snuffy
06-18-2009, 07:56 AM
State athletes lend a helping hand at Camp Live-A-Dream
http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-athletes-lend-a-helping-hand-at-camp-live-a-dream/article/3378612?custom_click=lead_story_title
By Jenni Carlson
Published: June 18, 2009
Brylea Lind nearly sprinted to the front of the room, her curly hair bouncing all the way.
Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson quizes camper Brylea Lind, 14, on where Robinson is on an OSU poster before signing an autograph for Lind at the American Cancer Society's Camp Live-A-Dream in Guthrie, Okla., Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Looking on to the right of Robinson is OSUs Taylor Sokolosky. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
The cancer survivor just had to see for herself how tall Zac Robinson and Brandon Weeden were.
"Oh, man," she said, standing toe to toe with the Oklahoma State quarterbacks. "You're seriously tall."
The players laughed.
Ditto for everyone else at Camp Live-A-Dream.
This is a summer camp like no other. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, it lasts a week and costs nothing for Oklahoma kids who've had cancer. Some are in remission. Others are between treatments.
All of them want to be able to act like kids.
Robinson, Weeden and several other local athletes helped them do just that Wednesday. There were gymnasts and baseball players from Oklahoma, players and dancers from the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in addition to the football players from OSU.
"Whenever I heard about this opportunity ... I jumped all over it," Robinson said. "It worked just perfect."
The Cowboys had a day off from their summer workouts. As soon as they finished their summer-school classes, they piled into Weeden's truck and drove to the Central Oklahoma Christian Camp south of Guthrie.
They were greeted with oohs and aahs. That's not hyperbole. The kids actually oohed and aahed when the players entered the mess hall cabin.
Having athletes appear isn't a regular part of the annual camp. Last year, when the theme was "Christmas in July," the campers received gifts every day. But this year, with the theme "Team Spirit," bringing in local athletes fit.
So did watching "The Sandlot" during movie night and going to the RedHawks game on Tuesday night.
The camp for kids from ages 9 to 17 is filled with fun and memories, laughter and smiles.
These kids deserve it because all of them have been through times when there was no fun. Each has a survival story of grueling treatments and painful recoveries, childhoods tainted by cancers of every kind.
Lind had retina blastoma, a cancer of the eye that was detected when she was only five weeks old.
Now a soon-to-be ninth grader at Stillwater High, the curly haired teenager has an artificial eye.
"It's really hard at school," she said. "People have made fun of me and everything."
Her voice isn't sad but rather matter-of-fact. She's come to accept this, that kids will be mean and that she has to deal with it.
Fellow campers Nicole Richardson and Carmita O'Bryant nod as Lind explains.
"It can't be all hyper and silly at school," she said. "Here, I can be myself. I can be outgoing all I want and nobody will judge me."
That was definitely the case Wednesday afternoon.
For more than an hour, the campers hung out with Robinson, Weeden and Co. They got to ask questions, quizzing them about everything from their favorite movie to their favorite desert to their favorite song. They got to get autographs. They got to play, too.
Robinson threw passes until his arm almost fell off, sending one camper after another deep.
And when Emilio Valdez needed a little extra help, the Cowboy quarterback stood only a few feet from the 11-year-old and soft tossed the football to him. Even though it hit Emilio in the chest time and again, he still couldn't corral it.
More throws.
More drops.
Finally, Emilio closed his arms around the ball. Robinson threw his own arms into the air in celebration.
"It's just fun to see them smiling," he said. "It's definitely a lot of fun."
Turns out, for a few hours Wednesday afternoon, everyone at Camp Live-A-Dream was able to act like a kid.
http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-athletes-lend-a-helping-hand-at-camp-live-a-dream/article/3378612?custom_click=lead_story_title
By Jenni Carlson
Published: June 18, 2009
Brylea Lind nearly sprinted to the front of the room, her curly hair bouncing all the way.
Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson quizes camper Brylea Lind, 14, on where Robinson is on an OSU poster before signing an autograph for Lind at the American Cancer Society's Camp Live-A-Dream in Guthrie, Okla., Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Looking on to the right of Robinson is OSUs Taylor Sokolosky. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
The cancer survivor just had to see for herself how tall Zac Robinson and Brandon Weeden were.
"Oh, man," she said, standing toe to toe with the Oklahoma State quarterbacks. "You're seriously tall."
The players laughed.
Ditto for everyone else at Camp Live-A-Dream.
This is a summer camp like no other. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, it lasts a week and costs nothing for Oklahoma kids who've had cancer. Some are in remission. Others are between treatments.
All of them want to be able to act like kids.
Robinson, Weeden and several other local athletes helped them do just that Wednesday. There were gymnasts and baseball players from Oklahoma, players and dancers from the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in addition to the football players from OSU.
"Whenever I heard about this opportunity ... I jumped all over it," Robinson said. "It worked just perfect."
The Cowboys had a day off from their summer workouts. As soon as they finished their summer-school classes, they piled into Weeden's truck and drove to the Central Oklahoma Christian Camp south of Guthrie.
They were greeted with oohs and aahs. That's not hyperbole. The kids actually oohed and aahed when the players entered the mess hall cabin.
Having athletes appear isn't a regular part of the annual camp. Last year, when the theme was "Christmas in July," the campers received gifts every day. But this year, with the theme "Team Spirit," bringing in local athletes fit.
So did watching "The Sandlot" during movie night and going to the RedHawks game on Tuesday night.
The camp for kids from ages 9 to 17 is filled with fun and memories, laughter and smiles.
These kids deserve it because all of them have been through times when there was no fun. Each has a survival story of grueling treatments and painful recoveries, childhoods tainted by cancers of every kind.
Lind had retina blastoma, a cancer of the eye that was detected when she was only five weeks old.
Now a soon-to-be ninth grader at Stillwater High, the curly haired teenager has an artificial eye.
"It's really hard at school," she said. "People have made fun of me and everything."
Her voice isn't sad but rather matter-of-fact. She's come to accept this, that kids will be mean and that she has to deal with it.
Fellow campers Nicole Richardson and Carmita O'Bryant nod as Lind explains.
"It can't be all hyper and silly at school," she said. "Here, I can be myself. I can be outgoing all I want and nobody will judge me."
That was definitely the case Wednesday afternoon.
For more than an hour, the campers hung out with Robinson, Weeden and Co. They got to ask questions, quizzing them about everything from their favorite movie to their favorite desert to their favorite song. They got to get autographs. They got to play, too.
Robinson threw passes until his arm almost fell off, sending one camper after another deep.
And when Emilio Valdez needed a little extra help, the Cowboy quarterback stood only a few feet from the 11-year-old and soft tossed the football to him. Even though it hit Emilio in the chest time and again, he still couldn't corral it.
More throws.
More drops.
Finally, Emilio closed his arms around the ball. Robinson threw his own arms into the air in celebration.
"It's just fun to see them smiling," he said. "It's definitely a lot of fun."
Turns out, for a few hours Wednesday afternoon, everyone at Camp Live-A-Dream was able to act like a kid.