked spending
time with my Dad and making lots of friends. We had
to walk a very long walk to get to our cabin, but once we
were there it was very cool. We were the green team
and we did some really fun challenges but we lost, so I
am looking forward to going back next year and winning.”
Nathaniel, age 8
SWOR
u Nathaniel Cruse and his dad, Kevin.
q Matthew on tires – part of low ropes
activity.
Camp Ki-Wa-Y hosted our Wacky World of Sports Just the Guys Weekend
September 17-19 for boys age 5-15 affected by an inherited bleeding disorder
and their accompanying male role models. The weekend provides the opportunity
for male youth and their father or male role model to gain a better
understanding of their diagnosis and to connect with other families.
The Wacky World of Sports twisted traditional sports activities resulting in
lots of fun for the four teams competing for the glory of the win. Friday evening
saw them building team torches out of spaghetti and two marshmallows.
Saturday’s first challenge—Sports Shootout—incorporated
three sports basketball, soccer and hockey. The fourth station
challenged their knowledge of their bleeding disorder with a
trivia quiz. In the evening a raucous game of Beverage Pong
ran for over an hour until one team was declared the winner.
Sunday morning Fishing 1-oh-1 saw each father/son team
fishing in porridge with one foot to find the candy spiders
while trying to avoid the candy leaches (mini tootsie rolls).
Other favourite activities this year were low ropes, the
climbing wall and the ever popular waterfront (new and returning
participants love to take out the canoes and kayaks
or jump on the water trampoline for hours).
Julia Sek, Clinical Consultant, used red construction paper
and goldfish crackers to help younger participants understand
a little more about what happens during a bleed. Karen Strike,
the physiotherapist from Hamilton’s Bleeding Disorders
Program, used cooked chicken wing bones to help the boys
understand their joints and the importance of taking care of
them. Thank you ladies for your innovation.
Again this year, Ryan K participated as our region’s Youth
Leader Volunteer and did an outstanding job. Thank you
for sharing your leadership and mentoring our leaders of
tomorrow.
All in all it was a great weekend. Many new connections
were made and old friendships revisited. A special thank
you to event sponsors, Pfizer, Baxter and Bayer Burford
International—without your support this event would not
be possible.
Blood Matters Fall 2010 /37