Camp Koru Recap

I survived an adult adventure camp! I was quite nervous at the start of Camp Koru, the surf camp I went to in Maui for young adults who had cancer. I didn't know what to expect. I was worried we would have to play a million stupid ice breaker games and then spend every second not surfing talking about our feelings. I was worried it was going to be like kid summer camp where everyone showed up with friends and breaking into new social groups was so hard.

A gecko I befriended at the hostel the day before camp started.

Thankfully, none of that happened. Because no one knew each other (except for a few people who managed to meet up before the flights but an extra 4 hours on an airplane barely counts), we were all in the same boat of "let's get to know everyone!" And because we knew the other person had cancer and it was all we had in common, it was the third "get to know you" question after "Name?" "Where are you from?" to "Tell me your cancer story." I'm pleased to say that no stupid icebreaker games were played and yet I managed to figure out who everyone was.

I decided on Phoenix as my "power name." It was the only thing that felt right that I could handle being called for a week. It felt pretty cliche and more dramatic than I wanted but I figured I was allowed a little drama after all the times my body has tried to kill me. I was told there has been a few Phoenix's over the years so it was far from original but it got me through the week. And now I'll be known as Phoenix to a group of 20 people for the rest of my life.

Yay made it to cabin #3!

The camp setting itself was what I expected, having been there in January with Isaiah. We stayed 4-5 people in the cabins on cots that squeaked anytime anyone moved in the night. After the second night, I, along with a surprising number of people, took my mattress outside to sleep on the beach where the air circulated better and nothing squeaked when I rolled over. After taking my sleeping pill, I wrapped myself up in my mummy sleep sheet and fell asleep in minutes (I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of bugs in the night). I usually didn't wake up until the birds started squawking over our heads at first light. It was basically breakfast time then anyway (6 am breakfast!) so it worked out pretty well.

Sunrise while sleeping on the beach. I'm on the left wrapped up beside the orange waterbottle.

There were 15 campers, 5 leaders (including the camp doctor and psychotherapist), and one chef who cooked amazing meals three times a day. We had "camp fire" sessions (really just a bunch of lights in the firepit because it was too windy to have a real fire) after dinner which is the only time we had structured "talk about cancer" time. But even then, it was more of a natural discussion than being forced to talk or answer questions.

However, since we had nothing else in common besides cancer, it did tend to come up in conversation quite a bit. I recognize that I was, and am, in a weird spot with having cancer. It was not the most traumatic time of my life and while I had nothing to say when talking about "what cancer gave you?," I did have a lot of the same hospital/medical experiences between my transplant and going through cancer.

It was easy to talk about since no one got traumatized or needed a giant explainer every time someone mentioned a random anecdote about having cancer. Someone would say something like, "random person told me I should spend less time working and more time with my family if I have a shortened life expectancy" and instead of being weird, we would respond with a "those people need to mind their own business." Most of the conversations revolved around encouraging people to live their lives and ignore what other people say. It's shocking how many people have opinions on how you should live once you get cancer.

Four of the five full camp days we spent surfing or paddle-boarding in the morning and then either relaxed (aka snorkelled) in the afternoon or went to Lahaina to shop/walk around. I loved surfing. It was exhausting and I loved it. I went stand up paddle boarding the second day for a bit but enjoyed surfing more so stuck with that the rest of the time. I loved the rush of catching a wave and riding it almost to shore (although then I had to walk/swim all the way back out which was less fun). Many times I crashed into someone or didn't catch the wave in time but that was all part of the learning process.

The surfing beach!

I could make a hundred metaphors about how surfing is like going through cancer or any tough time: how to never give up despite falling over and over. That, like life,  you can only take one wave at a time. Or to choose your waves wisely otherwise you end up falling. That if you take your eyes off where you want to go, you end up falling. And sometimes a jerk kayaker can come from nowhere and take you out despite you doing everything perfectly. And lastly, if you get distracted by the turtle in the water, you'll end up falling (that one doesn't work so well). You get the point. But no one had time to think about that stuff when there were waves to catch!

I'm basically a pro now.

While surfing is basically a solo sport (especially when the instructors stop boosting you for the waves), there was also something immensely bonding about learning how to surf with other people. Sitting and waiting for waves or cheering people on when they caught one, it was all part of the experience. It was so much fun.

Crushed the last day of surfing!

The non-surf day in the middle of camp (day 3) was when we had our Ohana (family) day. We spent the morning pulling invasive pickleweed at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge as a volunteer project. It was hot, dirty work but ripping out plants was quite satisfying. I unearthed the first live scorpion I've ever seen and a ton of various roaches. The scorpion was super cool, the roaches not so much. 

Afterward, we threw ourselves into the ocean and then went for snacks before eating lunch and watching the expert surfers on the North Shore of Maui. It was mostly small children that day who were surfing due to the "small" waves.

Being dramatic at Ho'opika beach. Yes, those dark storm clouds later exploded on us.

Camp was way better than I had expected. My expectations were fairly low but everyone was so friendly and I feel like I really bonded with people in a way that surprised me. I now have a WhatsApp group of people who I can always call on for support. I learned a lot about various cancers and way too much about the financial horrors of the privatized American medical system. (What a lucky lotto I won being born in Canada where I never had to once consider if it was worth the financial burden of treatments to keep living.)

Short sunset the last night.

I don't have any great revelations that I discovered about myself during the week (although maybe I still need to process it) except that talking to some people about their unsupportive friends reinforced what an amazing network of support I have. I never had a moment where I thought I needed to hide any of what I was experiencing for fear of being rejected in some way.

I've always been extremely open about what I was going through (probably sometimes too much) and in return I only ever got love, comfort, and friendship in response. From people visiting me in Toronto while I waited for my transplant, to sending me facebook support messages, to mysteriously mailing me grocery money, to playing board games on the hospital bed, you've all been beyond supportive during all my medical drama. Thank you!

A bunch of us rented scooters the day after camp. We were clearly a menacing little scooter gang.

If you want to know more about supporting Project Koru, or know of any young adult who would enjoy a week of intense activity post-cancer, here is the website. Highly recommended by me!