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Reflections from Youth Rally 2024
About the Author
Janet Field, MS, RN, CWOCN, is a Certified Wound, Ostomy and Continence nurse for over 20 years. She has practiced in a wide variety of settings including acute care, intensive care, home health, and hospice. She has taught over 3000 new nurses how to care for patients living with a stoma(s). She joined the Coloplast team as a Clinical Specialist Manager earlier this year.
For over 20 years, I have wanted to volunteer at Youth Rally. This year, I was so honored to take part as a nurse, due to Coloplast’s Platinum sponsorship. This year's camp was held at the University of Colorado in Boulder. One of the best parts about camp is how the repeat campers, counselors, and nurses welcome the "newbies." From the moment I arrived until the moment I left, I was treated with kindness, encouragement, and warmth. At every turn I felt welcomed and a feeling of friendship.
Besides meeting "like" teens, what would camp be without some fantastic experiences? Activities offered at camp included ice skating, rock climbing, bowling, amusement/water parks, hiking, dodgeball, strength training and so many more.
Altogether, there were 108 campers and 80 volunteers. We all housed in a nice dormitory on campus. Counselors and nurses arrived two days early to get trained and educated on camp procedures/camper needs. For most counselors and nurses, this was a repeat experience. There were five first-time nurses like me. As a nurse, I was assigned to Group Nine and we had five counselors, two first-time nurses, and ten campers. Campers came from all over the United States plus Australia and Kenya. Our group's campers ranged in age from 15-16 years of age.
A highlight of my week was the water park. We had two campers who had never been to a water park and their wish was to sit in the wave pool. Both campers have Spina Bifida and used a wheelchair to navigate the world. Two of us helped them get out of their chairs and into the wave pool. Joy is not descriptive enough to describe their faces and their laughs from the first time a wave found them to the last wave of the day.
What is Youth Rally? Youth Rally is an organization that originally was sponsored by the United Ostomy Association. The campers originally were people with an ostomy or considering an ostomy. In 2005, it was decided that other campers with a variety of bowel and bladder disorders could receive help from this camp as well. One of the main purposes of camp is to allow campers age 11-17 to meet other teens that have similar health challenges and learn disease management, develop self-esteem, and increase independence.
Thanks to all who helped make this momentous week happen for so many. I know I left camp with a new perspective, new ideas, and a deeper desire to go again!
For information on how you can volunteer as a nurse in 2025, please visit YouthRally.org.