Safe Housing Canada Project #6528

Help kids with facial differences become leaders

by AboutFace

Project Report | Apr 7, 2014
Shannon Goes To Camp!

By by Shannon Lins | AboutFace Trailblazer

Shannon at Camp

I went to camp Trailblazers this year because I went to the camp previous years before this year and I loved it! Each year the experience of camp is so amazing and so much fun. I meet new people each year I go and I see old friends from past years that I reunite with; with the same friendship we had last year (like Rebecca and I did this year). The activities are so much fun and some of the activities gets people miles out of their comfort zone and you get to do stuff you never would at home.

Since I started coming to camp I’ve been handling getting stared at and getting bullied better because the other kids at camp give advice on how they deal with that. I text a lot of the friends I made at camp and we can talk about it and it makes me feel better. I’ve also become more confident in myself and I’ve started doing the things I love like working out and dancing. I am making more good friends because I’m putting myself out there more.

No other camp just has kids with facial differences, and a lot of camps aren’t in September - late October! Also, other camps don’t have the types of activities trailblazers does. I’ve never made really close friends so quickly before at camp either!

If there was another child thinking about coming to camp for the first time I would tell them they should definitely go and there is no other camp like it! I would tell them the kinds of activities we did in past years like rock climbing, canoeing, and zip lining! I would be their camp buddy and introduce them to my old friends and help them have a fantastic time at camp.

I was sad that the camp in Alberta didn’t go this year but I loved the camp in Vancouver! I got to meet kids that I wouldn’t have at the Alberta camp. We got to go swimming in the Pacific Ocean (It was freezing)!

Rebecca, Greg, and Colleen and I all went to Stanley park the first day we were in Vancouver for a 3 hour walk! The flight there was so much fun and we took two buses and a train because we took the wrong bus once on the way home! Of course I would do it again! I wouldn’t miss it for the world no matter where the camp was I was going to!

My favourite parts of the B.C. camp was the scenery - it was so beautiful there; jumping in the ocean 1000 times, kayaking for the first time, and of course meeting a bunch of great people who all have a facial difference like me!

Shannon flying to camp!

Shannon swimming at camp

Links:

Camp Trailblazers

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Dec 17, 2013
"I'm a normal teenager because of AboutFace"

By Jessica Fitzpatrick | Manager, Marketing & Outreach

Callum Baby

Hi, my name is Callum. I’m 13 years old and I was born with an incomplete bi-lateral cleft lip and a complete cleft palate. I didn’t have a lip like most babies and I didn’t have a roof in my mouth.
The cool part was that I could stick my tongue through my nose from the inside. The part that sucked was that I couldn’t suck my soother or drink from a normal bottle. My mom had to use a squeezy bottle and squeeze my milk into my mouth.

I’ve had nine surgeries since I was born. I had my lip reconstructed when I was 4 months old. Then I had my palate fixed when I was a year old. If I didn’t get my palate fixed, I would never be able to suck a straw or blow up a balloon. There were some minor surgeries like a rhinoplasty and ear tubes before I had a bone graft, which took a piece of bone from my hip and put it into my upper gums. That was when I was 8 or 9 years old. But unfortunately, it didn’t take and I had to have that surgery again when I was 11. Now I can bite an apple or eat sour soothers and not have my teeth move around. I used to have teeth in my palate, but I had to have chains attached to them and the dentist tightened the chains all the time to pull them into where my eye teeth needed to be. Now I just have braces.

So doctors can fix all of that. They can make me look like a normal kid to the best of their ability. But I’m one of the lucky ones because my cleft lip is one of the rare ones – bilateral means TWO or BOTH SIDES – so my cleft is more symmetrical than some other kids. But all of the surgeries in the world can’t make you look in the mirror and like what you see. That’s where AboutFace comes in.

When I was 10 years old, my mom asked if I wanted to go away to camp for a few days. Camp Trailblazers is a camp for kids with facial differences. I was scared. I had never been away to overnight camp before. My mom arranged for one of the kids, Amanda, to chat with me online. I learned we had a lot in common and I started to get a little bit excited about going to camp.

At camp there were lots of fun things to do like trampoline, capture the flag, canoeing, geocaching and even horseback riding. I didn’t like horseback riding. I thought that I was going to hurt the horse. You see, I’ve always been bigger than the average kid – and when my mom took me to ride on the ponies when I was little – the man wouldn’t let me ride. He got out his scale and embarrassed me in front of everyone. He said that I was too big and I would break his horse’s back. But Dan, who is one of the counsellor’s at the camp – encouraged me to try it. He supported me and made me feel strong. So when I got home, the first thing that I said was, “Mom, I rode a horse” My mom cried and I really didn’t know why.

Callum Toddler

Callum Now

Links:

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Dec 3, 2013
"My first year at Camp. It won't be my last!"

By Jessica Fitzpatrick | Manager, Marketing & Outreach

Vanessa

I’m a pretty normal 15 year old in Grade 10. I have a pesky little sister, she’s 13. I love my dog Coda. We like to call him our ‘brother’. He’s a little shih tzu (that sounds funny if you say it out loud). I go to high school so life is busy.

I wasn’t born with a difference but I have one now. It wasn’t an accident or trauma that caused my difference. I have Juvenile Arthritis that has affected my joints particularly my jaw and the shape of my face. When I was 9, we discovered that my jaw was only the size of a 5 year old. That was because my jaw joints were eroding away.

The doctors are planning to operate on my jaw in the near future. They’re just waiting for me to stop growing. I’m looking forward to my surgery even though I’m a little scared because I really want it.

I still get frustrated about having Juvenile Arthritis and I can unleash my fury sometimes. My parents installed a heavy bag in my bedroom for me to hit when I feel like I need to. It’s a great release! And it’s pretty sweet that I have a punching bag in my room.

How did I get involved with AboutFace? My parents were actually the first ones to make contact after being referred by the hospital. They wanted me to go to Camp Trailblazers. I met a few of the experienced campers and even went to a few AboutFace events before I decided to go.

This was my first year at camp. I was a little worried about going and was a little apprehensive on my first day. The bus there and back was lot of fun. I was nervous at first to ask kids what was their difference but everybody was really open to sharing and that made it really easy to talk to everyone. I made some good friends and we still text to stay in touch. I’m definitely going back next year. The zip line is mine to own! My mom says she has seen a big change in me since I went to Camp Trailblazers.

With my AboutFace friends I can be as crazy as I really am; they know the real me. I might hold back a little bit with my other friends. I’m already a bit different than them on the outside so I’m not sure they will get my craziness.

I’m into running, reading, and I’m a great tree climber. I may not be fearless but I do like overcoming my fears. I just don’t like it when scary movies mess with my mind and stuff like that.

What else do I like? Manga, Anime, Japanese music, I can’t get enough of it. At school, I like art, drama, music (no surprise there), but I’m not okay with Math. I thought that’s why they invented calculators.

My future? Maybe a make-up artist or even better, a Manga artist. My mom is a teacher so she wants me to get a good education. She’s also told me that perhaps marriage, kids, and buying a house are part of my future plan too. I may toss in a few other items before I follow that plan. Whatever I choose, my difference will never hold me back. AboutFace has been a big help with that.

Vanessa pre-diagnosis

Vanessa today

Links:

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