Special Summer Camp For Sick Children

Aug. 21 - KGO (KGO) -- It's a summer camp that cares for children with life-threatening illnesses, Camp Arroyo in Livermore. The camp was founded by the Taylor Family Foundation and built with your help.

Young Kat is one of dozens of kids with a critical illness enjoying a week of summer camp at Camp Arroyo in Livermore.

One session is known as 'skin camp.' The children suffer from a variety of skin disorders that range from eczema to a blistering illness known as E.B.

E.B. is a disease that is incurable, disfiguring and sometimes compromises the children's life spans. But they don't think about that while at Camp Arroyo. This week of organized chaos is just for fun.

Cristina Perez, Camper: "I have Epidermolysis Bullosa. It can be very painful and hard to deal with and stuff, but, I just try to be thankful for what I have, because a lot of people have a lot worse problems than I do."

One mother has two children living with E.B. She said that when they were born no one knew there was a problem.

Jenny Fernandez, Mother: "After they started handling her like they do a normal baby, her skin just started shredding, coming off. And after eight hours, she looked like she had been in a terrible fire."

Here at camp, she doesn't have to worry about people staring at the kids, or judging her. We also caught up with two brothers and a sister we first met about three years ago, Alex, Corey and Brandi.

Their mother, Lana Coil, adopted them all. She does the dressing changes herself at home in Grass Valley. It's a 24/7 responsibility.

She gets a week to rest when the kids come to camp. Here, doctors and nurses volunteer their vacation time to help.

All of the children are here because of Francesca Tenconi, who has blistering disease.

Francesca Tenconi, Camp Wonder Founder: "It's where I have antibodies that recognize my skin as something foreign and it attacks my skin."

Francesca was diagnosed when she was 11.

Francesca Tenconi, Camp Wonder Founder: "I felt alone, isolated. There was no support group for kids with skin disease, no where to turn where we could compare experiences."

She had her parents' support when she founded Camp Wonder and the Children's Skin Disease Foundation when she was 16-years-old, six years ago.

The actual campsite in Livermore is offered for free to Camp Wonder, by Camp Arroyo. It was founded by the Taylor Family Foundation.

The goal is quality of life for critically ill kids.

Francesca Tenconi, Camp Wonder Founder: "It's why we work so well with the Taylor Family Foundation, because that's their philosophy, too. To make the kids as happy as they can in the now, in the present."

Elaine Taylor is the driving force with the Taylor Family Foundation, which built the camp in partnership with the East Bay Regional Park District.

Over the years, you've met some of the kids who visit Camp Arroyo, kids living with HIV and AIDS, or children with special needs.

There are at least a dozen camps for kids with different life threatening illnesses and now, even more groups are asking for camp sessions.

Elaine Taylor, Camp Arroyo Founder: "We're excited because it looks as though we're going to be doing a burn camp and a brain tumor camp."

With summer camps, plus 15 weekends for other groups, it takes money.

June Johnstone, Camp Arroyo Executive Director: "Our budget alone just for sending kids to camp is a half million dollars.

Johnstone says diets have to be tailored to the children's illnesses, along with medical supplies -- just some of the added costs.

Horse programs are part of it, too. The foundation has had major help from Sandi and Paul Bonderson, who matched their live auction up to a million dollars for the past three years.

Their generosity inspired an anonymous donor this year to offer to match the live auction with no limits.

Elaine Taylor, Camp Arroyo Founder: "The kids' programs increase every year, and they get better every year. And it's because this may be their only time they're ever here. And so, it needs to be the best they ever get.

The 16th annual "Day In The Park" fundraiser happens Sunday, August 27, starting at noon, at Camp Arroyo in Livermore.

For more information, visit www.csdf.org and www.ttff.org

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