Cassidy's Journey

"A brave spirit makes all things possible"- Camp Ooch for children with cancer

I was so delighted to see all the brave spirits/girls gathering together for Cass at "Ooch Downtown" in the evening of this past Thursday. On that morning, Cass and I were at Sickkids for a series of tests and scans that were required to prepare her for her next treatment. All these tests and scans went on and on and did not finish until around 5:30 p.m. in the late afternoon. Even though we were so exhausted physically, we rushed ourselves to the party. Cass had been greatly looking forward to meeting up with her Ooch friends and counsellors after all of her recent tests at Sickkids. 

Camp Ooch became a big part of her life since she joined at 8 years old. It's her second home and she could always be who she is...being normal, being fun, being silly, being brave to try new things...being embraced by loving people and making friendships there.

I really wanted to thank Sarah Nelles for organizing this gathering for Cass and I hope that Sarah knows that I deeply appreciated her calls and emails since she learnt about Cass's health condition and to organize such a cheerful gathering for Cass. I emphasized to Sarah how Cassidy loved the camp and how important Camp Ooch was to Cassidy. Sarah responded that, "It's the people. The people are amazing. It's the amazing people that make the camp special". Yes, the people are amazing...the kids, the staffs, the counsellors, the Med-shed team, the volunteers...they are all there to make an amazing camp - a place to make them who they are, to make friendships, to make memories, and to be brave for their lives.