Oakland University Psi Chi

by Kelly Kort
Psi Chi Vice President of Communications

Once a year children with epilepsy are given the chance to enjoy life at camp where they can do activities they may not be able to do otherwise. Camp Discovery is sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan and invites youth ages 8-17 affected by epilepsy to enjoy a 5 day overnight camping experience. At camp, there is round the clock medical staff as well as counselors who have been trained to recognize the different types of seizures and what to do.

Epilepsy is a medical disorder that causes seizures resulting from abnormal electric activity in the brain. About 3 million people in the United States alone are diagnosed with epilepsy. There are different types of seizures that range from lasting a few seconds to a few minutes that occur frequently or occasionally.

Because seizures are so unpredictable, this makes it harder for these children to participate in what some consider everyday activities. At Camp Discovery, campers were able to enjoy swimming, canoeing, rock climbing, horseback riding, and archery with the aid of the trained staff and extra precaution taken.

It was truly amazing to watch these children develop friendships and bond with others who were just like them. There, the children felt like they could be themselves and didn't feel like they had to hide their medical conditions. If a child was seizing, the other children would sometimes watch, but it was an understanding filled with empathy.

As a volunteer counselor, I gained tremendous insight about epilepsy. I was able to take what I had learned in the classrooms at Oakland University and relate them to real-life situations. Like I said earlier, there are different types of seizures and I witnessed both severe and minor. Some children liked to talk about what happened after their seizure, others chose to ignore it. Because everyone is so different, you need to learn to adapt to everyone’s way of coping with their epilepsy. It was a very tiring 5 days, but I believe if you ever want to really learn about something, you must find a way to experience it hands-on.