COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Summer camp offers kids a chance to break free from homework and chores but one camp is offering children with sick siblings a chance to just be kids.
The American Cancer Society's Hope Mountain Camp is for kids 11-17 whose siblings have been diagnosed with cancer.
"It gives the children an opportunity to take a step back from the experience of going through their siblings treatments and hospital visits and gives them an outdoor experience and an opportunity to meet some new friends and create some great memories," Lisa Bade, Communications Director with the American Cancer Society, said.
For the Adams family the camp was an outlet for their son Kyle while his sister Rileigh underwent a bone marrow transplant.
"Before she was diagnosed we were like the average siblings, we were always out to get each other," Kyle Adams said.
But after Rileigh was diagnosed with aplastic anemia things changed.
"I kind of had to deal with the guilt of not being like the nicest to her and all, and at the time I had pretty mean friends and we were all pretty mean to her and I thought 'oh no, now she's just got diagnosed with aplastic anemia' so I thought 'wow I'm like the worst brother ever,'" Kyle said.
"It changed a lot because after we found out that I had my disease he went a little softer on me," Rileigh Adams said.
Rileigh's condition meant she had bone marrow failure and needed a transplant. She spent months in the hospital.
"Of course as parents we're pretty involved with what's going on with her," Dorian Adams, Kyle and Rileigh's mother, said.
Dorian said the diagnosis was hard on their entire family including Kyle
"They're typical siblings with each other. He's 15 and she's now 13, and I know he was very concerned about his sister and how she was getting treated, and would she still be around to be his sister for years to come?" Dorian said.
She said she and her husband tried to take care of Kyle as well but knew he probably felt left out.
"I know it had to been hard on him because when she went into the bone marrow transplant it was months of, she spent quite a few months in isolation up at the Children's Hospital," Dorian said.
"Some kids don't recover from a bone marrow transplant so obviously the parents are really worried about their child, so I know he really got left out," she added.
Kyle said there were times where he did feel that way.
"All of the attention basically just kind of went to her and it just kind of left me just kind of out to fend for myself," he said.
Then he and his family learned about Hope Mountain Camp, a place just for Kyle and other siblings like him.
"The camp offered an opportunity for Kyle to go somewhere else, be a kid, enjoy summer, and I'm sure he's very worried about his sister but it gave him another outlet in terms of you know enjoying his summer and not worrying quite so much," Dorian said.
Kyle said camp was one of the best times he's ever had.
"I didn't really have too many things to do during that time and just like getting out and going to summer camp and seeing new people it made me remember that I was a kid, and there's always fun things to do when you're a kid," Kyle said.
Kyle said he went rock climbing, white water rafting, camping and bonded with other kids who were just like him.
"That last night we sit down and discuss the hardships of the stuff and it's really cool being able to actually talk to someone who knows, people who can actually relate cause there aren't a lot of us out there," Kyle said.
It's been one year since Rileigh's transplant and Dorian said she is doing well, but it's going to be an uphill battle.
Rileigh was also diagnosed with Fanconi's Anemia, a genetic disease that also affects her bone marrow.
"She basically will be more at risk of getting early onset cancers and leukemia at a younger age," Dorian said.
"Sometimes I'm scared at like dying at a young age because I get cancer sooner, but I don't like to think about that," Rileigh said.
And despite the uncertain future the family knows they have each other and Hope Mountain Camp to lean on.
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For more information on Hope Mountain Camp contact Amanda Childs at 720-524-5450 or at amanda.childs@cancer.org
The camp is free of charge and is held in Breckenridge during both the summer and winter.
There is an upcoming charity golf tournament that benefits the camp.
The Rotary Club of the Broadmoor District's 16th Annual Five Star Charity Golf Classic will be held Monday, June 25.
It will be held at The Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
The registration deadline is Friday, June 22.
For more information or to register email golf@rotarybroadmoor.com
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