In the school I went to growing up in Huntsville, I was the only one with diabetes. I was diagnosed with it when I was 11, so from that time until I was 18, I was the only one my age with diabetes.”John Latimer, camp & community programs director for Camp Seale Harris
CULLMAN – On Sunday, March 13, Camp Seale Harris, a part of the Southeastern Diabetes Education Services (SDES), held its annual Cullman Spring Family Fun Day at the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center (CWAC). The free event was for children with diabetes and their families and was sponsored by the Cullman Community Lions Club.
The Camp Seale Harris mission is to educate, encourage and empower children with diabetes and their families to live well. During Sunday’s Family Fun Day, families enjoyed swimming in the indoor pool, playing exciting games and learning the latest information in diabetic education as well.
“We call today a Family Fun Day; it’s for diabetic children and their families to come out and have a good time,” said Patty Miller, Cullman Community Lions Club secretary. “They get to play a lot of games and receive diabetic information. Then they can go swimming and then eat some snacks before going home.
“We do this once a year, usually in March, because there are so many children with diabetes here in Cullman County,” Miller continued. “One school has 14 diabetic students in it. We (Community Lions Club) also supply the schools with diabetic kits: snacks, water and anything that will bring their blood sugar back. Then, if the schools happen to run out of testing strips or if the parents don’t bring strips we will supply a certain amount of those as well. Strips are really expensive, so at the beginning of the year we will supply 10 strips and more throughout the year.”
John Latimer, camp & community programs director for Camp Seale Harris, was on hand to lead the games and activities during the event. He had a lot of things to say about diabetes and the things campers do while at Camp Seale Harris.
“In the school I went to growing up in Huntsville, I was the only one with diabetes,” he said. “I was diagnosed with it when I was 11, so from that time until I was 18, I was the only one my age with diabetes. Even in my support group I was the babysitter because I was 5 years older than the other kids with it. Camp is where I had someone right next to me in the cabin who shared the same issues I had. At Camp Seale Harris, if you are 12 years old, you are going to share a cabin with other 12 year olds, that’s just how it works.”
Each year hundreds of youth with diabetes go to Camp Seale Harris for a medically-supervised, fun camp experience. One physician from the camp was at CWAC as part of the event.
“Dr. Hussein Abdullatif, M.D. is the head of endocrinology at Children’s Hospital (Children’s of Alabama); he volunteers at Camp Seale Harris,” explained Laurita Hogeland, first vice president of Cullman Community Lions Club. “He came up here today; my grandson is his patient. He came today to speak; he will do a little diabetes training that will last about 15 or 20 minutes.
“We like to do this so kids can get together and meet other kids who are dealing with the same issues they are,” she smiled. “We’ve got more people here than we have had in the past, so this is really good. I believe today we have eight kids who have Type 1 diabetes as well as a few adults. I take fliers out to every school nurse so all the children in Cullman County will know about today’s event.”
The men and women of the Cullman Community Lions Club are devoted to serving the Cullman community and making a difference in the lives of others through local projects, events and fundraisers. Their platform is education, awareness and prevention of diabetes. The Camp Seale Harris Family Fun Day is just one example of the work they do to educate the community about diabetes.
For more information about the Cullman Community Lions Club, visit their website at e-clubhouse.org/sites/cullmancommunity/ or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Cullman-Community-Lions-Club-494499867257516/.
For more information about Camp Seale Harris, call 205-402-0415, email them at info@campsealeharris.org or visit them online at www.campsealeharris.org.
