Finding community after a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis in Massachusetts
Two summer camps allow kids to be kids while learning how to care for their diabetes, and one Norwell gym gives diabetics and non-diabetics a place to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Updated: 8:20 PM EST Nov 21, 2024
AN ADULT, I CAN LOOK BACK ON. AND IT DEFINITELY MADE ME PART OF WHO I AM FOR KIDS LIVING WITH DIABETES. SUMMER CAMP CAN BE SO MUCH MORE THAN FUN AND GAMES. THIS PLACE IS MY SECOND HOME. IT’S A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN BE THEMSELVES, BUILD CONFIDENCE AND LEARN LIFE CHANGING SKILLS TO MANAGE THEIR HEALTH SO THEY CAN COME FOR ONE WEEK, TWO WEEKS. THE WHOLE SUMMER FOR SEVERAL DECADES, CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS HAS BEEN HOME TO TWO CAMPS FOR KIDS AND TEENS WITH DIABETES. JOSLIN CAMP IN CHARLTON IS FOR THE BOYS. ELLIOTT P JOSLIN STARTED THE BOYS CAMP HERE AND CLARA BARTON CAMP JUST THREE MILES DOWN THE ROAD IN NORTH OXFORD, IS FOR THE GIRLS OVER THERE IS THE CLARA BARTON BIRTHPLACE MUSEUM. ENDLESS ACTIVITIES STRETCH OVER THE GROUNDS, FROM MINI GOLF TO SWIMMING AND BOATING TO VOLLEYBALL. BUT HERE KIDS AREN’T JUST WINNING ON THE BASKETBALL COURT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SADIE VIVENZIO SAYS IT’S THE TEACHABLE MOMENTS THAT LEAVE A LASTING IMPACT. THEY ARE ALWAYS GETTING MEDICAL CARE, BUT IT’S MORE OF A TEACHABLE MOMENT. SO AS THEY’RE PLAYING, YOU KNOW, THERE’S SOMEBODY THERE WITH THEM HELPING THEM. IF THEY’RE LOW OR IF THEY NEED TO MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS. EACH MOMENT BECOMES A SHARED CELEBRATION AMONG CAMPERS. THEY MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS LIKE SO AND SO, MADE THEIR FIRST SITE CHANGE, AND EVERYONE ERUPTS INTO RAUCOUS JULIE KOZLOWSKI WAS ONCE ONE OF THOSE CELEBRATED CAMPERS. I CAME FOR NINE SUMMERS, DIAGNOSED WITH TYPE ONE DIABETES WHEN SHE WAS THREE YEARS OLD, JULIE FOUNDED THE CLARA BARTON CAMP, A SAFE SPACE TO JUST BE A KID. IT GIVES YOU HOPE AND YOU GET TO WATCH OTHER PEOPLE DOING THE SAME THING YOU’RE DOING. BEFORE COMING TO CLARA BARTON, SHE RELIED EXCLUSIVELY ON HER PARENTS TO HELP HER WITH BLOOD SUGAR CHECKS AND INSULIN INJECTIONS. SO AT CAMP, WE SAT IN CIRCLES WITH ORANGES AND WE WOULD INJECT INSULIN INTO FRUITS JUST SO WE COULD LEARN HOW TO DO IT. SO IT WASN’T JUST SITTING THERE, YOU KNOW, LIKE A CLASS LESSON. IT WAS A GAME THAT ACTUALLY TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DO SOMETHING. AND I REMEMBER DURING MY FIRST YEAR I WENT HOME AND I TOLD MY PARENTS I WANTED TO DO IT. IN WORKING ON THIS SHOW, WE MET A NUMBER OF CAMPERS AS WELL AS THEIR CARETAKERS. I THINK SHE’S BEEN AMAZINGLY INDEPENDENT IN THIS, WHICH IS WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO. AND THAT ALL STARTED AT AT CLARA BARTON CAMP. MY DAUGHTER WENT LAST YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME. SHE WAS A LITTLE HESITANT AT FIRST, BUT THEN YOU KNOW, SHE COULDN’T WAIT TO GO BACK, EACH SHARING THE SAME SENTIMENT INDEPENDENCE GAINED AND FOREVER FRIENDSHIPS FORMED. THE FRIENDS YOU MEET, THEY STAY WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE THIS ONE THING THAT YOU SHARE IN COMMON. AND IT’S SUCH A POWERFUL THING THAT YOU JUST STAY CONNECTED. DIABETICS. STAYING CONNECTED IS ONE OF THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND TYPE ONE FITNESS. IN NORWELL, MASSACHUSETTS. WE PREVIOUSLY HAD TYPE ONE AS A NONPROFIT AND WE JUST DID FUNDRAISING FOR TYPE ONE DIABETES. WE DECIDED THAT WE WERE GOING TO OPEN UP A FACILITY TO DO BOTH THE GYM IS OPERATED BY THE NONPROFIT TYPE ONE, A CHARITY TOUCHING FAMILIES ALL OVER THE STATE. WHAT WE DO IS WE GRANT $1,000 SCHOLARSHIPS TO TEN HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WHO ARE GOING ON FOR ADDITIONAL EDUCATION. WE SEND KIDS TO WESTERN MASS TO A TYPE ONE DIABETES CAMP. BOYS AND GIRLS, AND WE WORK WITH MASS GENERAL TOWARD A CURE FOR A TYPE ONE DIABETES. EVEN THOUGH THIS STATE OF THE ART FACILITY HAS TYPE ONE IN ITS NAME, IT’S OPEN TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE. IT’S NOT JUST THE GYM, IT’S JUST IT’S A COMMUNITY WITHIN A GYM. IT’S NOT JUST THE DIABETICS THAT I CONNECT WITH HERE. IT’S THE PARENTS OF DIABETICS, THE AUNTS, UNCLES, GRANDPARENTS OF DIABETICS, DIABETICS. MY OWN AGE. IT’S ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE. JAMESON HOWARD WAS DIAGNOSED WITH TYPE ONE DIABETES AT A YOUNG AGE. NOW HE’S AN ATHLETE AND A STAR BASEBALL PLAYER. GETTING READY TO APPLY FOR COLLEGE. HE USES THE GYM WITH HIS FAMILY TO HELP WITH TRAINING. I’M JUST A NORMAL KID LIVING A NORMAL LIFE, LIVING MY BEST LIFE WITH THIS. IT’S SOMETHING THAT I HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE WITH. I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY REPRESENT MYSELF WELL. FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST DIAGNOSED, REACHING OUT TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO DO NEED HELP AND, YOU KNOW, SHARE MY JOURNEY WITH THEM AND TYSON HAS DONE SUCH A GREAT JOB THAT TYSON IS TYSON SONNENBURG, THE CO-FOUNDER OF TYPE ONE FITNESS, IS A DIABETIC HIMSELF AS WELL AS A MOTIVATIONAL VOICE FOR SEVERAL IN THIS COMMUNITY. HE AND HIS BUSINESS PARTNER, PAUL FOTI, RUN THE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS. EXERCISE HELPS HIM. IT HELPS IMPROVE YOUR INSULIN SENSITIVITY SO THE MORE YOU EXERCISE, YOU KNOW, THE BETTER CONTROL YOU CAN HAVE. THE LESS INSULIN YOU NEED. OUR MAIN GOAL IS TO IS TO CREATE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES FOR EVERYBODY. WITH ALL OF THE INFORMATION OUT THERE, MARY, A NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETIC, IT WAS SCARY. I HAD TO HAVE LIKE THREE IVS IN ME. MY LIPS WERE SO DRY AND HER MOM, MICHELLE, FOUND THE GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT THEY NEEDED WITH THE TYPE ONE TEAM. WE CAME HERE AND THAT’S HOW WE ENDED UP CONNECTING WITH THEM. AND THEN I SIGNED HER UP AND I KNEW SHE WASN’T GOING TO REALLY STICK WITH IT UNLESS MOM JOINED. SO THEN I JOINED THE GYM. FAMILIES STAYING HEALTHY WITH A COMMUNITY THAT UNDERSTANDS. ARE WE GOING AGAIN? GET READY IN 20S. HOLD IT. LET’S GO AND TYPE ONE’S NONPROFIT SUPPORTS DIABETICS WHO MIGHT NEED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, WHETHER THAT’S GETTING TO MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS OR ACCESS TO INSULIN. ALL RIGHT. AND BACK TO CAMP. SINCE THE PANDEMIC, BOTH THE CLARA BARTON AND JOCELYN CAMPS TEAMED UP TO BECOME ONE PROGRAM, A COED PROGRAM. BUT NOW, STARTING SUMMER 2025, THEY WILL SEPARATE BACK INTO GIRLS AND BOYS PROGRAMS. ALL RIGHT, STILL AHEAD, REDUCING THE RI
Finding community after a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis in Massachusetts
Two summer camps allow kids to be kids while learning how to care for their diabetes, and one Norwell gym gives diabetics and non-diabetics a place to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Updated: 8:20 PM EST Nov 21, 2024
Clara Barton Camp and Joslin Camp, both in Central Massachusetts, are summer camps for girls and boys with diabetes. Among the basketball courts and tennis matches are teachable moments where kids can be kids while learning how to understand their diabetes. Type One Fitness in Norwell, Massachusetts, is home to Type One, a nonprofit and a gym where both diabetics and nondiabetics work out to help lead a healthy lifestyle.
Clara Barton Camp and Joslin Camp, both in Central Massachusetts, are summer camps for girls and boys with diabetes. Among the basketball courts and tennis matches are teachable moments where kids can be kids while learning how to understand their diabetes.
Type One Fitness in Norwell, Massachusetts, is home to Type One, a nonprofit and a gym where both diabetics and nondiabetics work out to help lead a healthy lifestyle.
