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NF Camp has become a part of Katie Oslica’s summer traditions. “Camp means so much to me,” said Katie Oslica, of Bigelow, Ark. “It has shown me that I’m not alone in this journey and has helped me make many new friends who are going through the same thing as me.”
Camp Kostopoulos, located in Emigration Canyon, Utah, just 35 minutes from Salt Lake City Airport, will host the NF Summer Camp for the 14th year. In 2010 there will be two sessions to choose from: Saturday, July 17 – Friday, July 23 and Saturday, July 24 – Friday, July 30. Each session generally has about 35 campers said Patrice Pancza, the Foundation’s Camp coordinator.
Camp activities include swimming, horseback riding, campfires, a rope course, climbing wall, canoeing and fishing. The offsite activities, including a day at the water park, movie night, and other fun outings, are some of Katie’s favorite things to do.
Katie’s mom Lesley wasn’t completely comfortable the first time Katie flew by herself, especially since Katie had a connecting flight. However, after Katie returned home the first time from camp, the smile on Katie’s face and the excitement in her voice allayed any concerns. The first thing Katie said when she saw mom and dad? “We have to plan this for next year! This was the best week of my life.”
Since that first week of camp, Katie has become more self confident and less concerned about NF. “She talked about how great it was to be with other kids ‘like her,’” said Lesley. “She said it was like having a bunch of brothers and sisters around because they all know what it’s like to have NF; no one was bothered by bumps, café au laits, or any other side effects of having NF. So, they all just got to have fun for the whole week and not worry about NF.”
Some parents might be apprehensive to let their child get on a plane to attend camp for a week and that’s okay said Lesley. “We are their parents and that’s a natural response to our children being away for a week; however, I would also encourage parents to allow the child to that first time and let the child describe their experience.”
Counselors are carefully screened before being brought on as staff. “Once an applicant has been received, an interview is conducted and references checked to ensure the best possible staff for the Kostopulos Dream Foundation are being hired,” said Mircea Divricean, of the Kostopulos Dream Foundation. The counselors also attend a ten day training session where they receive first aid and CPR certification, SOAR training, food handler’s certification, OSHA certification, emergency procedures training, and behavioral issues training.
Through the generous support of our donors, scholarships are available to any child with NF needing financial aid in order to attend. We offer full tuition scholarships, and in cases of particular hardship, we can provide travel assistance as well. Attendance is limited, but if space is available, no child will be denied participation for financial reasons.
The camp experience helps participants become independent and furthers their ability to interact socially with others who have similar life experiences. “NF Camp has been one of the greatest blessings after the hardship of learning about NF for the first time,” said Lesley. “A hidden treasure along the journey of life with NF!”
Running is more than a sport, it is a way of life. More than a destination, it is a bridge to new life. Running in our society is as much about relationships as it is about fitness. I heard someone say once that when we are not running we talk about running and when we are running we talk about everything else.
When we run, we eventually come face to face with simple truths that penetrate us at deeper levels. We learn to breathe and relax so we can run longer, we realize that speed and endurance are centered in our core strength rather than the size of our leg muscles and we experience how worry and anxiety rob us of valuable energy. The race is won at the finish line, we can dig deep to find strength in our weakness and that patience is nature’s secret are just a few of the real life lessons we come to know when we run.
People are running for reasons well beyond the health, fitness and personal accomplishment they receive. Consider the story of Lesley Oslica, who with some of her best friends, traveled to Oklahoma City last weekend to run the 10th Oklahoma City marathon. A lot was happening in this race and I’m going to see if I can capture some of it for you through Lesley’s experience within the broader context of the race.
For the last 10 years, runners have come from all over to run and remember. If you run the race, you will never forget the 168 seconds of silence in memory of the 168 victims at the beginning of the race. Music, energy and nervous activity are instantly replaced with the sound of the wind blowing through the tall downtown buildings and the songs of birds in the air. 168 seconds is a long time, long enough to deeply remember why you are there. And after you’ve asked your body to give you all it has to complete 26.2 miles you walk through the 168 chairs that signify the people who lost their lives and see the medals from other runners hung on the chairs in their memory. It’s at this point that you are ready to learn a deep lesson about the value of life and realize at a deeper level how blessed and lucky you are.
Lesley and Connie’s running began as a way to raise awareness for Neurofibromatosis (NF) and hopefully to fund the discovery of a cure for everyone who is living with NF. Their NF Hero is their daughter Katie.
They have attended many endurance events this year and this was Lesley’s fourth marathon of 2010. Of all she gives to the Children’s Tumor Foundation, the people who are touched by NF and to those she runs with, she would be the first to tell you that at the end of the day she feels like she receives more than she gives. She was the leader of and in many ways the inspiration for the NF team who ran the 2010 Little Rock Marathon and raised over $10,000 to fund research at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
While there are many reasons that we run, those of us who race fully understand the joy of a personal record (PR) for a given distance. The PR can feel like the pinnacle of our accomplishment and the source of our despair. Yes, we are running for more than a PR, but deep down most of us have a number in our head that we want to see on the clock when we finish. Lesley has had a dream to break 5 hours in a marathon someday and has come within minutes a couple of times this year. She had decided before the race that she’d completely focus on experiencing the race and give up the goal of getting under 5 hours. “I went out not even thinking about time. I had decided it was just going to be a fun day because the wind was so strong (15-25 mile gusts), and I just didn’t want to fight it all day thinking about my time. So – I never looked at my time – and made an agreement with myself not to look at it until mile 25. If I was close at that point (25 mi), I would give it all I had.”
It was at this point that so many life truths that we learn through running collided and Lesley not only got a PR but she put 15 minutes between her finish time and her five hour goal. The goal that had eluded her time and time again. The expressions in the pictures below tell the story of accomplishment, patience, friendship and joy on many levels. People often ask why we run. We run for our health, for our friends, for people we don’t know who were killed in a horrific bombing incident, to raise money to find a cure for NF and to learn many of the deeper things in life first hand. Oh yes, and also to get a PR. Way to go Lesley, you did it!!!!!!
Pete Tanguay is also a NF Endurance member. He participated in the 2010 Little Rock Marathon, raising more than $4,000 for NF research. He currently resides in Conway, AR and is the founder and president of Rock Pond Solutions.
…can be found in Little Rock, Ark. Led by Lesley Oslica, the 2010 Little Rock NF Endurance Team brought in more than $10K.
Pete Tanguay presents his NF Hero, Mavia with a gift at the pasta party. Mavia was Pete’s inspiration to finish a very difficult LR Marathon in 4:11.
The Little Rock Recap from Lesley Oslica…
Wow, what an awesome weekend! The atmosphere of the whole weekend seemed to be ‘awe-inspiring’. We had a wonderful NFE pasta party, where new friends became a part of the NFE Family. And, the NFE Team at Little Rock raised $10,000 – woohoo! A first for us at LR. Thanks to all those who fundraised and helped us reach our goal.
Now, for the runners…talk about inspiring! We had six participants (five ladies, one man) doing their FIRST full marathon and they did an outstanding job! The girls (and Kenny) came in with smiles on their face – okay…and a few blisters on their feet. But all in all, these ladies ROCKED the course. And, we had several new half marathoners too who did great. Being a part of something so special continues to inspire me to do more for all of those who are helping us find that cure for NF and raise awareness of NF in Arkansas (and around the world – literally…Antarctica!).
And, in case you didn’t know – LR Marathon has the world’s largest finisher’s medal…and it was CRAZY big this year; even bigger than last year. So, if you are going to do a full, you need to come do LR – at least for the medal. And, if the medal doesn’t entice you, then maybe the burgers and hotdogs freshly grilled for you, as you cross the finish line will. What fun we had sharing our experience at the finisher’s tent. A special thanks to all of our volunteers; for those cheering in the ‘wall of yellow’ and those preparing the food!
I guess my quote for the Little Rock Marathon would be… “WOW! – you just have to experience it, to know how great it is!”
Signed,
The Proudest Team Captain in the World!
Lesley Oslica & Family
p.s. To check out Little Rock pictures, visit our flickr site at flickr.com/NFEndurance. Just choose “LR Marathon 2010.”
Lesley and Connie’s running began as a way to raise awareness for 